Appeasement will only encourage China in the South China Sea

                                         Chinese fishing boats sail in the South China Sea

World attention has again focused on our region of the globe, with the American navy asserting its "freedom of navigation" near Chinese-constructed artificial islands in the so-called South China Sea.

In less than 80 days, in the midst of threats from China, Taiwan's voters will vote for their president and legislature. Polls suggest the opposition will win, thus giving Taiwan its third transition of power from opposition to government in the six presidential elections since democratisation.

The tensions in Asia today have only one cause: China. On the basis of false "history", China claims the South China Sea, the East China Sea and Taiwan. Yet China has no historical claims to the South and East China seas.

Historically, south-east Asian states conducted the great trade in the South China Sea. China had almost no role. Furthermore, geographically, the contested areas are close to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines, while they are more than 1000 kilometres south of China. China's claims for sovereignty in these areas have no historical basis and its constructing of "islands" on submerged reefs only demonstrates China's expansionism.

Similarly, in the East China Sea, China's claims to the Senkaku Islands (which China calls the Diaoyutai) have no historical foundation. The People's Daily of January 8, 1953, stated that the "Senkaku" Islands belonged to the Ryukyu Archipelago, and a World Atlas published in China in 1958 showed that these islands belong to Japan.

China's claims that Taiwan belongs to it also have no historical basis. Mao Zedong, in his famous 1936 interview with Edgar Snow, stated that Taiwan should be independent. Only in 1942 did the Chinese Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party separately claim that Taiwan was Chinese.

In Taiwan's history, a Han Chinese regime based in China has only controlled Taiwan for four years, from 1945 to 1949. These four years were perhaps the saddest in all of Taiwan's history because Chiang Kai-shek's government killed tens of thousands of Taiwanese in the infamous 2.28 (February 28, 1947) massacres.

The dictatorship of Chiang Kai-shek and his son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, ruled Taiwan from 1945 until the latter's death in early 1988. Their rule was a Chinese colonial project that privileged Chinese who had come with Chiang Kai-shek and systematically discriminated against native Taiwanese.

Only with the accession of Lee Teng-hui to the presidency after the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in 1988 could Taiwan begin its democratisation process. Now Taiwan, a country with a population the size of Australia, has become a democratic middle power.

The so-called "one China" policy of many countries including the United States and Australia is a relic of the old Chiang Kai-shek/Chiang Ching-kuo dictatorship, which pushed a "one China" policy without consulting Taiwan's population.

All the major Western democracies, as well as Japan and India, now have substantial if unofficial diplomatic offices in Taiwan. And, although these nations do not publicise the point, all have de facto "One China, one Taiwan" policies.

The arguments of people such as Age columnist Hugh White are dangerous. They ignore the cause of tension in Asia and say we have to be careful about becoming involved in a war. History has taught us that "appeasement" of such expansionist powers as China does not stop war. Rather, it only temporarily postpones armed conflict and ultimately leads to a much larger war later.

Appeasement of China only enhances Chinese perceptions that the US is a toothless paper tiger. It creates a sense among China's generals and political leaders that they can pursue expansionist policies without international protest.

The pretence that Taiwan's vote for its own president and legislature can lead to war is false. Both main candidates, Tsai Ing-wen and Eric Chu, want to maintain the status quo – that Taiwan is de facto an independent state but that it will not announce this. Australians would be appalled if we were told by a foreign power that voting for either Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten would lead to war and that we should vote accordingly.

We must be clear that China is the only country threatening anyone else in Asia. The close talks between leaders of such countries as the US, Japan, India and Australia demonstrate that Asia's democratic countries have become aware of the risks.

In classical balance-of-power theory, the rise of one expansionist power creates a coalition among other powers. China's expansionist actions have already created a substantial democratic coalition in Asia prepared to prevent China from starting a major war.

Bruce Jacobs is emeritus professor of Asian Languages and Studies at Monash University. Photo: AP