A US scholar is pointing out that China's construction and other activities in the waters of the South China Sea are often misunderstood.

An undated photo shows the view of South China Sea. [Photo: blog.163.com]

Dr. Greg Austin is a fellow at the EastWest Institute in New York, and currently a visiting professor of international policy at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia.

Dr. Austin says he doesn't see China's moves in the region as a threat to international freedom of navigation.

"Some people say that China represents a threat to shipping, to commercial shipping, through the South China Sea, and they get very nervous about this. But that too is an exaggerated threat: China does not represent a threat to shipping in the South China Sea; in fact, over half of the shipping in the South China Sea goes to and from China."

Waters surrounding the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea are filled with busy shipping lanes and fishing activity.

Nearly 40 percent of global trade is carried through the waters, which see the passage of at least 40,000 ships annually.

Despite the significant role it plays, the security situation in the South China Sea is complicated.

This is partially reflected during the global search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in March 2014 as problems including lack of infrastructure, weak rescue forces, and insufficient public services in the area undermined the timeliness of the emergency response and assistance.

China started to build lighthouses on Huayang and Chigua reefs, which went into operation in October 2015, and has finished building an airfield on Yongshu Jiao on the Nansha Islands.

Dr. Austin says these moves are within China's sovereignty.

"China's motivations for its activities in the South China Sea relate to the defense of its claims to sovereignty of the Nansha islands. And what is very clear is that the Republic of China before 1949 and then, after 1949, the People's Republic of China did exercise some sort of administrative action and claim in respect of those islands."

Dr. Autsin says China should now work more closely with ASEAN countries to remove the misunderstanding and find longer-term solutions, while at the same time intervention from the outside should be prevented.

"I think there's a good chance that it will defuse the tension and eliminate the excuse for the sorts of intervention. And I think it's really within China's capability to be more creative in the South China Sea and bring these countries close together to prevent the external intervention."

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