The Washington Post writes, "The Chinese navy repeatedly warned a U.S. surveillance plane to leave airspace around disputed islands in the South China Sea - a sign that Beijing may seek to create a military exclusion zone in a move that could heighten regional tensions. The warnings, delivered eight times to a P-8A Poseidon over the Spratly Islands on Wednesday, were reported by a CNN team aboard the plane...On Thursday, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, Hong Lei, said Beijing 'has the right to monitor certain airspace and maritime areas and safeguard national security, to prevent unexpected incidents at sea.'"
"Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to provide $110 billion in aid for Asian infrastructure projects, as China prepares to launch a new institutional lender that is seen as encroaching on the regional financial clout of Tokyo and its ally Washington. The amount of Japanese funds, to be invested over 5 years, tops the expected $100 billion capitalisation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Beijing-sponsored lender scheduled to begin operations next year...Japan said it wants to focus on 'high quality' aid, for example, by helping recipients tap its expertise in reducing pollution while building roads and railways. That's an implicit contrast with the AIIB, whose projects Washington has said may not adequately safeguard the environment," writes Reuters.
According to The Wall Street Journal, "China's negotiations to establish a naval base in Djibouti-where the U.S. has its own military installation, Camp Lemonnier-is sure to heighten concerns in Washington about Beijing's geopolitical aspirations. As China rises and its global ambitions expand, it has stepped up its economic, diplomatic, and military involvement in the Middle East...Chinese interests in the region-energy, counterterrorism, the free flow of commerce-are not unique. But as the sheer size of China's needs and the magnitude of its pretensions to global power have grown, it has shifted away from its philosophy of 'non-interference' and reliance on U.S.-provided order to a more forward-leaning role."