The emergence of China as an economic superpower

Over the weekend, Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian traveled on a military C-130 aircraft to the heavily disputed Taiping Island in order to inaugurate a runway or otherwise assert Taiwan's claim on the island. Taiping Island is the largest island of the Spratly Islands archipelago, consisting of more than 100 rocky islets, reefs and atolls in the South China Sea. While Taiwan, who ironically has the weakest claim to the islands, claims only Taiping Island, neighboring countries including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei hold full or partial claims to the Spratly Islands.

But the real conflict of interest here is between China and Vietnam, not Taiwan or anybody else. In 1988, the two communist countries had drew arms and underwent a naval battle near the Johnson Reefs of Spratly Islands. Casualties? 70 or more Vietnamese sailors.

Perhaps this is the reason why China is so mute in Taiwan's unilateral move this time time around. Whereas Vietnam and Philippines are crying foul, Beijing isn't nearly as sensitive to Taiwan's territorial claim as before. Why? Some mainland Chinese believes that "Chen is finally doing something right." Taiwan, albeit a renegade, is nonetheless Chinese, and therefore any presence on the Spratly Islands that is inherently "Chinese" is good enough to remind other claimants of the "Chineseness" of the Islands.

Good thing that Taiwan is easing the pressure off Vietnam for China, because Beijing is not looking for trouble ahead of the Summer Olympics, a time Beijing's public enemies will use carefully to facilitate their own ends. Clashes between fishing boats in South China Sea and anti-Chinese riots in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were timed impeccably to utilize this timeframe. But at least Taiwan is partially on China's side, at least for now.