China’s dubious and ridiculous claim that the Scarborough Shoal and the entire South China Sea (aka East Vietnam Sea, aka West Philippines Sea) is part of its territory runs contrary to what its own defense minister, Liang Guanglie said in the June 2011 Asian Security Summit in Singapore. He declared in no uncertain terms that “there has always been freedom of navigation in the South China Sea because NOBODY OWNS IT”.

The latest events expose Beijing’s imperialist ambitions beyond the Great Firewall and are intended as a sleight-of-hand to draw the attention of its propaganda-ridden population away from growing cracks and differences in opinion within the communist political and military leadership.