Taiwanese news outlet accuses China of seizing land from Vietnam.

(Baonghean) - Continuing its escalating actions in realizing its intention to invade the South China Sea, China is not only building military bases and airports and deploying warships to the islands under Vietnam's sovereignty, but also intends to civilianize Vietnam's islands through various means such as tourism businesses and sending fishing vessels to exploit and fish... This wrongdoing has not only drawn criticism from the international community but is also unacceptable to domestic Chinese public opinion. On June 18, the Taiwanese news site Want China Times reported that a Chinese newspaper – the Economic Observer – reported that Beijing will register land use rights in the Paracel and Spratly Islands. This is an illegal and unacceptable act of land grabbing that deserves condemnation and denunciation.

Want China Times reported that the Beijing-based Economic Observer announced that the Real Estate Registration Office under China's Ministry of Land and Resources will recognize ownership and use rights of "real estate" on islands and in the sea that China claims as its "territorial sovereignty." The Economic Observer stated that the new real estate registration system will be implemented in 2018. The newspaper also reported that any Chinese citizen or business can register ownership and use rights of land, housing, and sea areas on islands and archipelagos in the South China Sea, including islands belonging to Vietnam's Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

Want China Times commented that the implementation of this new real estate registration system shows China's increasing aggression in its territorial expansion strategy in the South China Sea. According to Want China Times, the Economic Observer published a deceptive and misleading account of the Chinese government's deceptive policies, explaining that "real estate" specifically refers to "land, sea areas and islands, houses, buildings, forests and immovable objects."

This news report also stated that recently, China has intensified its illegal construction activities, including the construction of an illegal school on Phu Lam Island in the Paracel Islands and the construction of artificial islands on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands, which belong to Vietnam.

Thus, China's ambition to treat the South China Sea as its "backyard" can no longer be concealed, even from domestic public opinion. The intention to expand its influence in the South China Sea to realize its baseless and illegal "nine-dash line" claim has been "politicized" by the belligerent Chinese authorities into a detailed and specific roadmap, with increasingly aggressive and tyrannical steps, showing no signs of China intending to back down or abandon its ambitions.

Chinese ships (larger ships, in the background) approach, obstruct, and are ready to collide with and threaten Vietnamese ships. (Photo: VNA)

On the one hand, China appears fearful of Vietnam's multilateral approach to resolving the South China Sea issue, hindering and avoiding bringing the South China Sea issue to the international "scales of justice" for resolution. On the other hand, China continues to pursue its great power policy, simultaneously enticing, threatening, and loudly proclaiming its commitment to "maintaining peace and stability," while also employing a flagship diplomacy policy. The clearest manifestation of China's loss of credibility in the eyes of the international community is its blatant placement of the Haiyang 981 oil rig in Vietnamese waters, its deployment of warships and military aircraft, its large-scale naval forces into Vietnamese waters, and its provocative, harassing, aggressive, and ramming actions... yet it still holds press conferences falsely accusing Vietnam and sends documents "denouncing" Vietnam to the United Nations in an attempt to "make falsehoods appear as truth."

Fortunately, major international news agencies, having witnessed the events firsthand and sent reporters to the South China Sea to see and hear the truth, were able to promptly refute and refute China's deceitful arguments. On numerous occasions at press conferences in China, international journalists have put government representatives in a difficult position, forcing them to evade responsibility and expose the true face of the "thief who cries foul."

This incident shows that China is both secretly pursuing expansionist and encroaching policies, and subtly releasing information to gauge the reactions of other parties. It is highly likely that if the parties involved do not demonstrate sufficient strength in all aspects to force China to weigh the pros and cons and adjust its policies, the Chinese government's seizure of land and granting usage rights to its citizens will become a reality in the not-too-distant future. This is something that countries in the region cannot ignore.

Chi Linh Son