DA NANG: Vietnam and regional countries should raise world alarm about China’s nine-dash claim to much of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), retired French general Daniel Schaeffer told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos here.

Schaeffer, an expert on Chinese issues at France’s Asia Research Center, said China wanted to seize more sea within the U-shaped line claim it had marked out and then force other countries in the region to recognize the claim.

“Vietnam and regional countries should drum up the world community about China’s claim,” he added.

“It needs efforts to delete the claim before solving any disputes of sovereignty. The best way of solving the problem is by raising international alarm,” Schaeffer said.

He warned that China was mounting a worldwide communication campaign to back its claim.

Professor Renato De Castro from the International Studies Department at De La Salle University in the Philippines said China had never given an explanation of its nine-dash line.

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