China braves surging waves to guard sovereignty

This year, the Chinese government has engaged with strength and restraint at various levels, through various channels and in various forms, displaying its excellent diplomatic wisdom.

In the South China Sea, China established the city of Sansha to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands and surrounding waters to counter the provocations.

China sent marine surveillance ships to patrol the waters surrounding the Diaoyu Islands. This is now turning into a routine operation with aerial surveillance support. The move has broken Japan's so-called "actual control" over the islands.

With facts and reasoning, China has actively elaborated its stances over the South China Sea issue on various diplomatic occasions and taken moves which effectively helped win support of the international community and world opinion.

Beijing has issued a white paper on the Diaoyu Islands, announced baselines for the territorial sea of the Diaoyu Islands, and presented to the UN Secretariat its Partial Submission Concerning the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf beyond 200 Nautical Miles in the East China Sea.

China has always followed the principle of not worsening its internal and peripheral situations when handling the issues and safeguarding its sovereignty.

On the Huangyan Islands issue, China has always been restrained and does not advocate the use of force. In the Diaoyu Islands waters, China has only deployed surveillance ships and aircraft.

It has been and will be further proved that China's marine strategy is for peaceful development. The report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has charted that China will always take the road of peaceful development and advocate the spirit of mutual trust, inclusiveness and learning from each other, cooperation and win-win outcomes in international relations.

China's strategies of safeguarding marine rights and interests and building a marine power are aimed at neither marine expansion nor marine hegemony, but at easing troubles and making concrete contributions to peace, development and prosperity in the whole region.

The revitalization of the Chinese nation can't be realized without the vast blue ocean. The time calls on China to remain firm, calm and rational, catch and create a new period of strategic opportunities, and work with the peripheral countries and the international community to turn the Pacific Ocean into an ocean of peace, cooperation and harmony.