Latest clash in South China Sea should be a red flag for the world

Once again conflict has almost erupted in the South China Sea.

Last week, members of the Philippines Coast Guard cut through a 1000-foot-long barrier installed by Chinese vessels that was blocking access to the Scarborough Shoal – a group of Filipino islands illegally occupied by China.

A tense stand-off ensued with Chinese coast guard vessels filmed harassing Filipino fishermen attempting to access the shoal.

But incidents like this in the South China Sea are nothing new. In fact, this year has seen a significant increase in the level of harassment aimed at The Philippines and other nations in dispute with China over its absurd “nine-dash-line” claim to the entire sea.

This has been happening at the same time China deliberately stoked territorial disputes with India, disappeared a number of senior diplomatic and military figures, and skipped the G20 summit.

But the world can’t afford to make the same mistake it did with Ukraine - where it chose to ignore obvious warning signs that Russia was gearing up for an invasion.

And it is very possible China is preparing for war.

Beijing’s military build-up has been so rapid it’s left many fearful they will move ahead of the US as the world’s strongest military power. China’s navy is set to grow 40% by 2040 and they currently can acquire weaponry five times faster than the US.

Last year, President Xi Jinping proclaimed that China should become capable of “fighting and winning wars” by 2049. But many of China’s neighbours fear that date may come much sooner, especially as China grapples with unprecedented economic troubles.

Nowhere is this concern more real than in the South China Sea. For years now, China has been harassing vessels and building military bases and airstrips on disputed island chains where they can project their military strength.

ASEAN bloc nations remain particularly vulnerable to this encroachment and aggression. Yet even this has not been enough to unite them, and many ASEAN countries face their own internal territorial disputes which threaten key partnerships.

For example, last year, relations between The Philippines and Malaysia came under unnecessary strain when the heirs of the long-defunct