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By JEREMY PAGE
BEIJINGIn a major test of its new, proactive Asia policy, the U.S. appears to have scored a diplomatic victory over China by forcing the contentious issue of the South China Sea onto the agenda of a regional summit despite Beijing's public objections.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reluctantly discussed the issue with 17 other leaders at the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday while restating China's position that it was an inappropriate forum to address the matter, according to U.S. and Chinese official accounts of the meeting.
A senior U.S. administration official said Mr. Wen broached the issue, sounding "a little bit grouchy at first," after U.S. President Barack Obama and seven other leaders raised it directly. Seven other leaders talked about the broader problem of maritime security at a two-hour leaders' retreat.
Only Cambodia and Myanmar raised neither subject, the official said.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Mr. Wen saying: "I don't want to discuss this issue at the summit. However, leaders of some countries mentioned China on the issue. It's impolite not to make a return for what one receives. So, I am willing to reiterate China's stance."
The U.S. official said he detected some signs of greater flexibility in Mr. Wen's remarks, but a Xinhua commentary published Saturday indicated no change in policy. Some experts said Mr. Wen may have just toned down his language as a face-saving way out of the confrontation.
China has long maintained that territorial disputes over the South China Seawhere its claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Bruneishould be resolved bilaterally with each of the claimants, one by one. The U.S. and its allies in the region have been pushing for a multilateral approach that they say will help smaller countries counteract what they see as China's more assertive diplomacy and its growing military power.
Beijing is particularly wary of other countries getting involved, especially the U.S., and was infuriated last year when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared in a speech in Vietnam that the U.S. had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The regional backlash gathered momentum this year after China was involved in a series of incidents at sea, and heated diplomatic exchanges, with Vietnam and the Philippines, which has a mutual defense treaty with the U.S.
To help reassure the U.S.'s Asian allies, Mr. Obama unveiled plans last week to refocus U.S. foreign policy on the Asia-Pacific region and to bolster the U.S military presence there by stationing up to 2,500 Marines in Australia.
As a result, the South China Sea issue loomed large at last week's meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and of the broader East Asia Summit, which also includes the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and Russia.
Mr. Obama was the first U.S. president to attend the East Asia Summit., but the U.S. official denied that he had lobbied other attendees to put the South China Sea on the agenda.
The official said five Asean membersSingapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailandas well as Australia and India raised the South China Sea directly, while Russia, Indonesia and five others talked about maritime security.
Mr. Obama spoke after them, outlining the U.S. position on the South China Sea, and Mr. Wen asked for the floor after him, the official said.
"I would say that even though he started off maybe a little bit grouchy, by and large it was very measured and interestingI would say a positive intervention," the U.S. official said.
The official said he was encouraged that Mr. Wen advocated resolving the issue through dialogue with claimant countries but didn't mention the word "bilaterally" as Chinese officials normally do when discussing the matter.
He also said that Mr. Wen had said China wanted to move toward agreeing to a code of conduct in the South China Sea, without saying "at the appropriate time" or "when circumstances are propitious" as per usual.
However, China's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the subject, and Chinese state media gave no indication of a change of policy.
A commentary published by Xinhua on its website Saturday repeated China's longstanding position that the South China Sea disputes were a bilateral issue between Beijing and the other claimants.
"However, the U.S. failed to show due respect for China's position on the issue and insisted on bringing the controversial topic to the 10+8 summit for discussion 'in general terms,'" it said.
"Any attempt by outside forces to internationalize the issue will only make it more complicated and undermine peace and stability in the region."
Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for New American Security, said China was unlikely to change its approach to the issue.
"China has tacked back and forth," he said. "When it senses the region ganging up and balancing against China, it has become more accommodating but that accommodation has never had traction or enforcement. They move away and try again to deal bilaterally."
He said the 45-page statement coming out of the East Asia Summit included only generic language about the South China Sea, saying the nations involved will work on identifying key principles on an eventual code of conduct.
