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China threatening Peace in South China Sea says European Union

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 | Reading Time: 2 minutes

The European Union has blamed China for endangering peace in the South China Sea. The Union urged all parties to abide by a 2016 tribunal ruling which rejected most of China’s claim to sovereignty in the sea, but which Beijing has rejected. “Tensions in the South China Sea, including the recent presence of large Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef, endanger peace and stability in the region,” a EU spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.

The EU last week released a new policy aimed at stepping up its influence in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s rising power. EU reiterated its strong opposition to unilateral actions that could undermine regional stability and international rules-based order. China rejected EU’s accusation that its ships at Whitsun Reef, which China calls Niu’E Jiao, had endangered peace and security. The Chinese Mission to the EU in a statement reiterated that the reef is part of China’s Nansha Islands, or Spratly Islands, and that it was ‘reasonable and lawful’ for Chinese fishing boats to operate there and shelter from the wind.

US President Joe Biden had urged the international community to adopt a ‘coordinated approach’ towards China, which had so far materialised in the form of sanctions over its security crackdown in Hong Kong and treatment of Uyghur Muslims. China is getting worried that Europe and other nations are aligning with USA in this regard, already Australia and Italy have taken actions against BRI projects drawing sharp reaction from China.

The Philippines had sent two diplomatic protests to China this week over its failure to withdraw what it called “threatening” vessels that were massing in contested areas of the South China Sea. “The continued swarming and threatening presence of the Chinese vessels creates an atmosphere of instability and is a blatant disregard of the commitments by China to promote peace and stability in the region,” the Philippines foreign ministry said. The global push back against China has started in a more coordinated manner, especially after the trust deficit against China in the post Covid 19 scenario.