Spotlight: Syrian politicians stress China's right of sovereignty over South China Sea territories

Syrian political experts have stressed that China has a full right of sovereignty over the South China Sea territories, pointing out that the United States works to create "tension spots" with its allies to affect China politically and economically.

Washington has always emerged as a power supporting separatist movements in Tibet and Taiwan, even though indirectly, with the aim of tightening the noose on China economically, given the economic importance of the contested islands in the South China Sea.

Osama Danura, a political analyst who holds a PhD in political science, told Xinhua that the issue of the South China Sea constitutes an important strategic risk system the United States is working to get China busy with.

"The risk system is related to the competition in the South China Sea in terms of the contested islands, the eastern Turkestan region, and the U.S. support to the separatist movement in Taiwan," further explained Danura, who is also a member of the government negotiating delegation to the Syrian talks in Geneva.

He said the importance of the South China Sea emanates from being a hub where one third of the World's maritime cargo passes through, adding that the U.S. influence in that area could pose an economic risk to China.

"China has a historic right in these contested islands and water. It's a fixed right mentioned in the history books, which is irrefutable," he said.

He added that Washington, through its allies such as Japan, repeats its "strategic provocations" in that area to annoy China and create a severe dispute in that area to exhaust China diplomatically, strategically and economically.

"China is serious in drawing redlines in the face of any attempt by the U.S. to capitalize on the situation in this area," he said, noting that the South China Sea issue could be "concocted by the United States, but interfering in it could expose the U.S. to a hot fire."

Resolving the issue, Danura noted, could be done by "finding direct partnership mechanisms among the contesting countries in that region, which are disputing over the regional water, the economic and vital atmosphere as well as the contested islands."

For his part, Omar al-Mekdad, a Syrian journalist and expert in the Chinese affairs, told Xinhua that the crisis in the South China Sea is one of the most important international crisis, as the trade volume that passes through the area has an economic value of 5,000 billion U.S. dollars annually.

"The United States is always behind any crisis that erupts in the world," al-Mekdad charged.

On Tuesday, a decision will be made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over who has legitimate rights over the disputed waters.

China has recently stressed that the only way out of the dispute is through bilateral talks and friendly dialogue, warning the Philippines that it does not accept or recognize any decision by the tribunal.

Hong Lei, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, told a news conference recently that "China will never accept nor recognize whatever ruling the tribunal may produce, and China does not accept any proposal or action by any country based on the ruling."

Meanwhile, al-Mekdad expected the decision that will be given in The Hague to be "politicized and taken without observing the facts about China's rightful claim in the South China Sea territory."

Last week, Syria's state-run SANA news agency published a statement by the National Progressive Front (NPF), which is a political alliance of parties in Syria that supports the ruling al-Baath party in Syria, in which the NPF stressed full backing to China in the case of the South China Sea.

"These islands cannot be parted from the Chinese territories, and the disputes that have been created around this issue are fomented when some countries took over the islands in a way that runs counter to the laws and norms adopted in the relations between countries," the statement read.

Resolving these disputes should take place far from any foreign interventions, it said, noting that rules and mechanisms for reaching plausible and proper solutions must be put in motion. Endit