CHINA-SOUTH CHINA SEA
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Liang Fang, a professor at China's National Defense University (NDU), published an article on the website of China's state-run Global Times on June 5, 2015 where he attributed three reasons for the US making moves to heighten tension in the South China Sea region. According to Liang Fang these are: (i) that it is concerned that China's land reclamation efforts on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea will reduce the US's projection power in the region. Liang said that the US believes that after finishing its construction in the region, China will then control it, a scenario they do not wish to see; (ii) that it wishes to get Japan involved in the South China Sea issue as well. The US is making much of tensions in the region because it wants Japan to deploy troops there; (iii) that the US is eager to hit back at China for its undercutting of the Strait of Malacca. Liang Fang added that China's Belt and Road initiatives have broken through the US attempt to blockade the world's second largest economy. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of the Belt and Road plan, is a particular bone of contention for the US, as this provides a route for energy imports to pass directly from the North Indian Ocean to China, which decreases the strategic importance of the Strait of Malacca.Liang Fang said also that the US now places more importance on the South China Sea than the Strait of Malacca.
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