China's Wen Discusses South China Sea Issue - WSJ.com
BEIJINGIn a major test of its new, proactive Asia policy, the U.S. appears to have scored a diplomatic victory over China by forcing the contentious issue of the South China Sea onto the agenda of a regional summit despite Beijing's public objections.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reluctantly discussed the issue with 17 other leaders at the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday while restating China's position that it was an inappropriate forum to address the matter, according to U.S. and Chinese official accounts of the meeting.
A senior U.S. administration official said Mr. Wen broached the issue, sounding "a little bit grouchy at first," after U.S. President Barack Obama and seven other leaders raised it directly. Seven other leaders talked about the broader problem of maritime security at a two-hour leaders' retreat.
Only Cambodia and Myanmar raised neither subject, the official said.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Mr. Wen saying: "I don't want to discuss this issue at the summit. However, leaders of some countries mentioned China on the issue. It's impolite not to make a return for what one receives. So, I am willing to reiterate China's stance."
The U.S. official said he detected some signs of greater flexibility in Mr. Wen's remarks, but a Xinhua commentary published Saturday indicated no change in policy. Some experts said Mr. Wen may have just toned down his language as a face-saving way out of the confrontation.
China has long maintained that territorial disputes over the South China Seawhere its claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Bruneishould be resolved bilaterally with each of the claimants, one by one. The U.S. and its allies in the region have been pushing for a multilateral approach that they say will help smaller countries counteract what they see as China's more assertive diplomacy and its growing military power.
Beijing is particularly wary of other countries getting involved, especially the U.S., and was infuriated last year when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared in a speech in Vietnam that the U.S. had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The regional backlash gathered momentum this year after China was involved in a series of incidents at sea, and heated diplomatic exchanges, with Vietnam and the Philippines, which has a mutual defense treaty with the U.S.
To help reassure the U.S.'s Asian allies, Mr. Obama unveiled plans last week to refocus U.S. foreign policy on the Asia-Pacific region and to bolster the U.S military presence there by stationing up to 2,500 Marines in Australia.
As a result, the South China Sea issue loomed large at last week's meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and of the broader East Asia Summit, which also includes the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and Russia.
Mr. Obama was the first U.S. president to attend the East Asia Summit., but the U.S. official denied that he had lobbied other attendees to put the South China Sea on the agenda.
The official said five Asean membersSingapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailandas well as Australia and India raised the South China Sea directly, while Russia, Indonesia and five others talked about maritime security.
Mr. Obama spoke after them, outlining the U.S. position on the South China Sea, and Mr. Wen asked for the floor after him, the official said.
"I would say that even though he started off maybe a little bit grouchy, by and large it was very measured and interestingI would say a positive intervention," the U.S. official said.
The official said he was encouraged that Mr. Wen advocated resolving the issue through dialogue with claimant countries but didn't mention the word "bilaterally" as Chinese officials normally do when discussing the matter.
He also said that Mr. Wen had said China wanted to move toward agreeing to a code of conduct in the South China Sea, without saying "at the appropriate time" or "when circumstances are propitious" as per usual.
However, China's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the subject, and Chinese state media gave no indication of a change of policy.
A commentary published by Xinhua on its website Saturday repeated China's longstanding position that the South China Sea disputes were a bilateral issue between Beijing and the other claimants.
"However, the U.S. failed to show due respect for China's position on the issue and insisted on bringing the controversial topic to the 10+8 summit for discussion 'in general terms,'" it said.
"Any attempt by outside forces to internationalize the issue will only make it more complicated and undermine peace and stability in the region."
Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for New American Security, said China was unlikely to change its approach to the issue.
"China has tacked back and forth," he said. "When it senses the region ganging up and balancing against China, it has become more accommodating but that accommodation has never had traction or enforcement. They move away and try again to deal bilaterally."
He said the 45-page statement coming out of the East Asia Summit included only generic language about the South China Sea, saying the nations involved will work on identifying key principles on an eventual code of conduct.
China's Wen Discusses South China Sea Issue - WSJ.com
