An amendment that could hurt US interests

The US Senate passed an amendment to the national defense authorization bill for 2013 on Thursday, stressing Washington's right to navigate freely in the East China Sea, which, it said, was an inalienable part of Asia's maritime interests.

The amendment, which is yet to be approved by the US House of Representatives and signed by President Barack Obama, puts China's Diaoyu Islands under the purview of a US-Japan security treaty. Despite the US saying that it will not support either China or Japan in the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, the amendment says the US acknowledges that the islands have been under Japan's administration and unilateral action from a third party will not influence its stance. It also reaffirms Washington's security commitment to Tokyo as stipulated in the US-Japan security pact.

The passing of the amendment once again exposes the disgraceful role the US has played in escalating Sino-Japanese tensions.