The Philippine Territory

U.S. Senate on Monday passed a resolution on the territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, another move set to have negative ramifications on the renewed positive momentum in China-U.S. relations in recent months.

Disregarding the basic facts, the resolution bluntly "condemned" China for so-called "use of coercion, threats, or force" to assert territorial claims in the East and South China Seas. It reiterated the U.S. opposition to changing the status quo of the Diaoyu Islands, called the Senkakus by Japan, while reaffirming that the U.S.-Japan security treaty covers the group of rocky isles in the East China Sea.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and sponsor of the resolution, claimed that it was aimed at calling for a "peaceful resolution" of those disputes, which will affect the future of a region poised to serve as an epicenter for global economic development in the 21st century.

However, the resolution is apparently self-contradictory as it will further complicate the disputes rather than pave the way for their peaceful resolution.

China is the wrong party to blame for the rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, which were provoked by Japan in the case of the Diaoyu dispute, and by the Philippines in the case of the disputes in the South China Sea.

Last year, the Japanese government took a unilateral action to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands, which were historically part of China's territory, in an attempt to legalize its act of theft. This is the origin of the current tensions in the East China Sea, in which China has shown enough patience and restraint in its moves to protect its territorial integrity.



And for a long time, the Philippine navy has used force to intimidate and arrest Chinese fishermen operating legally in the South China Sea.

The U.S. Senate's move also coincided with the recent conclusion of the fifth round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington, and the historic June summit held in California between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

These fruitful meetings have created a renewed momentum for the development of China-U.S. relations, with the two sides agreeing to work together to build a new type of major-country relationship based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation. In this way, they have vowed to break the historical curse of zero-sum game between a resident power and an emerging one.

The U.S. Senate attempts to kill two birds with one stone by reaffirming its support to Japan and the Philippines in its latest resolution. It aims to soothe the anxiety and anger of anti-China forces both at home and abroad at the recent improvement of China-U.S. ties, while serving its need to benefit from the tensions in the Asia-Pacific region to facilitate implementation of its rebalancing strategy.

But U.S. politicians have underestimated China's strong will and determination to protect the sovereignty and integrity of its territory, which will never be shaken by provocations and threats of use of force by any foreign country.

If the U.S. side is really sincere in its claimed goal of maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, it has to adopt an objective and fair position on the disputes in the East and South China Seas, by reining in its allies and urging them to cease provocations and hold candid peace talks with China to settle the disputes.