Changes

On April 3, 2020 a Chinese coast-guard ship intentionally rammed and sank a [[Vietnam]]ese fishing vessel. The two countries are in conflict over jurisdiction of the Paracel Islands and fishing rights in the waters around the archipelago. On April 18, China unilaterally announced the establishment of the Nansha and Xisha administrative districts in the Paracels and the [[Spratly Islands]], drawing a protest from the [[Philippines]], which has a presence of its own on at least nine Spratly islands and islets, including Fiery Cross Reef. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which monitors territorial conflicts, says Fiery Cross has been transformed into a Chinese missile base. In an earlier move, in mid-February 2020, a Chinese naval ship locked its radar on a Philippines naval vessel near the Commodore Reef in the Spratlys, signaling a strike as an act of intimidation. China in recent months has also provoked conflicts with [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], and Taiwan.  ''[[The National Review]]'' reports:

On April 3, 2020 a Chinese coast-guard ship intentionally rammed and sank a [[Vietnam]]ese fishing vessel. The two countries are in conflict over jurisdiction of the Paracel Islands and fishing rights in the waters around the archipelago. On April 18, China unilaterally announced the establishment of the Nansha and Xisha administrative districts in the Paracels and the [[Spratly Islands]], drawing a protest from the [[Philippines]], which has a presence of its own on at least nine Spratly islands and islets, including Fiery Cross Reef. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which monitors territorial conflicts, says Fiery Cross has been transformed into a Chinese missile base. In an earlier move, in mid-February 2020, a Chinese naval ship locked its radar on a Philippines naval vessel near the Commodore Reef in the Spratlys, signaling a strike as an act of intimidation. China in recent months has also provoked conflicts with [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], and Taiwan.  ''[[The National Review]]'' reports:

[[File:SouthChinaSea.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Disputed claims in the South China Sea.]]

[[File:SouthChinaSea.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Disputed claims in the South China Sea.]]

{{quotebox-float|China appears to be exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to advance its [[South China Sea]] expansion project by “brute force … using its increasingly powerful navy to assert its dominance by harassing the shipping of rival states, even at times, in their own territorial waters.”  

{{quotebox-float-float|China appears to be exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to advance its [[South China Sea]] expansion project by “brute force … using its increasingly powerful navy to assert its dominance by harassing the shipping of rival states, even at times, in their own territorial waters.”  

But just as China’s failure to stop a local epidemic from becoming a global catastrophe has brought it precisely the bad PR it was hoping to avoid, its South China Sea bullying has resulted in intensified anti-Chinese reactions in Southeast Asia and around the world. Beijing’s efforts to staunch the country’s hemorrhaging international reputation have had the opposite effect....

But just as China’s failure to stop a local epidemic from becoming a global catastrophe has brought it precisely the bad PR it was hoping to avoid, its South China Sea bullying has resulted in intensified anti-Chinese reactions in Southeast Asia and around the world. Beijing’s efforts to staunch the country’s hemorrhaging international reputation have had the opposite effect....