MANY people are worried that the South China Sea may turn out to be a global energy choke point like the Strait of Hormuz where small mistakes or provocations could lead to a bigger conflagration. A senior Chinese diplomat's statement on Wednesday on this issue should allay such fears. Differences between US and China over the South China Sea and other issues should be addressed not by "microphone diplomacy" but in "a proper way," Wu Xi, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in Washington said. In her speech at a meeting on Capitol Hill to mark the 10th anniversary of the US Congress' US-China Working Group, she did not explain what she meant by “proper way.” Wu said common interests, including bilateral trade volume of $550 billion last year, "far outweigh" differences between the two countries. A three-day meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will begin next Monday. Wu hopes this meeting as well talks Gen. Fan Changlong, a deputy head of China's Central Military Commission had with US Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Washington on Thursday will set the stage for a dispassionate discussion of all outstanding issues between the two countries when President Xi Jinping visits Washington in September this year. Beijing's assertion of its historical claim to the islands and waters of the South China Sea is likely to figure on the agenda of the talks between the two leaders. The South China Sea is 3.5 million sq. km in area, around 14 times larger than the area of the Arab Gulf. Long an important fishing ground, South China Sea is also a major avenue for commercial shipping between East Asia and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The Arab Gulf has only two important products shipped through it, oil and natural gas. The South China Sea has a significant fraction of all the world's production going through. Apart from the issue of sovereignty, energy security is also a major factor behind the competing claims to the South China Sea between China on one side and US and some of China's neighbors on the other. China cites historical occupation to prove it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, including the large Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all lay claim to various territories in the South China Sea. What has created tension in the area is the construction by China of artificial islands on what is its “sovereign territory.” Last month, China openly admitted that its navy intends to defend the country's sovereign claims over the disputed Spratly Islands, also claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. That the US has a stake in the dispute was explicitly made clear by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she addressed a meeting of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 2010. Subsequent US actions and declarations have only deepened Beijing's concerns and suspicions. US considers the South China Sea vital for its economic and strategic interests. In public, US maintains that it remains neutral regarding the substance of the territorial disputes. US also urges China and all rival claimants to halt land reclamation and militarization of disputed territory. But China sees enough evidence to conclude that the US is getting seriously involved in a bitter, multi-sided territorial dispute. Worse still, US backing is encouraging China's neighbors to take uncompromising positions on the issue. While predictions of a US-China conflict may be wrong, to allow an already tense and dangerous situation to become worse is not in anybody's interest. China will resent and oppose any attempt by the US to become the dominant power in a region China considers its own. Creative diplomacy can work out a solution, which takes into account America's core maritime interests without challenging Beijing's predominant position. China should realize that US or China's neighbors would not approve of Beijing transforming 80 percent of the area into Chinese territorial waters. But US should refrain from backing these neighbors thereby making a settlement between China and the aggrieved parties, jointly or separately, impossible. Also worth considering is a peace proposal made by Taiwan recently. The South China Sea Peace Initiative announced by President Ma Ying-jeou calls on claimants to temporarily shelve their disagreements to enable negotiations on sharing resources. Ma's plan is modeled on a 2012 proposal for the East China Sea, which allowed Taiwan and Japan to jointly fish in the contested waters.
