LETTERS: The 2023 China Standard Map issued by Beijing's Natural Resources Ministry has raised the ire of many countries.
The new map repeats Beijing's claim over Arunachal Pradesh, the Aksai Chin region, Taiwan, and the South China Sea, all of which remain disputed.
It includes maritime areas within Malaysia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
The South China Sea is critical for Beijing to protect its near water dominance and to secure the area from the West, treating it as its own backyard.
It sits at the crossroads of all major continents and is the vital linkway connecting Asia to Europe and to the Middle East.
Around a third of total world trade, about US$5 trillion, passes though it, as well as having estimated oil and gas reserves of more than seven billion barrels.
China's self-delineated maritime border, the so called Nine-Dash-Line, overlaps with all other claimants' exclusive economic zones.
The main archipelagos of Spratly, Paracel, the Scarborough Shoal as well as the Macclesfield Bank, are all claimed by Beijing.
These areas are increasingly militarised by China and its vast fishing fleet is venturing further, backed by a powerful coast guard.
China's intentions in the South China Sea are shaped through economic, trade, resources and maritime considerations.
Chief among them will be preserving its security needs by controlling its so-called backyard and challenging the US in its continental home.
Around 80 per cent of China's crude oil needs pass through the South China Sea, and the substantial oil reserves there are attractive to Beijing.
China now has the world's largest navy and coastguard, as a result of a tenfold increase in military spending since 1995, expanding its naval footprint throughout the world, beyond the South China Sea.
China's nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) are now prowling the South China Sea at all times, ensuring a second-strike capability against the US and the West in the event of a full-blown Taiwan conflict.
The new JL-3 class submarines allows China to cement its bastion strategy in the South China Sea to protect its swarm of SSBNs using existing land-based anti-missile systems and its fortified islands, without the need to sail into the Western Pacific to launch their Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs).
This new range of the SLBMs of more than 10,000km puts the continental US, Hawaii and Alaska within range of these weapons.
China is exhibiting increasing bellicosity and intimidation, including the laser incident and the water cannoning of Philippine vessels.
Sensing the futility of Asean and regional players' policy responses due to their lack of deterrent capacity and economic dependence on China, Beijing is consolidating its military and security interests in these critical zones.
Various confidence building measures and conflict prevention mechanisms have also failed to address the core causes of regional tensions, which have further escalated security dilemmas and arms races.
Beijing has accused the West of destabilising the region.
However, Beijing's increasing hard power projection and intimidation are what caused regional jitters and fears in the first place.
COLLINS CHONG YEW KEAT
Universiti Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times