According to an American political professor, the United States is pursuing an ‘expansionist agenda’ in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The rival Chinese government on Taiwan, the Republic of China, lays claim to the same territory and has built on and occupied islands in the South China Sea years before the People’s Republic of China began similar reclamations,” he pointed out.
“In addition the countries that claim the territory today did not even exist at the time China's claims to the territory were first announced,” he observed.
Etler further said that the US selectively challenges China's presence in the South China Sea to suit its own “expansionist agenda which has nothing to do with the laws of the sea, the treaty for which the US has adamantly refused to sign.”
“Taipei, like Beijing, has also said that ‘the future developments’ in the South China Sea will be carried out ‘with the aim of peace, to make it a hub for humanitarian assistance, environmental protection, and scientific research in the Spratly Islands.”
The professor pointed out the irony in the case saying that the US has never protested Chinese claims to the South China Sea when they originated from Taipei, “but has a conniption fit when they emanate from Beijing. This double standard fully exposes the hypocrisy of the US position and its lack of legitimacy,” he noted.
China has accused the United States of interfering in the regional issues and purposely stirring up tensions in the South China Sea. Beijing says it is determined to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the South China Sea.
