The UK has helped the us in trying to
thwart China's growing authority in the
south china sea, where they have engulfed
contested island clusters with monstrous
island fortresses. Hostility between China and the UK spiked in september this year when
britain announced it would send its
warship HMS Queen Elizabeth to the
region sparking fury in Beijing.
Major General Su Guangwi, China's defense
attache to britain said at the time if
the US and UK join hands in a challenge
or violate the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of China that
would be hostile action.
The UK has periodically sent ships to
the South China Sea to help other powers
to fight China's controversial nine-dash
line claim. In september 2018 a similar waters
patrol was undertaken aboard the UK's HMS Albion.
Tensions appeared to have spiraled out
of control when beijing sent a frigate
and two helicopters to the region, suggesting a military challenge was
imminent. However as reuters reported at the time
the encounter didn't result in any
hostility.
Beijing sent a chilling warning in
response to the action though, telling
those in London that china will continue
to take all necessary measures to defend
its sovereignty and security.
But the UK isn't the only european
country to undermine Beijing's stubborn
claim. In september last year France send its Frigate Dixmute to the highly
contentious spratly islands an area
which the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia also have claimed over.
.
The nine-dash line claim highlights
waters which china claims historical
sovereignty over, although international
bodies have ruled that the claim is
illegitimate.
China has turned the spratly islands
into a series of military bases by
moving its aircraft carriers into the
region as well as installing airstrips
and weapons. The elaborate nature of china's
occupation in the contested islands has
earned it the nickname, the great wall of
sand described by many as island
fortresses china has engulfed the south
china sea with man-made island bases.
A leaked set of photos given to a
filipino newspaper showed just how
elaborate the developments on military
bases have been, some photographs showed cargo ships and
supply vessels which the newspaper said
appeared to be delivering construction
materials to the china-controlled
islands.
Others show runways, hangers control
towers, helipads and radomes as well as a
series of multi-story buildings that
china has built on reefs. The South China Sea is hotly contested
because of its lucrative shipping lanes, capacity for military strategic
advantages and wealth of natural
resources such as oil and minerals.
At the center of this disagreement are
various island clusters such as the
spratly islands and the paracel islands. China has had particularly tense
relations with Vietnam and the Philippines over islands in the region.
