Pentagon sees change in China's strategy toward South China Sea+

HANOI, Oct. 12 Kyodo -
China appears to be reviewing its strategy toward the South China Sea and the
possibility of an immediate military conflict in the area is declining, a
senior Pentagon official indicated Tuesday.
China appears to be backing away from a ''core interest'' argument ''at least
in some interactions'' on the South China Sea issue and is seeking to come up
with other ways to articulate their approach'' on the matter, the official told
reporters in Hanoi.
''It is probably fair to conclude there is some internal debate in Beijing
exactly about how to approach this set of issues,'' he added.
On the thorny issue of overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea,
the official said that although it remains a difficult issue, ''We feel like
there is less of a sense of immediate crisis today.''
There is growing concern among Southeast Asian nations as well as other players
such as the United States about China's increasing military presence in the
South China Sea.
While Washington is wary of a possible hard-line stance by China to secure its
interests in the region, it plans to resolve the dispute through a multilateral
framework.
''Clearly this is an issue that is of concern not just to China and the U.S.,
and should not be seen as an issue that is in the U.S.-China context, but it is
a concern to the entire region,'' the official said, adding that the United
States will try to handle the issue in a multilateral framework.
Specifically, the United States aims to craft an accord to strengthen the
binding force of a 2002 declaration designed to resolve territorial disputes in
the South China Sea, which was signed by the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations and China.
China informed the United States in March that it sees the South China Sea as a
core interest along with Taiwan and Tibet.
==Kyodo
2010-10-13 00:48:54


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