US Cabinet pick faults China in hearing

Wednesday as seeking self-isolation in the region.

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters on Friday that certain countries outside the region still cannot let go of their ill-founded perceptions and are themselves “increasingly isolated” though they say that about others.

This month, the Philippines officially stated its plan of not putting the South China Sea issue into the agenda of ASEAN meetings it will host later this year.

Liang Fang, a professor of naval studies at PLA National Defense University, said that as other countries involved in the South China Sea disputes have returned to bilateral talks with Beijing, “the US will not easily let this go, and it will attempt to show its muscles and influence in the region again later this year”.

Washington’s strategy of containing China will not be changed, and “its troublemaking moves in the waters there will only get tougher,” Liang said.

It is possible that US warships and military aircraft will again intrude on the territorial waters and airspace of the Chinese islands in the sea, and, China, in response, should maintain its ships and planes in combat readiness, Liang added.

Zhang Tuosheng, director of the research department at the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies, noted that animosity against China’s rising maritime strength dies hard among the US and its allies such as Japan, and it will continue to pose a security dilemma for China.

While Beijing should never embark on a maritime arms race with Washington, China will have to tackle “its insufficient research and use of international law, particularly international maritime law”, Zhang said.

Contact the writers through zhangyunbi@ chinadaily.com.cn