Creative diplomacy needed in West Philippine Sea

WHAT is important is to understand the underlying motives behind Chinese actuations in the China Sea. First and foremost, China seeks to change the power balance in the South China (West Philippine) Sea to challenge the Obama pivot to Asia.

Chinese motives are both economic and military. It wants control of the China Sea initially, to protect its 18,000-kilometer coastline from seaborne attack, and, eventually, to project Chinese power beyond even the West Pacific to the world’s oceans.