Territorial disputes in the East China Sea may be more dangerous than the South China Sea

(Baonghean.vn) - When it comes to territorial disputes in Asia, the East Sea dispute always attracts public attention. However, the East China Sea, a lesser-known “fireplace” of tension, is more likely to spark an international conflict.

Disputed islands between Japan and China in the East China Sea. Photo: AP

“Despite attracting less attention, the East China Sea dispute may pose a greater risk of drawing the United States into conflict with China than other disputes in the South China Sea,” said Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s foreign policy program.

Both China and Japan claim sovereignty over a chain of islands in the East China Sea that covers about 130,000 square kilometers. Tokyo calls them the Senkaku Islands while Beijing calls them the Diaoyu Islands, an area close to major shipping routes and rich in energy reserves.

“There is a greater risk of an unintended incident between Chinese and Japanese forces operating in the East China Sea,” Mr. Hass explained, citing “the frequency of close-in operations involving Chinese and Japanese aircraft, the absence of mature risk-mitigation mechanisms, and the lack of consensus between Beijing and Tokyo on acceptable behavior.”

China's artificial islands in the East Sea. Photo: AP

This expert believes that Japan is a close ally of the US, so if a Japan-China conflict breaks out, the world's largest economy may be forced to get involved because Washington is looking to protect its allies as well as maintain open seas and airspace.

Additionally, if Beijing refuses to allow ships or aircraft to operate in accordance with international law, this would also prompt a White House response, according to Mr. Hass.

Expert Hass also said that for China and Japan, “events in the East China Sea are important because both countries want to use this issue to demonstrate that they are Asian powers.

Mr. Hass pointed out that previous tensions between Tokyo and Beijing quickly attracted public attention, leaving leaders in Beijing and Tokyo with little political space to minimize escalating tensions.

According to the Japanese coast guard, Chinese ships have repeatedly operated near disputed islands in the East China Sea in recent years, while Japanese fighter jets have conducted joint exercises with US aircraft over the territory.

According to Mr. Hass, this move is in contrast to the situation in the East Sea, where issues are considered to have reached a stalemate. Expert Hass emphasized: “In the East Sea, Washington is only able to force Beijing to stop construction activities on artificial islands or make it stop deploying military equipment on these islands by resorting to a military conflict.

Similarly, China cannot force the United States to cease operations in the region without risking a major military conflict that would expose Chinese forces to the risk of defeat and potentially lead to the rapid destruction of the islands.”

The threat of conflict in the resource-rich region will be reduced once “risk mitigation measures in the South China Sea are more mature” than in the East China Sea, said Hass, noting that Washington and Beijing have ways to prevent unsafe clashes./.

Lan Ha

(According to CNBC)