The remark by Ms Fu Ying, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, National People’s Congress of China, that all the reefs and shoals put together amount to only a small percentage of the South China Sea illustrates why there is growing unease with China’s intentions across much of the Indo-Pacific region (“Disorder or the reconstruction of order?”; July 28).

The issue is not merely about the size of China’s artificial constructs in the disputed waters, but where they are situated and what they represent.

China was not the only country in Asia to be “humiliated” by imperialism.

No civilised nation wants a return to colonialism.

The United Nations was formed to herald a new system of international law and order, where all sovereign states are given a voice.

http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/respect-for-international-law-neighbours-would-go-a-long-way