-Trung Quốc định nghĩa "lợi ích cốt lõi" của họ là gì: Beijing lists unity and security as core interests (SCMP 7-9-11): Four key areas: sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity and national unity. Nguyễn Thiện Nhân có biết cái này mà yêu cầu Đới Bỉnh Quốc cắt nghĩa không? (Hỏi thẳng Đới Bỉnh Quốc: "Territorial integrity" của Tàu là gì?) Tại sao nhà nuớc không cho báo chí bàn cãi những chuyện này? Bộ sợ Tàu lắm hay sao? (Khỏi trả lời câu hỏi chót)
Beijing has for the first time defined four key areas as the mainland's "core interests" - sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity and national unity.
The list was included in a policy paper issued by the State Council yesterday that pledged to "resolutely safeguard" those interests.
It is the first time that Beijing has spelled out the key components of its core interests, although the white paper - "China's Peaceful Development" - did not elaborate on them.
Analysts said Beijing wanted to show the international community its determination to stick to its guns in the four areas at a sensitive time for diplomatic relations, with tensions in the South China Sea and signs of unrest in regions like Xinjiang .
Wang Hanling , an expert on maritime affairs and international law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said the country's sovereignty did not only cover its land area of 9.6 million square kilometres but also the islands and islets in the South China Sea which are claimed by other countries.
"Despite the agreement to 'put aside disputes and jointly develop' the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands after territorial disputes with neighbouring countries, China's stance of claiming sovereignty over those islands is unquestionable and undoubtable," Wang said. "China has insisted that we have had sovereignty over the two island chains since ancient times."
Professor Fu Mengzi , from the China Institute of Contemporary International Studies, said the United Nations' Law of the Sea gave legal support to China's sovereignty claim over the islands.
Professor Zhuang Jianzhong , an international security expert from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, disagreed. He said China already had disputes with India and Russia over its land borders, and China should not include the islands in its definition of "sovereignty" to avoid further disputes.
Fu said "national security" covered several areas, including the political system, defence, domestic security and even internet security.
"In this area, Beijing wants to tell the Western countries that they can't use our internal contradictions to subvert our national security," Zhuang said. "The core interest of 'territorial integrity' means that no one can split Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan from our motherland."
All the experts said the core interest of "national unity" indicated Beijing's determination to reunite with Taiwan, and that "foreign and internal forces" would never change that.
The white paper also emphasised China's commitment to its internal affairs and efforts to resolve territorial disputes with neighbours peacefully.
"As an ancient country ? China has never sought hegemony," it said. "We also hope that the international community will have confidence in the Chinese people's sincerity and determination to achieve peaceful development, and support rather than obstruct China' s pursuit of peaceful development."
Fu said the paper was designed to ease international concerns about China's rise.
"Some countries have also worried about whether China will change its pathway of 'peaceful development' after it built its first aircraft carrier recently, with the 'China threat' theory being stirred up again," Fu said. "That's why we need to issue such a paper to ease their worries."
Beijing issued its first white paper on "peaceful development" in 2005.
Đọc thêm: China’s ‘Peaceful’ White Paper (Diplomat 6-9-11)
