Gao Zugui, a Professor at the Party School of The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), wrote that China should find a common ground with its neighboring countries and with the United States in order to contain the tension in the South China Sea. Gao believes the urge of the neighboring countries to leverage external forces to resolve the dispute in the area meets the United States need to find an opportunity to re-instate its dominance in Asia, thus leading to the current tension in the South China Sea. “If China can expand the common interests or concerns that it shares with the ASEAN countries, including the South China Sea, and tries to prevent escalation of the conflict, it may be possible to limit the space the United States is interested in using. If China can expand its common ground with the United States related to more important interests and concerns, it may be possible for China to push the United States toward exercising restraint on the issue of the South China Sea.”
Source: People’s Online, August 22, 2011
http://theory.people.com.cn/GB/82288/112848/112851/15478658.htm