Beijing may be using the coronavirus pandemic to advance its interests in the South China Sea
"China may be hoping to both send a message to other countries involved in the South China Sea that China will not back down under any circumstances, and send a message to a domestic population about the strong leadership of the party," she added.The coronavirus, which has infected over two million people globally, first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year.
"This would send the wrong signal back home and to the international community — that there's a let-up in asserting such interests that concern sovereignty and rights," he said, explaining that could be why China has had to maintain its activity in the South China Sea. The U.S. doesn't claim any parts of the South China Sea as its own but has long promoted the "freedom of navigation" by air and sea across the waterway, which Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing.
— or an estimated 15 million barrels per day — passed through those waters in 2016. Data by the EIA also showed that the South China Sea is rich in resources, containing some 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in proved and probable reserves can be found there.Following the sinking of the Vietnamese fishing boat, the U.S. hit out at China, saying it's "seriously concerned" by reports of what Beijing did.
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