Takeover of South China Sea ‘is complete and US is now POWERLESS to stop its new naval dominance’
CHINA is stealing the oil and gas rich South China Sea and it’s “too late” for US President Donald Trump to stop them, a senior defence expert warns.
Former head of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Sir Angus Houston said China’s controversial ramp-up of its military presence is almost complete on artificial islands it has created.
China claims most of the South China Sea.
But Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei argue they also own parts of the sea that are contested.
The region contains strategic sea lanes and has rich fishing grounds along with trillions of pounds worth of oil and gas deposits.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously pledged not to “militarise” the disputed region.
But US military officials claim Beijing has “hundreds” of surface-to-air missiles that will be moved to the disputed islands over coming months.
China has built seven artificial islands in the disputed area.
And Sir Angus, who was chief of the ADF from 2005 to 2011, said satellite images these islands are clearly militarised as part of a takeover, reported.
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Speaking to the National Security College conference in Canberra, he said: “I have seen the imagery (and) what you see is infrastructure going in.
“And it is not going to be too much longer before it is fully developed.
“All of this development will enable China to dominate the South China Sea and extend its permanent military presence further south in proximity to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.”
Sir Angus added: “In my view it is too late to stop the China program in the South China Sea.
“What is important now is to ensure freedom of navigation and the right of innocent passage.
“We also need to find ways to resolve territorial disputes in accordance with international law and discourage nations from acting unilaterally in a way that threatens the peace and stability in our region.
"From here a prudent approach is necessary.”
He urged the US to seek greater engagement with China through strategic partnerships.
“The US needs to engage with and make space for China,” he said.
“In my view we need more co-operation and less competition.”
Last week China flexed its muscles by deploying intercontinental missiles – capable of carrying ten warheads – would be able to strike the US and Russia.
But any hope China had that Donald Trump was bluffing with his threats to take on the world's most populous nation is sure to be fading.
In his first few days of entering the White House, the President made it clear he was going to follow through on his signature election promises.
Before entering the White House, Mr Trump vowed to go after Beijing by imposing a 45 per cent tariff on Chinese goods in an opening salvo of a trade war.
This could seriously harm Communist China because its economy is highly depended on Western businesses exploiting its huge pool of cheap factory labour.
The tariff could almost eliminate its competitive advantage which has allowed it to pull millions out of poverty in the past 20 years.
Trump has also sparked tensions by accepting a phone call from Taiwanese Prime Minister Tsai-Ing wen in December.
China views Taiwan as a renegade state.
The US President has also suggested he’s not afraid of a military contest over Taiwan or the South China Sea which are regarded by experts as potential World War 3 flashpoints.
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