Regional competition a balancing of interests, but not a new Cold War

The United States is finding its regional hegemony in the Asia-Pacific contested as China whittles away the US' influence in its neighborhood.

The most recent example of the expansion of Chinese influence relates to the sea boundary disputes with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reported on April 24 that these members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had agreed to follow individual paths of bilateral negotiation with China. This despite US President Barack Obama urging ASEAN member states to stand together in dealing with China's South China Sea position only two months earlier.

Australia, too, has opposed Chinese actions in the South China Sea, prompting Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian to call on Australia to "cherish the hard-won good momentum of development in bilateral relations".