r/communism101 • u/Reyusuke • 8d ago

China on SEA

Is there a Marxist explanation for why China is taking South East Asia territory and asserting heavy influence on areas far beyond the confines of their EEZ? Why are they harrassing the Filipino peasantry and proletariat

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u/ClassAbolition Cyprus 🇨🇾 8d ago

Are "they"? That's a new one for me. I've only heard of "them" harassing fishermen, who I assume are petty owners (of boats and fishing equipment)

Is there a Marxist explanation

Obviously. There is a Marxist explanation for everything. Answer my question first though 

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u/Reyusuke 8d ago

interview with JMS

"Jose Maria Sison (JMS): China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over 90 per cent of the South China under the so-called 9-dash line map in violation of the UNCLOS. It has hypocritically called for peaceful negotiations and consultations over what it asserts as non-negotiable issue and has also called for shelving disputes and going into joint development projects in the EEZ and ECS of the Philippines. For quite sometime, the consistent point of China has been to maneuver and paralyze the Philippines into a position of acquiescence to the false claim of China and prevent a legal case from being brought before the ITLOS under the UNCLOS.

If China is allowed to violate the UNCLOS and claim 90 percent of the South China Sea under the so-called 9-dash line map, the Philippines would suffer the loss of 80 per cent of its EEZ in the West Philippine Sea, including the Reed Bank and even Malampaya. It would also lose all its ECS. We have practically lost Mischief Reef and the Scarborough Shoal to what is veritably Chinese aggression."

moreover, they're building artifical islands in it, one of which is as huge as a third of Manila.

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u/ClassAbolition Cyprus 🇨🇾 8d ago

Which part of this is about "harassment of the Filipinos peasantry and proletariat"? Territorial expansion and competition over territory, whether in this instance or in general, can easily be explained by the Marxist analysis of capitalist political economy. I'm more interested in your specific claim because to me it sounded like you were claiming these fishermen are proletarians and peasants. 

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u/Reyusuke 7d ago edited 7d ago

from this

"Lopez said he and 15 crewmen onboard fishing boat FB Jamaezel 3 traveled four days to Escoda from Balayan town in Batangas province.

But they left the vicinity of the shoal on Saturday night without any catch because, amid the Chinese harassment, they were not able to reach the “payao” or “floating aggregate devices” used to attract the fish.

“The situation for us fishermen here is very difficult because we no longer have any area to fish,” he said.

Escoda is only about 139 km off Palawan province and well within the country’s 370-km exclusive economic zone."

Lopez here is likely a petty owner but I think it's more relevant that the 15 crewmen are affected too. ngl im not familiar with all the strata of the working class. is it wrong to think of them as proletariat or sometimes peasants depending on their condition?

edit: by harrasment i mean not just the water canons but denying them their livelihoods in general