里约跆拳道中国选手:South China Sea: Why US Media Playing Up Chin...

South China Sea: Why US Media Playing Up China's Vice FM's Tone?

20110623_b8be9fb382bb4b1beec8shwhScY7OGuE.jpg (40.54 KB)
2011-6-24 10:20- is trying to demonstrate the China's "military threat" to US.

"Beijing has warned Washington not to become involved in its dispute with Vietnam over the South China Sea, before a new US-China strategic dialogue - China - US Asia Pacific Consultations -  to be held on Saturday.


China urged the United States on Wednesday to leave the South China Sea dispute to the claimant states, saying that U.S. involvement may make the situation worse, its most direct warning to Washington in recent weeks.


Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai's comments to a small group of foreign reporters ahead of a meeting with U.S. officials in Hawaii this weekend come amid the biggest flare-up in regional tension in years over competing maritime sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.



"The United States is not a claimant state to the dispute in the South China Sea and so it's better for the United States to leave the dispute to be sorted out between claimant states," Cui said.


"While some American friends may want the United States to help in this matter, we appreciate their gesture but more often than not such gestures will only make things more complicated," he said.


China is involved in a territorial dispute with Vietnam that is threatening to escalate into a wider regional conflict, and one that could see China jockeying with the US for influence in the region.


The South China Sea is not officially on the agenda, but the issue will almost certainly come up. The United States has not taken a side in the territorial disputes, but has urged nations to resolve them peacefully. China insists that it will talk to the countries on a bilateral basis and that it will not negotiate with claimants in a multilateral manner, which those countries would prefer.


He added that “if the United States does want to play a role, it may counsel restraint to those countries who’ve been frequently taking provocative action, and to ask them to be more responsible in their behavior.”


In giving his warning, Mr. Cui hinted that anti-American fervor could be brewing. “To be honest with you, the Chinese public is following very closely whether the United States will adopt a just and objective position on matters like these,” he said.


“I believe that individual countries are actually playing with fire, and I hope that fire will not be drawn to the United States.”



Last week Vietnam conducted a live-fire naval exercise in the sea, which China claims in its entirety. It has also accused Beijing of aggressive harassment of its oil-prospecting ships over the past month and has allowed anti-China demonstrations to take place.


The increasingly hostile dispute with Vietnam is set to dominate the inaugural China -US Asia-Pacific Consultations, a new forum to discuss regional issues, to be held in Hawaii on Saturday.


Mr Cui will represent China and Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for the Asia-Pacific region, the US. “The idea here is to make clear that the Asia-Pacific region is big enough for the both of us,” said a US government official.


“We have a lot of questions in areas where we want to seek great understanding and knowledge as China rises.” "