With most of the passengers from China, is anybody else surprised that the China government has been pretty quiet so far?
Actually, I think China is pretty ticked:
Amid Malaysian flight mystery, reminders of regional rough seas
March 15, 2014 7:45PM ET
China’s harsh words with Kuala Lumpur over fate of missing plane are part of broader rivalry over South China Sea
China on Saturday demanded that Malaysia provide better information about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared while on its way to Beijing a week ago.
The request came as Malaysia said the plane had been deliberately diverted off course, with whoever responsible taking with them scores of Chinese passengers on board the jet. But China’s continued blunt rhetoric against Kuala Lumpur is part of a broader regional rivalry over disputed territory that has been underscored, and which will remain bitter, once the focus of the multinational search operation moves on from the South China Sea.
“We demand that the Malaysian side continue to provide to China more thorough, accurate information,” China’s foreign ministry said, adding that it was sending a technical team to Malaysia to help with the probe.
The demand for Malaysia to step up its search, additionally asking it to involve more countries in the effort, mirrored the physical reality of Beijing’s military and technological might, which has been on full tilt during the search operation in the guise of Chinese warships and sophisticated satellite deployments.
At least 150 Chinese nationals were on board Flight MH370, and after nine days without definitive information on the circumstances of the missing flight, Beijing has now repeatedly and publicly expressed its discontent.
Saturday’s statement followed an earlier pronouncement, including Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Monday acknowledging that while Malaysia had the “main responsibility” for both the search and the follow-up investigation, Beijing had a responsibility not only to participate but to “demand and urge” Malaysia to step up its efforts.
“The Chinese are drawing the conclusion that these guys are not ready for prime time,” said Ernie Bower, a regional expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, to Reuters, referring to Malaysia and its efforts to find the mystery plane.
But while China’s show of force can reasonably be attributed to its interest in getting to the bottom of a mystery that affects its nationals, it’s difficult to divorce the rhetoric from the ongoing territorial dispute.
Separately Monday, China said that its coast guard ships had driven away two Philippine vessels which had tried to approach a shoal in the South China Sea — the latest flare-up of a long-running territorial dispute.