APEC platform for economic talks

Avoiding major political differences and disputes over regional security has been an unwritten rule for APEC since its first meeting in Seattle, the US, in 1993, simply because they can be better discussed at other multilateral forums.

Therefore, the US' efforts to sensationalize the South China Sea issue in Manila not only breaches the APEC tradition, but also could deviate the discussions from the scheduled focus on regional growth and economic integration, which have reached a tipping point with the inking of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement by 12 countries in October after much argument and negotiation.

Notably, the 12-country agreement does not include some major regional economies like China, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Indonesia, intensifying the clash over the economic driver of Asia-Pacific integration - the Washington-led TPP or the Beijing-proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

The TPP with its high standards of human rights, environmental protection and marketization has become the economic propeller of Obama's "pivot to Asia" strategy, which, in turn, is designed to strengthen the US' role in making global rules. In this sense, the signing of the TPP Agreement is a hindrance, not a boon, for APEC-oriented regional integration, because it further complicates geo-strategic contests between major world powers.

Just a week ago, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III assured visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the APEC leaders' meeting will not touch on disputed issues. So if the US meddles in the waters, it will not only turn the 21-member economic summit into a diplomatic row, but also deal a blow to the constructive management of China-US relations.

China will not shun the thorny territorial disputes it has with some of its neighbors, especially when its maritime sovereignty and security are being challenged by a muscle-flexing US. The illegal entry of US guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen into the waters near China's islands in the South China Sea last month and two US B52 bombers resorting to similar tricks on Nov 8 and 9 are irrefutable proof of Washington's attempt to militarize the region.

Hence, the US ought to know that it cannot succeed in its designs by pressuring China and muscling through its own agenda at the APEC meeting.

The author is executive director of the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies and professor of international relations at Nanjing University.