Quotable quotes on South China Sea arbitration concerning US role

BEIJING - The involvement of the United States in the South China Sea issue has aggravated the tense situation of the Asia-Pacific region and has its hidden agenda, experts say. Following are some quotable quotes.

-- Narayanman Bijukchhe, chairman of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party:

South China Sea has been unnecessarily dragged in dispute by Western countries, primarily the US, to maintain the hegemonic exploitation over Asian countries.

-- Sergei Luzianin, acting director of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies from the Russian Academy of Sciences:

The launch of the tribunal is a collective effort to impose on China an alternative view on the South China Sea division. The United States is creating informal anti-Chinese coalitions or groups to dispute China's sovereignty.

-- Xulio Rios, director of the Observatory of Chinese Politics of Spain:

The intervention of the court in these disputes is part of a strategy to put pressure on China, which at the same time is inseparable from the growing US involvement in the litigations.

-- Mahmoud Allam, former Egyptian Ambassador to China:

Increasing attention to the South China Sea goes in parallel with the US strategy of "pivot to the Asia-Pacific," and it also serves Washington's plan of deploying an anti-missile system on the Korean Peninsula. It is simply an excuse for the United States to tighten its grip on Asia and curb China's rise.

-- William Jones, Washington Bureau Chief of US publication Executive Intelligence Review:

The intervention, and really the role of the United States, has become the most aggravating part (of the South China Sea issue).

-- Peter Li, associate professor at Houston Downtown University:

To the United States, China could be pulled into extended conflicts. Resources would have to be diverted to military preparations, affecting people's livelihood.