The Obama administration is eager to dampen the tensions in the East China Sea. With the dangers of miscalculation too high, Richard Weitz states that the disputed islands are hardly worth a war.

China’s move of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) has aroused strong reaction from a number of countries, including Japan and the US. It seems that China will cast more shadow on its relationship with neighboring countries and will be in new trouble in building the special relationship with the US. However, it is likely to turn out that the ADIZ works and China’s bottom-line thinking behind the zone proves to be effective, writes Su Xiaohui.

Hostile rhetoric and military contingency planning by China and Japan in respect of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands are at their most serious since the dispute first surfaced in 1970. It may be said that diplomacy has worked well so far in avoiding serious conflict, but in fact the two countries were never interested in any action that had a high risk of provoking a military confrontation. However, times have changed, writes Greg Austin.

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice Prime Minister Liu Yandong hosted the High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange. This conference symbolizes the deepening ties between the U.S. and China as the numbers of social, cultural and educational exchanges continue to grow along with political ones.

While nations in the international community, especially Japan, Australia, and the United States, rushed to provide generous relief aid to the Philippines in the aftermath of devastating Typhoon Haiyan, China’s response has been noticeably different.

After a few months of maintaining a low profile in its rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, the Obama administration appears to be revitalizing this initiative, writes Yang Wenjing.

Sixteen years after China closed its embassy in São Tomé and Principle, two tiny African islands located in a resource rich area off of the Atlantic Coast of Gabon. Now China hopes to renew relations by bringing promise of modern infrastructure to the island in hope of returning with a stake in potential oil discovery.

In the past year, China’s new administration has taken steps to improve regional ties in Asia by perusing an active peripheral diplomatic strategy. The multiple visits by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang demonstrate this. Chen Jimin explains three reasons why China is choosing to explore this strategy.

China hopes that Kerry’s recent Middle East visit will herald a new diplomatic approach from the US, and will play a positive and significant role in promoting regional peace in the Middle East, writes Wu Sike.

A November 1 article written by the Wall Street Journal has been the cause of some concern for those who follow US-China-Japan relations. While the US has maintained its position of “neutrality,” China is concerned about its own security as well as that of the region as Japan’s nationalistic leaders continue to pursue more active military and foreign policies.