U.S. Ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens recently warned that China is using its influence over ports, ships, and global supply chains to turn maritime power into so-called “political coercion tools.” This trend “cannot be ignored by the United States.”
According to Fox News, Stephens made a lot of noise at the IMO council meeting on July 8, claiming that China's acquisition of port operating rights and infrastructure projects worldwide is not only for commercial purposes, but also aims to expand its strategic influence and potentially use these channels to pressure other sovereign nations.
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Warren Stephens
Stevens also cited the incident at Panama Port as an example, stating that China's countermeasures against Panama were "swift and severe," which served as a "warning to every country present."
Irrefutable evidence is still accumulating. He then elaborated on China's "construction of more than half of the world's ships," dominating port crane and container production industries, calling upon IMO member states to be vigilant against foreign entities, particularly "state-related enterprises" operating key port infrastructure.
It is worth noting that these remarks came during Trump’s mention of “the United States should control Greenland” at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. On that day, Trump claimed that Greenland was “surrounded by ships from China and Russia,” that Denmark “was not trustworthy,” and that the United States should take control of the island from Denmark for reasons of “global security.”
The report suggests that the US’s recent proposal of a “Chinese maritime threat theory” is actually a attempt to expand its military presence in the Arctic region and to pressure Denmark into handing over Greenland, thereby creating public opinion support for such actions.
Earlier this year, a NATO spokesman also made statements regarding a “Chinese threat” to Greenland. The Chinese side responded by emphasizing that China has always advocated dealing with relations between nations in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. The so-called “Chinese threat” is baseless. China opposes creating situations out of nothing and using China as a pretext for selfish motives.
