Cai Penghong, a research fellow at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, wrote that, due to continuous U.S. military presence and intervention, and because the U.S. encourages Vietnam’s and the Philippine’s claims over the Nanshan Islands, U.S. ships may mistakenly or purposely enter the territorial waters of the Nansha Islands.
“The possibility of a Sino-US diplomatic crisis in the Nansha region might then become reality.”
"While the U.S. tries to control the ASEAN, ASEAN has its own way to effectively deal with the situation," remarked Cai. “In this context, China should take the initiative, take a tougher stance to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, and speed up consultation with the respective countries to develop a ‘Nansha Code of Conduct.’"
He suggested that, at present, China is the only country that can bring about a resolution to deal with the risk of trouble around the Nansha Islands.”
Source: Huanqiu, October 12, 2010
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Exclusive/2010-10/1163533.html