China, US need to manage differences over South China Sea: experts

US HAS TO TAKE LEAD IN REDUCING TENSIONS

On how to cool down the situation, Huang Renwei, vice president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the United States should take the lead because it is the most powerful nation in the region.

Then the Philippines should refrain from taking any actions after the court ruling next week, otherwise it will surely trigger off counter moves, Huang told Xinhua.

At the same time, other outside parties such as Japan and Australia should avoid stepping into the troubled waters in the South China Sea, he proposed.

Huang said China will not be the sole party that will endure loss if anyone tries to forcibly enforce the court ruling, as all related parties will have to pay a price.

Zhu Feng, director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea at Nanjing University, told reporters that one of the major factors behind the rising tensions in the South China Sea is overreaction from the relevant parties, especially from the United States.

Zhu said it is impossible to enforce the upcoming arbitration ruling on the South China Sea case either by the United States or the Philippines.

He added that the core issue in cooling down the tensions is to conduct a serious review of the differences between China and the United States and try to find practical ways to narrow the gap.

Baker believed that the immediate reaction to the court ruling from the United States could be talking immediately with the Philippines on the next step for Manila to take.

He proposed the related parties first change the tone of the discussion right now in order to lower the tensions.

He noted some cooperation between China and the United States despite their differences. For example, China's Navy was invited to this year's multi-national RIMPAC naval exercises, a move that could lower the tensions by creating a set of understandings at the lower level.

SIT DOWN TO MANAGE DIFFERENCES

The experts said the South China Sea issue is only part of the broader relationship, so the two sides should manage their differences through talks to prevent it from leading to strategic rivalry or confrontation.

"I think one of the most important things would be sit down and have discussions about how we're going to manage conflicts, specifically, on intended or unplanned conflicts," Mulvaney said.

He believed that the two powers will not just focus on the single issue of the South China Sea, because "it's not one of our central focus points."

Huang said one of the major mistakes made by the United States is siding with its allies no matter what they do, while criticizing China for whatever it does.

"I often tell the Americans, if you keep taking a biased position, the US leadership will naturally be weakened," Huang said.

Zhu said the two countries should find a way of compromise and cooperation on the South China Sea issue from a long-term perspective, because neither side wants to turn the region into a battlefield.

"A military confrontation will benefit neither side, as it will be a disaster to the regional and global economy," he said.

Huang said despite all the differences, Beijing and Washington do have a consensus, that is, neither wants an all-out confrontation in the West Pacific. This is evident in the progress being made in improving the military-to-military cooperation and crisis management mechanisms.

"The South China Sea issue is only part of the overall China-US relationship, which should never be kidnapped by the dispute," he added.

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