Recent statements by the EU on the issue of the South China Sea only serve to fan the flames of the dispute and put the valuable EU-China relationship at risk. The EU should reject manipulation by the United States, as well as internal anti-Chinese sentiment, to clear the way for ASEAN’s leadership in resolving the issue.

The status of the conflict in the South China Sea has moved from concerning to critical, as reflected by the changing ASEAN rhetoric concerning the topic. The future of the South China Sea remains dependent on how China and other claimants proceed.

The normalization of U.S. Coast Guard presence in the South China Sea is likely to lead to greater competition and interference. Far from keeping the peace, U.S. intrusions into the region are deliberate exercises of power that aim to assert control.

The U.S. means only to distract and sabotage the recent favorable conditions in the SCS region. China and the Philippines should remain focused on their current progress toward maritime cooperation, not allow the U.S.’s strategy of public opinion warfare to win out.

The US is stepping up its efforts to involve itself in the South China Sea by dispatching Coast Guard vessels and selling surveillance drones and other arms to Southeast Asian nations — involvement that only serves to destabilize the situation in these disputed waters.

Maritime legal controversies in the South China Sea are not as bad as they are often characterized. However, divides are exacerbated by American unwillingness to accept international standards such as the UN Law of the Sea — and made worse by the Eurocentric bias of current international law, which has long ignored Asian cultures and traditions.

Recent US Navy drills in the South China Sea invited old friends like Japan and the Philippines, but also new partners like India. An expanded US military presence in these disputed waters is part of America’s “Indo-Pacific Strategy” to block Chinese military expansion — and perhaps to apply pressure during ongoing trade talks.

The U.S. military said one of its warships sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China in the South China Sea on Sunday, a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense ties between the world’s two biggest economies.

U.S.-led drills represents a fresh challenge to Beijing.

Despite Duterte’s fiery anti-US rhetoric, the Philippines and the US retain their strong military alliance. Similarly, on China-Philippines relations, Manila’s bark is worse than its bite — alongside South China Sea disagreements, the two sides have rapidly expanding economic ties. A bilateral (not trilateral) approach, with respect for each side’s red lines, is the key to avoiding escalation and deepening cooperation.