Beijing, Oct 9 : China is asserting its symbolic sovereignty through cartographic manipulation by renaming maritime features in the South China Sea, a report said on Thursday.

It added that, under Chinese President Xi Jinping, China has named and renamed approximately 100 geographical features in the South China Sea as part of a major initiative.

"For more than a decade, Beijing has pursued an uncompromising agenda in the South and East China Seas, transforming contested waters into a bully's playground. What began as creeping encroachment using artificial islands, incremental coast guard patrols, and ambiguous grey-zone tactics has now escalated into overt acts of aggression," a report in 'Maldives Insight' detailed.

"The sweet-sounding and well-intentioned words from Beijing, like 'peaceful development', 'mutual trust', and 'community of shared future for mankind', are used to deceive the world into accepting a benign image of China, defending its rights. The recent clashes with Philippine vessels at Scarborough Shoal, involving water cannons, collisions, and injuries to sailors, confirm a pattern that China's actions are not defensive but deliberately expansionist," it added.

According to the report, Beijing's designation of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in South China as a protected marine area effectively restricts the Philippine access under the pretext of conservation.

In August 2023, it said, the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources issued a standard cartographic map. The "controversial" map reinforced Beijing's claim over most of the South China Sea, highlighting the 'nine-dash line'. Notably, the report said, the map included a new section east of Taiwan, depicting the island as part of China and extending the line to ten dashes, emphasising Beijing's claims through non-military means.

'Beijing has a consistent aim to reframe disputed territory as Chinese domestic space, thereby normalising the coercive enforcement. However, most importantly, these activities have worked as a catalyst to wake the stakeholders from their slumber and resist Chinese expansionism. Chinese coercion has made the problems of the region a global challenge,' the report stressed.

The report highlighted that the Scarborough Shoal incident in September exemplifies China's reliance on force, with the Chinese Coast Guard( CCG) using high-pressure water cannons against Philippine supply and coast guard ships after one of the Filipino ships collided with a CCG ship.

'These incidents have been on the rise, escalating tensions in the regions, and the Philippines is responding to these tactics by making Chinese actions public to unmask its victim image. By turning to brute tactics under a facade of law enforcement, China has exposed the hollowness of its narrative of 'peaceful rise' and brought forth its operative mode of 'might makes right',' the report noted.

/IANS