The new China syndrome

A Dolphin Z-9 helicopter from the Chinese missile frigate Yulin lands on the Singapore Navy's Intrepid during the two states' joint 'Exercise Maritime Co-operation 2015' this week. Photo / AP

US alarm bells as Asian power blames ‘grave and complex array of security threats’ for bolder military stance.

China's armed forces are to extend their operations and the air force will become an offensive as well as defensive force for the first time, in a major shift in policy that will strengthen fears of accidental conflict.

A policy document by the state council, or Cabinet, said China faced a "grave and complex array of security threats", justifying the change.

The People's Liberation Army, including its navy and air force, will be allowed to "project power" further beyond its borders at sea and more assertively in the air in order to safeguard its maritime possessions, according to the policy document.

The navy will add "open seas protection" to a traditional remit of "offshore waters defence".

The Yulin's guns open fire. Photo / AP

The posture risks escalating tensions over disputed islands in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific, where the United States is determined to protect the interests of allies such as Taiwan and the Philippines.

Only last week, a US aircraft ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese military to fly a reconnaissance mission over the islands.

The Global Times, a tabloid newspaper run by the Communist Party, said China might have to "accept" that there would be conflict with the US.

"If the United States' bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea," said the newspaper.

State media reported yesterday that Beijing had begun building two lighthouses on reefs in the Spratly Islands, a smattering of outcrops that are claimed by an array of countries, including not only China, but also Vietnam and the Philippines.

Last month, satellite imagery revealed the Chinese had almost completed an airstrip on another reef, Fiery Cross, while they are turning another rock, Mischief Reef, into a full island through land reclamation.

The Global Times described the construction of runways and harbour facilities on the Spratly Islands as the nation's "most important bottom line".

Yang Yujun, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry, dismissed international criticism of China's policies in the South China Sea, claiming the work was the same as building roads and homes on mainland China.

"From the perspective of sovereignty, there is absolutely no difference," he said.

Analysts say neither Washington nor Beijing appears to be in the mood to back down and that a minor incident in airspace around the islands could escalate rapidly.

"I think the concern has to be that China misjudges the situation," said Professor Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at the Japan campus of Temple University.

"Neither party wants a war if it can be avoided, but there are red lines for both sides," he said. "I worry that Beijing considers the US to be a declining power and assumes Washington will back down if it shoots down a US observation aircraft."

Washington chose to "de-escalate" a major crisis that blew up after a Chinese fighter collided with a US navy intelligence-gathering aircraft off Hainan Island in April 2001.

However, Dujarric said there would be a different response if a similar incident were to occur in what Washington insists is international airspace over the South China Sea.

Ma Ying Jeou, the President of Taiwan, recently called on the different nations laying claim to the South China Sea to put their differences aside and carry out joint development of natural resources.

China already uses its navy in far-flung places such as the Gulf of Aden to protect shipping. But Japan and other US allies believe the country is intent on projecting its naval resources further across the Pacific region.