‘Salami slicing’: How China is trying to increase control in the Pacific

In a span of just a few weeks, China’s ships have carried out “law enforcement” activities farther from its mainland than ever before, mapped a highly sensitive seabed and conducted “research” inside a highly contested lagoon more than 500 miles from its shores.

China has long been accused of “salami-slicing” to advance its territorial claims in the Pacific, taking small steps well below the threshold of kinetic war to assert its control over areas where its claims to sovereignty under international law are unclear at best – and illegal at worst.

Analysts say the latest moves are an attempt to advance its presence beyond an island chain seen by Beijing and Washington as a critical line of control in the western Pacific. They add they could be particularly worrying for Taiwan, the self-ruled island China has vowed to “reunify” with one day – by force if necessary.

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