Don't ignore the soft content

Efforts to build China into a sea power include pursuing 'converging interests' with others in oceanic development

At a study session with members of the Party leadership on July 30, China's top leader Xi Jinping championed efforts to build the country into a maritime power. His remarks aroused concerns that China's policy to address disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea has changed. There are suspicions that China intends to rely on its military capabilities rather than peaceful approaches, such as dialogue and negotiation, to deal with the tensions, and that this will raise the risk of potential clashes, which would not only be against the interests of countries in the region, but also the interests of the United States.

As a rising power, China's current naval capabilities do not match its development level. The strengthening of its capabilities and increasing expenditure on building itself into a maritime power have not exceeded the normal level for a country at its stage of development, and accordingly, China should not be questioned or blamed.