Fish in troubled waters [By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

The Philippines has bluntly undervalued this move by ASEAN. Spoiled by Washington, Manila has demanded more. Most likely, it wants Washington and other non ASEAN parties to sit with it while it talks with China and other regional claimants.

Before being able to walk, the Philippines wants to run. By being over ambitious, Manila is hurting its chances ― it has failed to understand that it is the Philippines, not China, that should ask for a talk. Also, it may never understand that the US, from the standpoint of available resources, cannot afford a complete shift toward Asia.

For ages, the US has focused on Europe and Middle East. During the Cold War, It was Soviet-American competition that exhausted much of the US resources. In the Middle East, US support for Israel has often frustrated the Arabs, often leading to regional upheavals.

With the reduction of tension in Europe, America can now afford to reduce its allocation of resources to that region. However, this doesn't free up enough resources to substantially increase investment in the Asia-Pacific. But if its unbalanced US Middle East policy continues to bear little fruit, America could be soon ready to relocate much more of its resources to Asia.

Presently, America is burdened by a number of events in the Middle East: the volatile aftermath of the Arab Spring, the turbulent unfolding of Libya and Syria, the persistent Iranian nuclear quest and Israel's potential response, to name a few. As such, Asian countries should not expect too much in terms of US rebalancing.

All countries have their limits ― and America is no exception, especially as it approaches its fiscal cliff. Thus, its "rebalancing" strategy in the Asia-Pacific sounds more like rhetoric, if not a joke, due to its limited capacity. More fundamentally, it has to rebalance its own handling in the Middle East as well as its own fiscal policy.

China is neither an expansionist like Soviet Union nor an imperialist like Japan, and its actions warrant no rebalancing ― especially when America is still so predominant. Any unnecessary regional rebalancing will probably expend America's resources faster, accelerating its relative decline and China's relative rise.

This author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.h5a3.com/opinion/shendingli.htm

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