China's stern rejection of the international ruling released in July does not necessarily constitute that the nation intends to threaten global peace according to an expert.
Professor of International Relations Zhu Feng who also serves as the executive director of Nanjing University's China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea explained in an article published in Bloomberg that China's recent actions do no constitute a threat to world order.
Instead, he said, the country merely wishes that other nations recognize and respect its position while maintaining global peace.
Exaggerated Response
According to Zhu, the conflict between China and its neighboring countries became worse because of the exaggerated reaction from the U.S. and other Westerners.
While he noted that bashing China during the election year is unavoidable, 2016 saw a great increase in such incidents that it is a wonder how the proud Middle Kingdom is able to tolerate it without launching a missile or two to the West.
He also explained that while they may have the right to defend their country, the Chinese right-wingers' reactions were not helpful at all.
In fact, Zhu pointed out that China is not the first to defy an international ruling as the situation has a couple of precedents that involved top-tier countries like U.K., Russia, and even the U.S.
The Americans' defiance of international court ruling had been featured in a Wall Street Journal article which highlighted how the U.S. ignored the decision of the court in a case filed in the 1980s by Nicaragua.
China's Intentions Clarified
With that said, Zhu pointed out that like other countries, China benefits from world peace and have no reason to destabilize it.
"China's critics are right about one thing: The country has benefited greatly from the rules-based order in place since the end of World War II -- and indeed, from the U.S. security presence in the Pacific, which has given China the space to concentrate on its economic development," Zhu explained.
Furthermore, China had continued to be a promoter of strict rules and constitutions so much so that it had won 21 out 36 World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration cases since it joined in 2001.
According to Zhu, China's reaction to the arbitration case filed by the Philippines was merely natural for a nation that seeks respect and influence it thinks it deserves.
He also noted that while it may not have been that obvious, the Philippines may have been intending to increase its clout over the South China Sea when it decided to file the case in the first place.