VietNamNet Bridge – Two months before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) made its statement on the case between the Philippines and China, China launched a global media campaign.

The illegal deployment of HD-981 oil rig deep in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of Vietnam in 2014 is a “daring test” of China in the face of response of related countries as well as international public opinion.

As China announced the unjustified nine-dotted line in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) in 2009, China has been under pressure from public opinion throughout the world. It, thus, launched the so-called tripod art of war on the fronts of information.

This strategy is close collaboration between the psychological, legal and media fronts. Simply, this is a strategy to create beneficial information for China, at a similar frequency to unfavorable information to China.

The core of the information is the ability to impose national rules on the “disputed territory” and interpretation of international law “Chinese-style” to legalize all field of actions of China on the legal front.

The next is a series of diplomatic – economic – military measures with other countries. China will pour huge investment capital in return for the support of other countries to its East Sea issue.

And finally, on the media front, China will take full advantage of its national media to disseminate information that is beneficial to China to the outside world at the highest frequency.

The tripod art of war was used by China in many important international issues and has been strongly deployed to support China’s East Sea dispute since 2009.

The launch of the “U-shaped line” in 2009, a ban on annual fishing in the East Sea since 2010, the establishment of the illegal “Sansha city” in 2012, and unilateral military exercises in the East Sea were the first moves on the legal front.

The illegal deployment of HD-981 oil rig deep in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of Vietnam in 2014 is a “daring test” of China in the face of response of related countries as well as international public opinion.

In this event, China initially utilized its embassies in several countries (Indonesia, USA, Australia, Japan, Thailand …) to publish publications about the East Sea under Chinese view. This is an important variation of the approach of the Chinese on the media front: using a team of ambassadors to attack in Western and international media.

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