Seeing beyond the viewpoint of conflict may be a way out

Neither the Chinese nor the United States military backed off from where they stood in previous exchanges over the South China Sea issue.

Nor was there anything really new in what Chinese and American officials said at the just-concluded Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

What was truly impressive about the three-day dialogue was the willingness both sides demonstrated to not let their divergence over the South China Sea dictate the overall China-US relationship or the discourse on regional security.