Chinese media said Thursday that the United States is unhappy with the growing reconciliation between China and The Philippines due to its urge to dominate the regional order.
"Now that The Philippines and China have reached a rapport after intense conflict over the maritime dispute. Washington should feel happy about the stabilization of the situation, but look how begrudging it is," an article in the Global Times said.
It said that Beijing reacted positively when President Barack Obama announced an overall lifting of the weapons ban on Vietnam during his visit there in May, a move widely seen as targeting China, adding that Washington should show the same gesture, even if it is faking it, to compliment Beijing and Manila on their return to a friendly track.
"Apart from the Beijing-Manila reconciliation, choppy waters between Beijing and Hanoi have also calmed down. The U.S. should welcome the change and encourage claimants to negotiate for win-win cooperation if it really cares about the benefits of regional countries," said the article.
The article says that, however, the U.S. seems to be unhappy and feel betrayed and that it is widely believed that Washington is pressuring Manila to return to confrontation against Beijing.
It said that the major conflicts in the South China Sea are becoming those between China and the U.S., rather than territorial disputes.
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"It is not difficult to cool Beijing's disputes with Manila and Hanoi down to a level that will not seriously jeopardize their friendly cooperation. Whether the U.S. can restrain itself from the urge to dominate regional order and using "rules" as an excuse to contain China is a real test," it said.
It accused the U.S. of practicing hegemony, which leads to many problems.
"China has no intention to drive the U.S. out of Asia. In many cases, it doesn't reject the U.S.' willingness to be a global leader. But we hope it knows that its strength is limited, as well as its understanding of the world," said the article.