Why is China so Stubborn by Erick San Juan

Why is China so Stubborn by Erick San Juan

Why is China so stubborn and recently stated in a report that they will ignore the UN tribunal/UNCLOS’ decision on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Even the persistent call of the claimants (and the rest of the ASEAN members) in the disputed territories with the prodding of the United States for China to stop its reclamation ops in the name of freedom of navigation. All efforts were in vain because China is still expanding its territories through reclamation and stationing its military on the said reclaimed areas. And they firmly stated to all parties concerned in the territorial disputes that they will settle the issue through bilateral dialogue and no outside parties (like the U.S.) to take part.

“This foreign policy viewpoint is not new; similar tenets were laid out in the 1996 book "China Can Say No".The book was a collection of impassioned essays decrying Western disdain for China, and the importance of China being able to defend its interests against Western attempts at containment. In an interview with National History, one of the authors, Song Qiang, later admitted that the tone of the book might have gone overboard — 'we basically wanted to shock people or die trying,’ he said — but he stood by the basic premise. China must “say no… to the culture of foreigner worship, no the mentality of inferiority,” Song said.

Many of the ideas in China Can Say No remain highly influential in Chinese foreign policy thinking today, both at the grassroots and the official level. First, Western countries (particularly the U.S.) are believed to be conspiring against China, with the goal of preventing China from reclaiming the power and influence it enjoyed prior to the Opium Wars and the “century of national humiliation.” If anything, this idea has grown more pervasive in the last 20 years, as China and the U.S. are increasingly acknowledged to be in a strategic competition for influence in the Asia-Pacific (and even as far away as the African continent).

As a result, Chinese people view their country as a victim, as Wang noted, a lone fighter trying to eke out its fair share of global influence from the established powers. The idea that “China can say no” still holds powerful emotional sway today — in fact, as China’s power (whether military, economic, or diplomatic) has grown, the expectation has only grown that China can and will “say no” to foreign challenges to China’s national interests. Accordingly, Beijing is pushing hard for a re-evaluation of issues that the U.S. has long considered routine (such as arms sales to Taiwan and presidential meetings with the Dalai Lama). China previously accepted such insults because it was weak, the thinking goes. Now that China is strong, all bets are off.” (Source: The ‘China Can Say No’ Effect, the Diplomat online, August 7, 2014)

With this policy in place and China’s military strength being used in extending its territories without consideration to its neighbors, a regional conflict will surely happen.

Remembering the not so fiction book by Humphrey Hawksley and Simon Holberton, Dragon Strike: The Millennium War, a futuristic book which was published in April 1997 wherein events in East Asia have served to confirm the authors’ fear about China’s ascendancy as a superpower in the offing. I have written this in details way back in 1998 and was published by several newspapers on how China will start a war in the South/East China Sea due to its expansionist goal as an emerging superpower.

As I have written in that article almost two decades ago that the threat of another “Yellow Peril” is no fragment of the imagination. It is as real as you and me. But what worries me most is that in the event of a Chinese offensive, the members of the ASEAN would probably take a non-confrontational line. In short, “a military response from these nations is not expected. Even collectively, they are no match for China. The wealth in those countries are basically controlled by Chinese businessmen just like here in the Philippines. They might live away from China, but they cultivated contact with the Communist leadership in order to win contracts.” This is the honest opinion of Hawksley and Holberton, and I agree.

I’ve been saying this so many times in my radio program, in my writings and speaking engagements that countries like ours should fear China from within because in the process we will be overtaken (and later conquered) without firing a single shot. That’s why my call to all Chinoys who are already part of our race to say their piece and be firm to take their stand against China or help in the back door negotiation if push comes to shove that the Filipinos will be challenged by China’s aggressiveness.

If China can say no so can we if we will stand united to keep our sovereignty intact against foreigners – enemy or friend.