Instigating Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea issue is a gambit aimed at containing China's rise

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the U.S. - ASEAN Ministerial Meeting during the 43rd annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi July 22, 2010. [Xinhua]

The South China Sea is a body of water with rich natural resources and is of strategic significance to China in a geopolitical sense.

The current standstill in resolving territorial disputes in the South China Sea is being exploited as needed pretext for outside interference.

At the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum held in Vietnam on July 23, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that resolving the South China Sea issue was "pivotal to regional stability" and suggested an international mechanism to settle the dispute.

The United States is the largest external power hampering a peaceful settlement of the South China Sea issue.

The Obama administration adjusted Washington's Southeast Asian policy in an attempt to cozy up to ASEAN countries. The US is trying to strengthen its influence in the region so as to contain China by interfering with the ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.