Assurances from Xi Jinping are not worth the paper they are printed on.
This article refers to events in 2015 and 2016 but is always relevant because it proves that Xi Jinping likes to make assurances but has no thought whatsoever about following through on those promises.
In detail.
Xi Jinping had violated his commitment to keep the Spratly Islands free from militarization.
The Chinese President had assured in 2015 that the construction activities in the Spratlys were non-military and not aimed at any specific country.
However, new findings by a U.S. think tank, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, revealed the installation of military point-defence capabilities, including anti-aircraft guns and potential close-in weapons systems (CIWS) on China-controlled features in the Spratly Islands.
This development not only signified a clear departure from Xi’s pledge but also indicated a shift in China’s rhetoric, as the Chinese Ministry of Defense openly acknowledged the deployment of defense facilities in the Nansha Islands. The earlier narrative of dual-use facilities providing plausible deniability for military intentions faded.. The acknowledgement by the Chinese Defense Ministry labeled these deployments as “necessary military facilities,” marking a more straightforward approach to the militarization of the region.
China’s previous ambiguity regarding the definition of militarization in the South China Sea became less tenable, especially considering its contrasting views on its own activities versus those of the United States.
While Beijing characterizes its actions as complementary to civilian applications, it accuses U.S. actions, such as freedom of navigation operations and patrols, as attempts to militarize the area.
The takeaway from this Chinese behavior that is still valid today is:
Never trust assurances from communist China!
More on The Diplomat
https://thediplomat.com/2016/12/its-official-xi-jinping-breaks-his-non-militarization-pledge-in-the-spratlys/
