China changes maritime strategy,might lead to direct confrontation with US

China8217;s experts on the international law of the sea said the move suggested a significant change in China8217;s maritime strategy and development policy,while others apprehend that it could lead to direct confrontation.

It is assumed that the PLA Navy is getting active near the Pacific island of Guam,an important outpost for the US military in the Western Pacific,as the waters around Hawaii and along the West Coast of the United States are still too distant for operations by the PLA Navy,the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

Zhao Yadan,a maritime expert with Shanghai University of Political Science and Law,said that it was a significant development in China8217;s maritime policy and suggested that 8220;Beijing is moving towards international norms8221;.

8220;That says that Beijing is accepting the international norms,which emphasise the right of free navigation on the high seas,8221; the Post quoted him as saying.

Ni Lexiong,director of the university8217;s Institute of Maritime Strategy and National Defence Policy,said it reflected Chinese leaders8217; 8220;changing concept of maritime

affairs following the rapid development of China8217;s maritime industry and rising strength of its naval force in the past decade8221;.

China and the US have struggled to agree on rules for operating on high seas amid rising tensions across the region as China8217;s military strength grows. In the past month,Japan has detected three foreign submarines near the Okinawa Islands.

Japanese officials say they know the nationality of the vessels and have made diplomatic representations to that government,the Post report said. Beijing has long complained about US warships exercising their right of passage through China8217;s EEZ. The decision to exercise the same right in America8217;s backyard is an indication

to Washington that Beijing now has the capability to do so.

A professor of international relations at Tokyo8217;s Meiji University,Go Ito,said China8217;s position was hypocritical because it thought of its 200 nautical mile EEZ as its 8220;exclusive political zone and its territory8221;.

He said Japan had been watching the PLA Navy carefully for some time and he believed China would use it submarines to expand the scope of its activities in the Pacific.

8220;The potential for a confrontation is serious,8221; he said. Qi Jianguo,deputy chief of general staff of the PLA,told the Shangrila dialogue forum two days ago that China is committed to work for sustained peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region but at the same would remain steadfast in safeguarding its core national interests.