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Crew members take part in a fire drill on China's largest and most advanced patrol vessel Haixun 01 on the South China Sea, April 4, 2016. Haixun 01 is the first Chinese vessel to incorporate marine inspection and rescue functions. The 5,418-tonnage Haixun 01 is 128.6 meters in length, 16 meters in width and can sail for 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km) without refueling. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- On the South China Sea issue, some Western media have spared no efforts to make "news", tapping lies to cover the truth and misguide public opinions thereon, which is considered by experts and scholars to be unfair and misleading."Beijing says 60 countries back stance on international tribunal; only 8 have publicly stated support," wrote the Wall Street Journal in a recent article sub-title.
This is a typical example of how Western media have misrepresented the South China Sea dispute, a hot topic pending the July 12 issuance by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration of an award on an arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines against China.
A quick glimpse of the website of the U.S. magazine The National Interest shows that there are quite a number of articles concerning the South China Sea, including ones titled "China's Reckless South China Sea Strategy Won't Work", and "China's Bogus South China Sea Consensus", among others
Almost all of these headlines are biased in opinion and exaggeratedly worded, without uttering the least responsible words as a magazine in a big media country.
Japan's The Diplomat, America's Business Insider and the Washington Post have frequently mentioned in their reports that China intends to turn the South China Sea into its "internal lake" or "a Chinese lake".
In doing so, they just turned a blind eye to the fact that the South China Sea islands have been part of the Chinese territory under international law and since ancient times, and played up sensational concepts in a bid to wrench the facts and misguide their readers.
Some media even simply fabricate stories in order to smear China, attempting to impress their readers that the situation is tense in the disputed waters.
Abandoning media's principles, the New York Times published in October 2015 an article entitled "U.S. Tells Asian Allies That Navy Will Patrol Near Islands in South China Sea", intending to alienate relations between China and the ASEAN countries.
Some think tanks in the United States and Japan, in the name of academic research, have kept providing Western media with "ammunition" to attack China.
The U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), for instance, has held meetings, issued reports and published satellite images on the South China Sea almost every year since 2011.
It's noteworthy that one of the sponsors of the CSIS is Japan, a close ally of the United States in curbing the rise of China.
In that sense, the arbitration case initiated by the Philippines against China has been heavily reported by some Western media, with biased points of view. But they have been unable to hoodwink clear-minded observers.
Ben Reynolds, a U.S. foreign policy analyst, criticized a recent New York Times editorial "Playing Chicken in the South China Sea", which has exaggerated China's "threat" to the countries in the region and the United States.
Misleading the American public about U.S.-China rivalry in the South China Sea with "well-chosen episodes" is the job of the Defense Department, which should not be done by media, Reynolds said.
David Welch, a professor of political science at Canada's University of Waterloo, shared Reynolds' opinion.
Quite a number of Western media stories on the South China Sea issue have been both inaccurate and unhelpful, Welch said.
On the media coverage, readers almost always see reference to "China's aggressive behavior or China's aggressive land reclamation in the South China Sea," said Welch.
"Labeling China's behavior as aggressive ... in effect contributes to the demonization of China," he said.
Welch said: "If we read the international press you will get the impression that China is hostile, and it's not obviously true."
Related:
China will not be "forced" into accepting South China Sea arbitration decision
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday dismissed the United States plea to accept any decision in the South China Sea arbitration to be announced next week.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is set to announce its final decision next Tuesday in territorial disputes between China and the Philippines. Full story
Commentary: China will not negotiate with Philippines based on arbitration ruling
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China will not negotiate with the Philippines on the basis of any ruling in the case of arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines against China on South China Sea disputes, regardless of whether it will be "in favor of the Philippines."
The new Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, recently said that Manila is ready to talk to China if the South China Sea arbitration tribunal rules in the Philippines' favor on July 12. Full story
Sri Lanka supports China's stance on South China Sea issue
COLOMBO, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government understands China's stance on the South China Sea issue and supports countries concerned in solving the maritime disputes through negotiation, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said on Friday.
He made the remarks when meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Full story
Interview: South China Sea arbitration likely to stir more regional tensions: Italian expert
ROME, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The forthcoming arbitration on the South China Sea dispute by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is likely to stir more tensions in the region, said an Italian expert.
"I reckon the judgement of the court will not help the dialogue between the two parties involved, China and the Philippines, but rather worsen the crisis," Domenico Losurdo, a famous Italian historical philosopher and professor at the University of Urbino, told Xinhua in a recent interview. Full story
Spotlight: U.S. stokes unwanted tensions in South China Sea: Russian experts
MOSCOW, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States' activities in the South China Sea are raising tension unacceptable for the countries in the region and may force China to abandon the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Russian experts said.
"The U.S. has always advanced the freedom of navigation issue in the South China Sea pointing to its special role in world trade, but such an approach is misleading," said Vasily Kashin, a senior research fellow at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the Moscow-based Higher School of Economics (HSE). Full story
African media voice support for China's stance on South China Sea
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China's position on the South China Sea is getting more support from international experts, said several media from African countries while commenting on the unilateral arbitration initiative by the Philippines.
Manila has been unilaterally pressing ahead to bring a maritime dispute with China to an international tribunal since January 2013. Full story
Equatorial Guinean ruling party calls for peaceful solution to South China Sea dispute
MALABO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Jeronimo Osa Osa Ecoro, Secretary General of Equatorial Guinean ruling Democratic Party, on Thursday called for peaceful solution to the South China Sea dispute.
In an interview with Xinhua, Osa insisted that the disputed countries should solve their dispute through dialogues and negotiations. Full story
PARIS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Arbitration by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) following the unilateral application of the Philippines over its dispute with China in the South China Sea "would endanger the peace and stability" in the region, said French sinologue Pierre Picquart.
"What seems questionable is a so-called 'international arbitration,' unrecognized by China, trying to impose a settlement between Beijing and Manila," Picquart told Xinhua in a recent interview. Full story
PNG says respecting China's position on South China Sea
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) said on Thursday that it respected China's position on the South China Sea issue and supported direct consultation between parties concerned.
PNG upholds that maritime disputes should be peacefully resolved by parties directly concerned through consultation and negotiation in accordance with international law, according to a joint press release between China and the PNG, issued after the meeting between President Xi Jinping and visiting PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill at the Great Hall of the People. Full story
