Thursday, July 4, 2013

China And it's Neighbors Set Up Hotlines To Avoid Border Disputes Getting Out Of Hand


China, Neighbors Set Up Hotlines Over Island Disputes -- Christian Science Monitor

However, Beijing has rejected US advice to sign a code of conduct for the South China Sea.

China, confident after a recent high-level meeting in the United States and bilateral talks with regional rivals, is ignoring a second round of US advice to sign a code of conduct that could ease the threat of conflict in a crowded, contested tract of Asian ocean.

After protestations last year over US influence in the South China Sea when faced with the same advice rocked ties in the region, Beijing kept quiet about Secretary of State John Kerry’s call Tuesday for a code of conduct with a bloc that includes other countries that claim the same waters.

But Beijing’s inaction this time won't mean a diplomatic spat with Washington or neighbors, political experts say.

“I would doubt we would see as strong a negative reaction,” says Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a think tank in Hawaii. “The [US] South China Sea comments were in an international setting where China was trying very hard not to internationalize the issue.”

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My Comment: Everyone is expecting these border disputes to not only continue .... but to also escalate.

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