"Japanese leaders indicated on Tuesday that their nation would not become a founding member of a new Chinese-led Asian development bank but instead remain loyal to the United States, which has urged its allies to refrain from joining. The officials cited concerns about the management of the new lender, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, that echoed objections raised by Washington, which sees the bank as a challenge to American-led institutions like the World Bank. Local news reports quoted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as saying it was important for strategic reasons that Japan stick with the United States even when other allies like Britain and Germany have announced they will join the new bank... Despite American objections, dozens of nations have signed up ahead of the March 31 deadline set by China to become founding members of the new bank, to be based in Beijing. The most recent to join include Australia and South Korea, two of the United States' closest military partners in the region," writes The New York Times.
The Wall Street Journal reports, "Unprecedented land reclamation by China in contested islands of the South China Sea is raising serious questions over whether Beijing intends confrontation or cooperation with other regional powers... U.S. Pacific fleet Commander Admiral Harry Harris Jr. accused Beijing of building a 'great wall of sand' over areas claimed by several nations...China's muscle-flexing over territorial claims is stoking apprehension in nations including the Philippines and Vietnam, which earlier this month lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing. Australia, a longtime U.S. ally, has also expressed concern and last year signed a deal with Japan to bolster military cooperation and exercises as a hedge against China's fast-growing military clout."
According to The Washington Post, "U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew pressed Chinese leaders to suspend proposed curbs on foreign security technology and said a Beijing-led regional bank should work in partnership with existing institutions. The United States and Europe say Beijing is improperly blocking market access with the curbs in proposed anti-terrorism and banking security measures. The measures have prompted an unusually high-level response, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other Cabinet officials writing to Beijing opposing them. 'It would be a significant barrier to U.S. companies doing business in China,'...The bank rules take effect Wednesday, though institutions have until 2019 to have at least 75 percent of their information infrastructure certified as 'secure and controllable' by the government."