US, China rivalry spills into Asean meetings

NUSA DUA, Indonesia—Tensions between the United States and China spilled over into meetings of Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday as the two countries jostled over how to handle competing claims to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The Chinese government has testily declared the maritime dispute off-limits at Saturday’s talks, to be attended by US President Barack Obama, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao, and 16 other nations, including several with claims over the waterway.

But Obama said the gathering “can be the premier arena for us to be able to work together on a wide range of issues—maritime security or nonproliferation.”

Obama has irritated China with a drive to enhance the US role as a regional power, positioning Marines in northern Australia and pushing for a potentially transformational trans-Pacific trade pact.

Beijing sees the initiatives as intruding into its own sphere of influence, with the dispute over the West Philippine Sea putting the two major world powers’ differences into stark focus.

‘External forces’ warned

On Friday Wen again warned against interference by “external forces” in the wrangle. He demanded that outside forces had no excuse to get involved in the maritime dispute, a veiled warning to the US and other countries to keep out of the sensitive issue.

“It ought to be resolved through friendly consultations and discussions by countries directly involved. Outside forces should not, under any pretext, get involved,” Wen told a meeting with Southeast Asian leaders.

The remark is the latest barb between the two countries in recent weeks when Obama sought to reassert US presence in the Asia-Pacific region to counter the growing influence of China, its biggest economic rival.

Obama said in Australia on Thursday that the US military would expand its Asia-Pacific role despite budget cuts, declaring America was “here to stay” as a Pacific power. With a report from Reuters