Lest anyone in China miss the underlying message, the resolution went on to emphasize Washington's support for Japan's continuing administration of the Senkaku Islands (which China claims under the name Diaoyu Islands) and stressed that the bilateral U.S.-Japan defense treaty covered those islands, despite their disputed status. So much for the professed U.S. "neutrality" regarding territorial controversies!
Several of the "resolved" clauses exhibited more than an undertone of criticism and hostility toward China. One condemned "the use of coercion, threats, or force by naval, maritime security, or fishing vessels and military and civilian aircraft" in either the South China Sea or East China Sea "to assert territorial claims or alter the status quo." Since the resolution previously listed numerous alleged Chinese actions but not a single one by any other party, it was apparent against whom this warning was directed. Likewise, resolution language encouraging the deepening of Washington's efforts to develop partnerships with other countries in the region "for maritime awareness and capacity building," and expressing support for "the continuing of operations by United States Armed Forces in the Western Pacific, including in partnership with the armed forces of other countries in the region," to advance those goals could hardly be viewed in Beijing as friendly.
Not surprisingly, the Chinese government reacted angrily to the passage (by an overwhelming margin) of the Senate resolution. A Foreign Ministry statement condemned the vote, saying that the senators "took heed of neither history nor facts, unjustifiably blaming China and sending the wrong message." It added that the government had already made "stern representations with the U.S. side," and urged the Senate to correct its error "to avoid further complicating the issue and the regional situation."
Ever since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech to ASEAN in July 2010, Chinese suspicions have grown that the United States is injecting itself into the murky, sensitive territorial disputes in the South China and East China seas. The Obama administration's military flirtation with Vietnam, the rebuilding of U.S. military ties with the Philippines, and the repeated assertions that the defense treaty with Japan covers the Senkaku Islands, have all furthered those suspicions. The last thing the U.S. Senate needed to do was to become directly involved in a thoroughly biased fashion and confirm that Washington is determined to undermine China's claims and interests. This set of issues was already a diplomatic mine field, and the Senate's action has increased the likelihood of a detonation.
