Power to the (Blogging) People

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
NYT

Beijing

This moment was inevitable. Ever since China began to shuck off communism and turn itself into a global economic power, its leaders have followed the strategy of a “peaceful rise” — be modest, act prudently, don’t frighten the neighbors and certainly don’t galvanize any coalition against us. But in recent years, with the U.S. economic model having suffered an embarrassing self-inflicted shock, and the “Beijing Consensus” humming along, voices have emerged in China saying “the future belongs to us” and maybe we should let the world, or at least the ’hood, know that a little more affirmatively. For now, those voices come largely from retired generals and edgy bloggers — and the Chinese leadership has remained cautious. But a diplomatic spat this past summer has China’s neighbors, not to mention Washington, wondering for how long China will keep up the gentle giant act. With an estimated 70 million bloggers, China’s leaders are under constant pressure now to be more assertive by a populist- and nationalist-leaning blogosphere, which, in the absence of democratic elections, is becoming the de facto voice of the people.

The diplomatic fracas was a session of the regional forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, held July 23 in Hanoi. In attendance were foreign ministers of the 10 Asean members, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi. According one of the diplomats who sat in on the meeting, the Asean ministers took turns subtly but firmly cautioning China to back off from its decision to claim “indisputable sovereignty” over the whole resource-rich South China Sea, which stretches from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan over to Vietnam and carries about half the world’s merchant cargo each year. Its seabed is also believed to hold major reserves of oil and gas, and lately China’s Navy has become more aggressive in seizing fishing boats alleged to have infringed on its sovereignty there. China also has been embroiled in maritime disputes with South Korea and Japan.

As one minister after another got up at the Asean meeting to assert claims in the South China Sea or argue that any territorial disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, the Chinese foreign minister grew increasingly agitated, according to a participant. And after Mrs. Clinton spoke and insisted that the South China Sea was an area where America had “a national interest” in “freedom of navigation,” the Chinese foreign minister asked for a brief adjournment and then weighed in.

(More here.)

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