US Conveys Concerns To China Over South China Sea And Cyber Attacks: China's VP Resents US Tone

United States Vice President Joe Biden has told China that there can be no compromise on keeping world's seaways open for trade. The VP's message was clear that the concerns of the U.S are far from over as China’s territorial disputes with Asian neighbors are escalating, over the South and East China Seas and the issue of keeping world's waterways open is coming under a cloud.

Hundreds of Chinese officials arrived in Washington for the high-level annual strategic and economic talks being hosted by Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. The Chinese side was led by Vice Premier Wang Jang and China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

Welcoming the delegation of Chinese officials to Washington, Biden said Washington likes to see Beijing at the table in all important global negotiations. But Biden told China that its interaction with the U.S needs to be more candid and honest. "I believe that the future of China's success and global influence is directly tied to the extent to which it acts as a responsible stake-holder. Essential to this is to find new ways to work together even as we seek to manage future competition," Biden added.

Avoid Instability

Noting that “responsible countries do adhere to international law and work together to keep international sea-lanes open for unimpaired commerce, Biden said, 80 percent of all the commerce is on the back of a ship somewhere floating on the oceans.

Reference to sea lanes echoed the friction between the two leading economies, where the U.S is at odds with China's claims in the South China Sea. Washington has been repeatedly urging Beijing to refrain from building artificial islands in the area. But China has said in June that it will continue to project its military power beyond its borders and show it in sea and air.

So, the context was lost when Biden told the Chinese official team, "nations that discard diplomacy and use coercion and intimidation to settle disputes, or turn a blind eye to aggression of others only invite instability.” Obviously, the U.S vice president did not gloss over differences while praising China for being 'a partner' on many issues including nuclear negotiations and talks on climate change.

Cyber Threat

On Cyber attacks, the U.S. side did not mince words and admonished China’s behavior in the cyberspace and warned against the risk of endangering the most important geopolitical relationship in the world, between the two. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, speaking at the meeting, said Washington remains deeply concerned about government-sponsored "cyber theft from companies and commercial sectors.” He said Beijing’s leadership must exhibit responsibility to abide by "certain standards of behavior within cyberspace.” Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. anticipates candid talks on cyber security. “We look forward to a very frank discussion of cyber security and other ongoing concerns,” Kerry said.

Chinese VP Warns

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong warned the U.S. against using an aggressive tone. “Confrontation is a negative-sum game in which both sides will pay heavy prices and the whole world will suffer too,” Ms. Liu said. She added that even if dialogue falls short of expectation and sometimes nothing much is achieved, it is more preferable than confrontation.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)