Structure installation called 'classic attempt to change the status quo' that makes illegal activity look legitimate
China accused of distorting legal grounds to expand influence over Taiwan, South China Sea as well
China's installation of structures in the West Sea is an attempt to strengthen its control by altering the status quo, a US Pacific Command official said. The official added that regional allies and partner countries need to respond jointly.
"Deploying and controlling infrastructure while deliberately trying to change the status quo is a very common tactic that China uses," the official said Tuesday (local time) during a briefing for reporters from South Korea and other Asia-Pacific countries at Pacific Command headquarters at Camp Smith in Hawaii.
China has repeatedly installed structures without authorization in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) in the West Sea, an area where South Korea and China's exclusive economic zones overlap. This has sparked friction with the South Korean government.
The PMZ was established when South Korea and China signed a fisheries agreement in 2000 to resolve fishing disputes in the overlapping 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones. China has since installed Sunlan No. 1 (2018) and Sunlan No. 2 (2024) inside the PMZ under the guise of deep-sea salmon farming facilities. In 2022, it added an oil-rig-like structure it described as a management facility. China moved the management facility out of the PMZ following a South Korea-China summit in January, but the other two structures remain in place.
"China claims its actions have legal grounds and legitimacy, but in practice there is no such basis -- it is misleading the international community into believing it can act legally when it cannot," the Pacific Command official said. "China is trying to monopolize the area and secure control, establishing a foothold and building up its presence through patrols and continuous activity, all while attempting to change the status quo." The official urged regional allies and partner countries to join forces in response, saying, "We need to expose this together and stand up to it together."
The official acknowledged that economic ties with China make it difficult for countries to respond assertively, but said, "Each country needs to look beyond the economic impact and think further ahead -- to consider how this kind of behavior from China affects their own sovereignty and sovereign decision-making."
The official described this pattern of Chinese behavior as an example of so-called "lawfare" -- the practice of distorting or misusing law and legal logic to achieve strategic goals.
Pacific Command defines lawfare as the act of distorting or misusing law to achieve strategic objectives and secure legal superiority. It often does this by twisting international law or agreements between states to lend legitimacy to one's own actions. The command runs a Lawfare Response Center. It currently shares information and seeks joint responses through a multilateral lawfare response coordination group involving more than 13 countries, including allies and partners.
The briefing that day focused heavily on introducing various examples of the lawfare tactics China employs in the region.
The official said China invokes its domestic law to claim legal legitimacy for what it calls unification with Taiwan through "non-peaceful means." The official added that China conducts law-enforcement activities under its own domestic law in waters around Taiwan over which it has no jurisdiction.
In the South China Sea, the official cited cases in which China claims its domestic laws on fishing moratoriums and coast guard operations apply within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. China uses that claim as grounds to restrict the activities of Philippine vessels and fishermen.
"Lawfare is an incredibly powerful tool that is being used across the board today," the official said. "It undermines the rule of law and threatens peace, security and stability in the region."
yckim6452@heraldcorp.com
