The image shows a Chinese flag blending into a pack of wolves. China’s “Wolf Warrior” pack is changing the face of Beijing’s diplomacy.
China’s “Wolf Warrior” pack has changed the face of Beijing’s diplomacy. Image: Flickr / Art: China Factor

China’s howling wolves in the Year of the Rabid Rabbit

Beijing tramples on international law amid rising tension with Washington over Balloongate and the South China Sea

ByChina Factor Staff

China appears to be spoiling for a fight.

From the Atlantic Ocean to the South China Sea, President Xi Jinping’s abrasive brand of foreign policy is being spun through a web of lies. The “Wolf Warriors” have been let off the leash.

Earlier this week, Beijing launched unsubstantiated “spying” claims against the United States before trampling on international law in a row with the Philippines over the Spratly Islands.

“China is substantially building up its military forces including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan, trying to control critical infrastructure and spreading misinformation about NATO and the war in Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said recently, referring to Russia’s illegal invasion nearly a year ago.

Flashpoints:

  • Beijing accused Washington on Monday of “illegally” flying “high-altitude balloons over Chinese airspace” without a shred of evidence.
  • Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed that happened more than 10 times since 2022.
  • In response, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman dismissed the allegations.
  • “None. Zero. Period,” she said at a news conference in Washington.

China’s sea and land grabs have no basis in international law.

Delve deeper: The verbal sparring came just hours before the Philippine Coast Guard reported that a Chinese ship had used a “military grade” laser near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. 

What happened? “It temporarily blinded Filipino crew members. “[Despite China’s] aggressive actions at sea, the [Philippine Coast Guard] ships will always be [there] to assert our sovereign rights,” Admiral Artermio M Abu said.

Beijing bluster: China claims “indisputable sovereignty” across vast swaths of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea and most of the islands, including the Spratlys.

Fact check: China’s sea and land grabs have no basis in international law. 

Big picture: The Philippines incident followed the “Balloongate” saga, which continues to rumble on amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington.

Howling wolves: “If anti-China sentiment is left unchecked in America, US-China relations risk becoming confrontational,” Zhu Feng, the director of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, said as reported by the Chinese Phoenix media group.

China Factor comment: Comrade Xi’s government is rapidly becoming a rogue administration on the world stage. Unless cooler heads prevail in Beijing, we could be in for the Year of the Rabid Rabbit.