China’s communist regime is continuing its quiet expansion of global power and encroachment toward Taiwan, with reports showing that Beijing is illegally claiming underwater territory in the South China Sea as companies attempt to install and maintain critical fiber-optic internet cables on the sea floor. The development is further evidence of China’s ongoing power grab in the international body of water, where it has already constructed illegal artificial islands and harassed the territory and vessels of other nations.

A Washington Post report on Thursday detailed how Xi Jinping’s regime is quietly transferring underwater territory in the South China Sea to its possession in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that countries can enforce their laws only in waters that extend up to 24 nautical miles off of their coasts. But Beijing has claimed that approximately 90% of the South China Sea is Chinese territory (illustrated by the “nine-dash line” that appears on Chinese maps).

As undersea fiber-optic internet cables connecting the world’s continents have become the nervous system of modern societies, companies contracted to install, maintain, or repair the cables must first obtain permits (as stipulated by U.N. convention) from coastal states if they fall within their 12-nautical-mile territorial waters. But companies attempting to install or repair the cables in the South China Sea are finding that China is demanding a permit, even though the vast majority of the Sea is not their territory.

Despite this, WaPo reports that cable firms for the most part are applying to China for permits despite Beijing’s lack of jurisdiction for fear of angering the world’s second largest military power and economy. China has reportedly taken advantage of this by applying red tape to countries it considers rivals. “During its recent installation, the SJC2 cable connecting Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and several other countries suffered delays of over a year,” the outlet reports. American tech companies have also reportedly experienced delays in permitting.

Experts are becoming increasingly alarmed by the illegal undersea landgrab, noting that China could unilaterally decide to deny permits and force countries around the South China Sea to rely on its state-owned cables, thereby leaving these countries’ internet connectivity at the mercy of Xi Jinping.

The development comes as China is increasingly expanding its footprint in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in disputed waters in violation of international law. Reuters reported in August that the communist regime is building what appear to be military installations in the western Paracels, which Beijing seized from the former South Vietnam in 1974. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reports that China illegally established at least 27 artificial island outposts in the Sea from 2013 to 2016, totaling 3,200 acres.

In addition, there has been a sharp increase in Chinese military vessels encroaching near territorial waters of other countries in recent months, with the Philippines reporting that it monitored “101 Chinese navy and coast guard ships around Philippine-garrisoned Thitu Island and Second Thomas Shoal, as well as off Sabina Shoal,” which was almost double the amount of vessels that were monitored the previous month.

Experts like Lt. Col. (Ret.) Robert Maginnis, who serves as senior fellow for National Security at Family Research Council, say that China’s actions in the South China Sea endanger regional security and must not go unchallenged by the U.S.

“The United States should challenge Beijing’s unlawful maritime claims and back that challenge with action,” he told The Washington Stand. “China is using administrative demands, artificial island construction, and intimidation to establish control that international law does not grant it. Every concession makes the next demand easier.”

“Undersea cables are critical national security infrastructure,” he continued. “They carry communications essential to commerce, government, and military operations. Allowing Beijing to decide who can install or repair those cables in waters beyond its lawful jurisdiction gives China dangerous leverage over its neighbors.”

Maginnis further argued that the Trump administration “should organize a sustained response with Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and other affected countries. That means coordinated diplomatic protests, support for legal challenges, and practical assistance to companies conducting lawful cable operations. Where necessary, we should provide surveillance and carefully planned maritime protection. Documented coercion should bring targeted economic consequences.”

“We should also help Taiwan and Southeast Asian partners develop additional cable routes and repair capabilities,” he added. “Beijing’s ability to threaten communications becomes less effective when countries have reliable alternatives.”

Maginnis went on to note that the increasingly aggressive behavior of Beijing in the Sea does not necessarily mean that an invasion of Taiwan is imminent. U.S. officials recently declared their belief that such an action is unlikely to occur next year. “I would be cautious about treating these permit demands as proof of a specific timetable for action against Taiwan. They do, however, fit a broader pattern of Chinese coercion intended to weaken resistance and expand Beijing’s control.”

“The United States has already objected to China’s excessive claims. The question is whether we will make those objections count,” he observed. “Silence does not make an unlawful claim lawful, but repeated acquiescence can allow China to establish control in practice. We should confront that danger now, while we have options short of armed conflict.”

Gordon Chang, an author and distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, concurred. “The U.S. must oppose all of China’s attempts, no matter how small, to close off the global commons,” he told TWS. “Beijing will not stop with just Taiwan or the South China Sea. Xi Jinping has been pushing the notion that he is the world’s only legitimate ruler. Unless we want to become a Chinese colony, the time to stop him is now.”