CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ THE ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TOWARD INTERNATIONAL LAW economic expansion and competitiveness. American farmers have lost a huge market, as China switched to buying Brazilian soya and German pork. China is using its huge market as a weapon to extract greater concessions from states that want access to its market. China imposed punitive tariffs on Australian coal, barley timber, and lobster imports in retaliation to the Government of Australia calling for an independent investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 virus. Australia has referred the matter to the WTO. However, it will take years to resolve the dispute, as the WTO dispute settlement board is dysfunctional. Indeed, foreign companies wishing to do business in China must transfer their technology to Chinese In the years following the Cultural Revolution, China became highly selective in its acceptance and application of international law but that has since changed, following China’s emergence as a major power and a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council. Since the normalization of relations with the United States, China has accepted the basic premises of the international legal order: sovereignty, sovereign equality of states; non intervention in the internal and external affairs of other states; absolute immunity for the state and its agents; peaceful settlement of disputes; and the right to self-defense to protect its territorial integrity. China has gone to war with India and Vietnam over disputed boundary claims. China has several outstanding border disputes with its neighbors, especially in the South China Sea. China prefers to settle these disputes on its terms, not through third party adjudication. China’s rhetoric against war is not consistent with its policies. China is not afraid of using force against its people or its neighbors. China has refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it abstained from a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which occurred after Putin and Xi Jinping met and signed their “No Limits” agreement, encourage China to pursue a similar strategy against Taiwan. During the decolonization era, China supported wars of national liberation in Africa and various Maoist groups in Asia. In recent years China has used its military to intimidate its neighbors and assert its authority in the Asia Pacific region. But given its economic might, China has other means at its disposal to not resort to war like other great powers. China has used its markets as a weapon, and foreign aid as an instrument for effective diplomacy. China is also using soft power to get countries to support its foreign policy. China is quick to call itself a peaceful nation that does not engage in unprovoked wars. However, a closer look at China’s attitude toward the law governing the use of force shows otherwise. China fought two border wars with India and more recently engaged in a border skirmish with India, which left fifteen Indian soldiers dead. 98 China fought a border war with the Soviet Union in 1962, and with Vietnam in 1978. China has consistently voted against Security Council resolutions authorizing the use of military force against other states. China abstained from Security Council resolution 678 (1990), which authorized the US led coalition to use force to eject Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Although it voted in favor of Security Council resolution 1441 (2003), which threatened Iraq with dire consequences if it did not comply with all Security Council resolutions, China voiced strong opposition against a draft resolution sponsored by Britain, the US, and Spain that would have authorized 98 PALMER, J. China Admits Casualties in Border SkirmishWith India, at https://www.foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/24/ china-military-casualties-border-skirmish-india-ladakh. companies and are restricted from investing in selected industries. China’s Policy on the Use of Force & Military Intervention

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