China has upset many countries in the Asia-Pacific region with its release of a new official map that lays claim to most of the South China Sea, as well as to contested parts of India and Russia, and official objections continue to mount. What is the map, and why is it upsetting people so much?

It seems significant, then, that Beijing chose to release the map on the heels of a late August meeting of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and just before China is to participate in top-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20 rich and developing nations.

In releasing the map now, Beijing is widely seen as signaling it has no intention of backing down on any of its claims and is making sure that its positions are fresh in the minds of other countries in the region.

    • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yes. This could be considered a whataboutism. But that’s not always a bad thing. See here. Context matters. This article puts China in a negative light. I’m not defending China’s actions. I think it is inflammatory. But I also felt obligated to relay the hypocrisy of America.

      It might even be that the whataboutism serves a function in forcing the speakers to both recognize a common, underlying factor to both sides of the argument.

      • Melco@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Why do you feel obligated to bring a 3rd party country, which is not mentioned at all in the article, into the discussion? Its a common discussion hijacking technique.

        By obligated do you mean contractually obligated to scan the Internet and inject “American bad” into every article about China? If so, how much does that pay?

        This discussion is about a map China just drew, America has nothing to do with it.

        • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The Independent published the article. They are based in the UK. It is in their interest as part of the capitalist hegemony, led by America to make China look bad (the enemy). I just pushed back against that narrative. It was not my intention to highjack the discussion. Also, I was the first to comment, so there was nothing to highjack at the time.

          • Melco@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            So first to comment, wow, don’t they pay an extra 50 cent for being so astute? You earned you money on this one. Well done comrade!

            • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              They don’t pay us money silly. We get a bonus ration on our food card. Dependent on what the commissar deems acceptable, and what resources are available. Usually rice or bread, but never eggs. I miss eggs.