China takes to soft power to assert maritime claims

BEIJING — China’s military has dispatched ships and planes — and even built new islands — to assert its maritime claims. Now, it is deploying a new set of tools to uphold Chinese sovereignty: Magicians, singers and actors.

Famed singer of patriotic anthems Song Zuying headlined a tour of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands this week, underscoring Beijing’s confidence in asserting its increasingly dominant position in the disputed region.

The performance, entitled The People’s Navy Advances, included songs, skits and magic, part of a long tradition of People’s Liberation Army art troupes putting on shows to entertain, promote ideological conformity and stir public pride in the military and ruling Communist Party.

Among the songs performed: Ode to the South Sea Defenders, the lyrics of which describe “a troop of stout men with guns in their hands who battle the wind and fight the waves to guard the nation’s door”.

“On stilted platforms in the South Sea, (China’s) five-starred red flag flaps in the wind, I’ve tasted all types of bitterness in the South Sea, (but) the people’s happiness is my pride and glory,” continues the song.

Ms Song is a star of the military arts troupe, who once performed with Celine Dion. She was a big hit with the construction workers and naval officers who attended the shows, reported the official Xinhua News Agency. The event was also recorded for broadcast by state-run CCTV.

“I was so excited for ... the troupe to come to the front-line islands,” said garrison member Huang Tianjun, who is stationed atop Fiery Cross Reef. “We will most definitely hold fast here and defend every inch of the reef.”

Along with the reef, known as Yongshu in Chinese, where China has constructed a runway capable of handling its largest military aircraft, the performers also visited smaller Cuarteron Reef. Alongside China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all claim territory in the area.

Photos of the shows on state media yesterday offered a rare glimpse of the extensive work China has been carrying out in the area, showing lighthouses, harbours and buildings, all built atop coral reefs covered in sand and concrete. In the background of some can be seen one of the navy’s massive Type 071 amphibious dock ships, capable of carrying four helicopters and as many as 800 troops.

Tensions have been rising in the area, partly because the United States has refused to acknowledge China’s newly built territories as enjoying the legal status of naturally occurring islands, with accompanying territorial seas and exclusive economic zones.

Although it takes no formal stance on sovereignty claims, Washington has insisted on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and the US Navy has sailed and flown past and over the new islands to drive home the point, prompting an angry response from Beijing. AP