South China Sea not a US political playfield

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently said he would raise the issue of China's construction work in the South China Sea at the G7 summit in Bavaria, Germany, on June-7-8. Before that, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter had said China's reclamation work in the South China Sea was "out of step" and required "an immediate end", and threatened to send more US ships and aircraft to patrol the areas nearby, to which, Beijing responded saying Washington should adopt a responsible attitude and play a constructive role in the region.

China has been emphasizing that its construction work will help make navigation safer in the South China Sea. But instead of paying heed to China's assertions, the US is tacitly supporting Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea disputes because its intention is to contain China. No wonder, it has turned a blind eye to similar construction activities of Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea for the past several years.

With Washington misjudging Beijing's strategic intentions and calling it "aggressive", Hanoi and Manila have taken an even tougher stance against Beijing. Because of a similar misjudgment, Washington stubbornly opposed the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for which it is likely to incur huge losses. And now it faces a similar situation in the South China Sea issue.