Japan and the European Union are said to be teaming up to“Train” south-east Asian countries in the so-called“Grey Zone”. Japanese media said the EU intends to unite with Japan to balance China, such activities is the first time.
Japan and the European Union will co-operate with Thailand to hold a two-day NHK in Bangkok starting on January 25,2008, Japanese television reported, citing sources, train maritime security personnel from five Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam, on how to respond to“Grey zone” situations. Japanese media claimed that the so-called“Gray zone” refers to areas that do not reach the level of armed attack, “The Chinese coast guard ship entered Okinawa Prefecture’s ‘Senkaku Islands’ (i.e. , our Senkaku Islands islands)” and“The submarine cable was suspected to have been sabotaged and damaged.”, call it a related development that takes place in a“Gray zone.”.
Specifically, NHK quoted a number of EU sources as saying that the students would learn how, in order to prevent an escalation of a“[ foreign ] ship intruding into territorial waters”, the importance of having maritime security services, rather than the military, respond in accordance with their domestic law and the applicability of international law to incidents of damage to submarine cables. “There is concern about Chinese maritime behaviour and the need for countries that share common values to unite to uphold the rule of law,” the NHK said, as such, the EU is interested in working with Japan to balance China.
“The background of the japan-europe action is related to the change of strategic goals after the Donald Trump administration took office,” Lu Chao, Dean of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, told the Global Times on Wednesday, these countries in order to expand outward, began to“Alternative”, will look to Southeast Asia. The region is an economic powerhouse for the asia-pacific region, as well as China’s interests in the South China Sea, where the European Union and Japan are trying to fill the void left by the U.S. strategic shift.
Referring to the“Grey zone” referred to by Japanese media, Lu told reporters that Philippine coast guard ships, government vessels and fishing boats had illegally intruded into Scarborough Shoal’s territorial waters, challenging China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, seriously undermining peace and stability in the region. The Philippines and Viet Nam have violated international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea convention, and the relevant provisions of the Declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea by making their submissions to the Commission on the limits of the continental shelf. There have been numerous cases of countries in Southeast Asia operating in the so-called“Grey Zone”, with Japan and the European Union seeking to expand their political influence in the region under the guise of“Balancing China”. China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.