The United States has stepped up Asian diplomacy under the Obama administration and is worried about being excluded from groupings such as the EAS as China expands its diplomatic and economic presence.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton called for peaceful settlement of maritime disputes on Saturday after a flare-up in Chinese anger with Japan raised questions about reconciliation between the Asian powers.
Clinton, in Vietnam for the first US participation in an East Asia Summit (EAS), also sought clarification about China's policy on exporting rare earth minerals and got assurances from its foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, a US official said.
The United States has stepped up Asian diplomacy under the Obama administration and is worried about being excluded from groupings such as the EAS as China expands its diplomatic and economic presence.
But the summit this year, the fifth since the group's founding in 2005, has been overshadowed by the row over maritime claims which has strained ties between Asia's two biggest economies.
"The United States has a national interest in the freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce. And when disputes arise over maritime territory, we are committed to resolving them peacefully based on customary international law," Clinton said in remarks prepared for delivery at the summit.
A Chinese foreign ministry official accused Japan of damaging the atmosphere between the two countries on Friday after Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara raised the issue of the Senkaku islands, called the Diaoyu islands in Chinese, at the summit. Both China and Japan claim sovereignty over the isles.
Relations between China and Japan deteriorated last month with the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain by the Japanese coast guard after their boats collided near the islands.
The two sides had taken steps to mend ties and speculation swirled over whether Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan would hold fence-mending bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit in Hanoi.
But Chinese assistant foreign minister Hu Zhengyue said a bilateral meeting was not possible, and he blamed Japan.
The renewed row will have hit close to home for several of the leaders meeting in Hanoi at an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit with its dialogue partners, and one Southeast Asian diplomat said it had caused unease.
"You can feel the tension between China and Japan," said the diplomat. "No one wants to take sides."
Four ASEAN members -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- have long-running disagreements with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea, and have expressed concern over China''s growing assertiveness over its claims.
In July, China reacted with vitriol when nearly half of the participants at a regional security meeting of foreign ministers under the ASEAN banner, including Clinton, raised concerns about maritime security and the South China Sea.
On Friday in Washington, US state department spokesperson PJ Crowley addressed the China-Japan row directly, saying the United States expected the two sides to resolve the issue via dialogue.
The United States and Russia on Saturday formally join the 16-member East Asia Summit.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}