More than a decade ago, China was treated as one of the most friendly nations of the East. With the opening up of its economy and its forward trend in world diplomatic engagement, the country was never seen as posing any threat to the region.
However, things have changed. Its economic boom which is based on an open market system, has steered the nation as one of the most powerful forces to be reckoned with. In fact to some extents, its far ahead of the US and Japan.
And this has added new desire to Beijing in 'expanding' its territory, particularly in the strategic South China Sea, to the awe of other nations in the region, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei.
Many are sensing some security threats beginning to come from China. And in upholding its case, Beijing refused to compromise.
Disputes on the South China Sea proved so
contentious in Phnom Penh on Thursday that an annual regional gathering ended
without even a basic diplomatic communiqué, which appeared to have been
blocked by China.
The host for the conference of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, Cambodia, a close ally of China, refused to play the customary
role of seeking agreement among the 10 participating countries, thus
undermining the possibility of an accord, according to a senior diplomat
from the association.
“China bought the chair, simple as that,” said a diplomat, who
declined to be identified publicly according to usual protocol. The
diplomat pointed to an article on Thursday by China’s state news agency,
Xinhua, in which the country’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, was
quoted as thanking Cambodia’s prime minister for supporting China’s
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned of more confrontations in the South China Sea without a regionwide solution as China rebuffed calls to expedite talks on rules for operating in disputed waters.
"Issues such as freedom of navigation
and lawful exploitation of maritime resources often involve a wide
region," Clinton said Thursday in remarks to Asia-Pacific foreign
"Approaching them strictly bilaterally could be a recipe for confusion and even confrontation."
Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said
Wednesday that China would start talks on a legally binding code of
conduct in the South China Sea 'when conditions are ripe', according to
Xinhua News Agency. It warned nations this week to avoid mentioning the
territorial spats with Vietnam and the Philippines.
Diplomatic squabbling between the United States and China escalated after Clinton's remarks in Mongolia this week in which she criticized governments that lock up dissidents and hinder freedom of speech.
Malaysia's claim over a part of the Spratly Islands (map above) is also at risk since China and other countries also put up their respective claims on it.
However, Malaysia, according to Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, believes in diplomatic engagement to settle the dispute.