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submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Last week, Chinese coast guard vessels rammed and shot water cannon at Philippine ships in the South China Sea. The incident was well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and was completely unprovoked.

It is the latest example of a sustained pattern of Chinese maritime coercion that has intensified over the past three years. Despite the growing frequency and sheer aggression of these tactics, international attention and official rebukes have noticeably waned in the past 12 months.

For Australia, a nation whose prosperity and security relies on maritime trade, there can be no room for complacency or desensitisation. China’s maritime aggression puts Australia at risk.

...

History teaches that once coercion goes unchecked, it tends to escalate. The incident last week is not an isolated provocation, but part of a continued deterioration of security in the waters around us.

Australia has both the right and the responsibility to challenge the normalisation of this kind of maritime aggression. We can push back by calling out each incident, continuing to deepen our regional partnerships, accelerating the development of our naval capabilities, and reinforcing international maritime law.

Our future prosperity, and the security of generations to come, depends on it.

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

The incident last week is not an isolated provocation, but part of a continued deterioration of security in the waters around us.

It's in the northern hemisphere about 3000km away at closest. This article is using some underhanded rhetoric here.

Sandy Cay is unoccupied and is claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan (ROC), China (PRC) and the Philippines. The article says "The incident was well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone", neglecting to point out that it's also well within the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Taiwan and China. So while factually correct, it's intentionally misleading to say "well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone" like that, because that's one of many conflicting claims and it's clearly not exclusive in practice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_disputes_in_the_South_China_Sea

[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

Wow, viewed in this light, this article is needlessly incendiary. Thanks for context.

this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
26 points (66.7% liked)

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