After years of assurances that they have nothing to fear from a rising China, newly assertive Beijing is using divide-and-conquer tactics against its neighbors in Southeast Asia, trying to isolate claimants of disputed islands in an area rich in oil and gas.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi acknowledged that “there are territorial and maritime rights disputes” between China and some of its neighbors but, he said, “those disputes should not be viewed as ones between China and ASEAN as a whole just because the countries involved are ASEAN members.”
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