US interferes with Asia for its own interests

The meetings, including East ASIA SUMMIT (EAS), in Hanoi, Vietnam, have put the region's development and security issues in the spotlight again. As regional leaders hold a series of meetings on Saturday, it would be pertinent to see the different roles China and the United States want to play in the region.

As a big regional and world player, China wants wider agreement on how to tackle the boiling issues in the region. And as the world's most populous country striving for greater success in social and economic development, China needs long-term stable relations with neighboring countries. In fact, building good neighborly ties has always been its top priority.

This is reflected in Premier Wen Jiabao's tight schedule in Hanoi, too. Apart from attending the formal EAS, he will also meet with some heads of state separately during his short stay in Hanoi to consolidate old ties and discuss issues of mutual interest. China has always supported regional development and integration, and wants to work with other countries to give full play to regional mechanisms such as the EAS.

Beijing adheres to the principle that promoting regional development and resolving regional issues should be an Asian affair. That is why it wants the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to play a leading role in the EAS.

The stance China will take at and the expectations it has from the Hanoi summit show that it has played the role of a responsible power in maintaining regional peace and stability. This fact is recognized and praised by other Asian countries.

But the role the US wants to play in the region is totally different, even though as the world's only superpower it should try to maintain regional peace and stability.

Speaking on the US' Asia strategy in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Oct 28, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Barack Obama administration's aims include strengthening Washington's leadership role and promoting American values in the region. Clinton's remarks, made before she flew to Hanoi, lays bare some of the strategic pursuits of the US in the region. They make it clear that the US wants to look after its own interests in the region and that the general welfare of Asian countries is not on its agenda.

The Obama administration's efforts to return to the region have borne fruits with the EAS formally accepting the US (and Russia) as new members from next year. Once the US becomes a full-fledged EAS member, Asian countries have to remain vigilant against its intention to use regional mechanisms to find an excuse to interfere in the region's internal affairs.

The US has raised its pitch on the disputes between China and some other countries in the South China Sea on several occasions this year. But its efforts to internationalize the disputes will only deal a blow to the peace prevailing in the South China Sea and run counter to the consensus reached among the disputing countries not to internationalize them.

The US stance on the South China Sea disputes is a ready example that proves that its Asia strategy does not conform to the interests of Asian countries, just like American values are not always compatible with Asian values.

It is, therefore, necessary for Asian leaders meeting in Hanoi to reiterate that only Asians should lead the process to resolve regional issues.

China Daily