China urges neighbours not to stir South China Sea tensions

BEIJING - A senior Chinese military official has said that smaller countries should not bully others with support from major powers - and that they have the responsibility not to hijack regional security for selfish interests. The remarks were one of several responses from high-level PLA generals about the simmering tensions between China and Vietnam since early May over a Chinese rig operating near the Xisha Islands, at the centre of a territorial dispute between the two countries.

Wu Xinbo, Executive Dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, has refuted allegations by Stephen Hadley, a former US national security adviser, that China's diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific has escalated regional tensions. Wu instead blamed the US and its allies for stirring up trouble for China.

 A meeting between Chinese and Vietnamese diplomats last week established a dialogue regarding the crisis. While the meeting has not resulted in a solution, it was said to demonstrate that the two countries did not want the incident to affect their broader trade relationship. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).