this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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If China's not physically there to claim it, they're not really expanding their territory. South Korea considers itself to own all the territory of North Korea, but it can't enforce that, so their claim doesn't really matter.
You don't need to physically be there to annex territory. The map itself is the claim of annexation. You probably can't assert the claim without being there, but the claim is still annexation on its own.
Furthermore, China is sailing its warships through those areas as if it were their own territory. So they are physically there and attempting to assert their claim.
Korea is a little different in the way the country was split up by the victors of WW2. However, if you acknowledge the sovereignty of North Korea, then South Korea is also trying to annex that territory by claiming it as their own. South Korea's claims are a little bit more hollow than China's.
Maybe, but there's not much value in fighting over definitions. De facto, they have not gained additional territory regardless of any claims China may or may not be making.
Oh, are countries not allowed to sail ships through international waters now? Is the US annexing these territories when it does the same thing?
This is nonsense. You're attempting to redefine what annexation is to suit your argument.
China themselves claim that their boats are patrolling their own territorial waters when sailing in these areas. The US and Canada and others claim they are sailing in international waters under international maritime law, or with the permission of the nations whose water they are sailing through.
But the big difference is that the US isn't making a claim to any territory. China is, and then they're attempting to assert that claim with their navy. That is clearly annexation.
Fair enough, I did not phrase the above point correctly. I have edited the comment accordingly.
Since you keep using this word, I guess I'll bite a bit longer in fighting over definitions...
Courtesy of Merriam-Webster, annexation is incorporating "(an additional geographic area) within the domain of a country, state, etc." I don't think it's self-evident that just sailing a ship by some islands is "clearly annexation"
In any case, it's not really important whether it counts as "annexation" or not. What difference does it make if China makes this claim if there's nobody there to enforce it?