“Nearly a year after the US stepped into a simmering dispute between China and smaller countries in the region over potentially oil-rich islands in the South China Sea, tensions are rising again…

“Since March, both Vietnam and the Philippines have [...]]]> The Christian Science Monitor calls attention to territorial disputes in the South China Sea:

“Nearly a year after the US stepped into a simmering dispute between China and smaller countries in the region over potentially oil-rich islands in the South China Sea, tensions are rising again…

“Since March, both Vietnam and the Philippines have accused Chinese forces of aggressive acts in disputed areas. Military experts say China’s sustained military buildup enables it to project more naval power in an oceanic region where the US Navy has long held sway. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates was due to meet Friday with his Chinese counterpart at a security summit in Singapore. ‘We are not trying to hold China down,’ he told reporters Thursday…

“Most experts say that the complexity of the dispute, which involves six countries (China, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia), scores of uninhabited islands and untapped hydrocarbons, resists any quick solution. Instead, it is likely to linger as a potential flashpoint, while countries continue probing the seabed to find out how much oil and gas could be recoverable. Estimates of their size and value vary widely…

“US officials have stressed their neutrality in territorial claims in the South China Sea. But analysts say it is hard to disentangle the tensions over island sovereignty from US-China military rivalry. Last year’s policy speech in Vietnam by Ms. Clinton came just months after a confrontation between Chinese patrol boats and a US naval surveillance ship operating near a Chinese submarine base on its southernmost island, Hainan. China said the US ship was spying inside its exclusive zone.”

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"Beijing’s main interest in Latin America has been guaranteeing access to the region’s raw materials – principally oil, iron ore, soybeans, and copper – to fuel its continued rapid growth. For many countries, there’s a downside in the China trade, through which [...]]]> The Christian Science Monitor highlights China’s growing economic influence in Latin America:

"Beijing’s main interest in Latin America has been guaranteeing access to the region’s raw materials – principally oil, iron ore, soybeans, and copper – to fuel its continued rapid growth. For many countries, there’s a downside in the China trade, through which cheap imports have displaced local textiles.

"China’s growing role has alarmed policymakers in Washington. However, China has been careful not to establish a military presence in the region, since doing so would antagonize Washington. The US has considered Latin America to be in its sphere of influence since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823.

"China ‘treats [Hugo] Chávez as they do [Álvaro] Uribe and Lula,’ said Alexandre Barbosa, a consultant to the São Paulo-based consulting firm Prospectiva, referring to the presidents of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, respectively. ‘They’re interested in business’

"And what a voracious interest in business they’ve shown. Trade between Latin America and China rocketed from $10 billion in 2000 to $140 billion in 2008. China is buying zinc from Peru, copper from Chile, and iron ore from Brazil. It’s shipping electronic equipment to Brazil, buses to Cuba, clothes to Mexico and cars to Peru."

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