Johnathan L. Jackson on Turmoil in the South China Sea

By Aidan Reifsnyder 

There is tension brewing in the South China Sea because China is intruding into other territories’ waters on the grounds that their territory should be based on the 9 dash line document from 1947. Many different stances have been presented by both republicans and democrats on ways to resolve any issues brought on by China's intrusion. 

Representative Jonathan L. Jackson (D-IL-01) has a very strong stance on what action should be taken. As someone very opposed to bullies, Jackson wants to arm the other territories in the South China Sea area with means to retaliate in the event that China continues to intrude on the other territories. 

Representative Jackson says that he wants to collaborate with other allies like Taiwan and the Philippines to help defend those invaded territories. This is intended to be done by committing patrols of the area to combat any further expansion, hopefully finding a peaceful solution to regain the areas taken by China. Representative Jackson admitted in the interview that his father passed away onTuesday, saying, “My fathers abrupt passing has shown me how important it is to me that these invaded territories are able to regain their lost land.” After making this statement, Representative Jackson continued on his idea to collaborate with allies on this pressing matter: “It is important to have help on this issue, not only to help China understand that this is not the way to expand, but also to show China that we are not alone in this fight. 

Representative Jackson is also eager to have acknowledged that he co-wrote a bipartisan bill to show force in the area. Republican representatives stated that they were interested in directly enforcing the decided territories and their borders, but this was not an option for the democratic representatives. As a compromise, both sides decided to draft the bill in order to give some ally territories a means to arm themselves in the event of further expansion by China. This bill was written by two republicans and two democrats. Representative Jackson wanted it to be widely known that this bill is bipartisan. 

As this is an increasingly important issue, one should consider getting involved. Reach out to your representatives and let them know what you think.