Obama 'hoping to offset' Beijing's influence

US President Barack Obama has voiced an ambition to see all Asia-Pacific nations "play by the same rules", and observers said this indicated Washington's latest renewal of its plan to meddle in regional maritime problems.

Obama made the comment while starting a two-day gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' member leaders at Sunnylands in California.

Observers predicted that Obama will stay tough on the South China Sea issue and pose more challenges to China's expanding maritime interests, trying to make his "pivot to Asia" a legacy of his eight-year presidency.