Southeast Asia Keeping A Wary Eye On China

By John Mair

China's aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea is causing unease among Southeast Asian nations.

ANALYSIS

MANILA: A buoy, posts and building materials on an inhabited outcrop sound unremarkable, but they mark an escalation of a dispute over one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, resource wealth, and how Southeast Asia manages China’s rise as a regional power.

Harsh rhetoric and an occasional stand-off have long been part of the jousting over the contested South China Sea, but recently the incidents are more frequent and the complaints from Southeast Asian capitals about China’s actions are louder.