Op-Ed Contributors

It's time US realized value of peace

By Fu Mengzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-18 07:45

Western publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek have published articles saying the US needs to work out "a new China strategy" taking the South China Sea as a starting point. And US Senator John McCain has said that "hooking in Vietnam" as a new strategic pivot to counterbalance China's influence is in the interests of US security.

Though Vietnam is expected to strike some kind of balance among major world powers, it is unlikely to side with the US openly and turn China into an enemy. If the world were to judge the situation only on the basis of the exaggerated and provocative reports in the Western media, which say China's neighbors and the US are jointly confronting Beijing, it could be misled easily.

In fact, a recent declaration by the Philippines Foreign Ministry dealt a heavy blow to such rhetoric. The Philippines Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo told reporters on Aug 9 that negotiations should be strictly between the ASEAN and China, without the involvement of the US or any other party. The Malaysian media, too, have said that America's involvement in the South China Sea dispute could only lead to trouble.

China has undisputed sovereignty over the islands and reefs and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea. But it insists on solving the disputes with its neighbors through talks based on international laws and opposes any attempt to internationalize the territorial disputes.

In the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed by China and ASEAN member countries in 2002, all the sides pledged to exercise restraint, and not to turn the disputes into international issues.

A rising China understands and respects other countries' pursuit of a multi-directional and diversified diplomacy. But it has made it clear it will not tolerate any plot to contain its economic and social development.