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Sanctions Signal Tougher US Stance toward Beijing over South China Sea

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - First-time U.S. sanctions against a group of Chinese
   companies believed to have helped China fortify disputedisletsin an
   Asian sea signal a tougher policy by Washington toward its rival
   superpower's maritime expansion, analysts say.

   The Bureau of Industry and Security under the U.S. Department of
   Commerce added 24 Chinese companies to a list that the bureau uses to
   restrict exports, re-exports and in-country transfers of items that
   could flout national security or foreign policy interests.

   Companies landed on the list because they helped the Chinese military
   "construct and militarize the internationally condemned artificial
   islands in the South China Sea," the department said in an August 26
   statement. Those islets, many built on reclaimed land, now support
   hangars, radar facilities and small civilian populations.

   The sanctions won't hurt the target companies but show the United
   States is toughening its stance, long term, toward Chinese expansion in
   the South China Sea, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese
   Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank in Taiwan.

   Washington does not claimany ofthe 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea but
   wants it kept open for international use. Brunei, Malaysia, the
   Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam dispute all or part of China's claims
   to about 90% of the waterway, which is valued for fisheries and energy
   reserves. Expansion of the islets contributed to China's military lead
   over the other governments.

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