One would think that the advantage of dealing with a dictatorship--if you overlook the disadvantage to the people who live under it--is that diplomacy should be easier. But the whole South China Sea war waiting to happen demonstrates that China's Communist Party has no idea who might start a war in their name:
The tropical province of Hainan, home to beachfront resorts and one of China's largest naval bases, authorized a unit of the police to interdict foreign vessels operating "illegally" in the island's waters, which, according to China, include much of the heavily disputed South China Sea.
At a time when the global community is looking to the world's second-biggest economy and a burgeoning superpower for increasing maturity and leadership on the international stage, China's opaque and disjointed foreign policy process is causing confusion and escalating tensions throughout its backyard.
How bad is it?
China can't even tell anyone what exactly it is they claim.
Oh, and there is this:
According to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) earlier this year, no fewer than 11 government entities -- from the tourism administration to the navy -- play a role in the South China Sea. All, the ICG said, have the potential to take action that could cause diplomatic fallout.
Let's hope the fallout is only diplomatic, in the end.
It's bad enough that PLA leaders feeling more powerful after decades of backwardness might start a war despite their political leaders' caution. But many other entities might start a war that China has to finish.
Do China's leaders not understand what being a "dictatorship" means?
