China and the U.S. are waging a bitter but so far nonviolent struggle in Burma. And the U.S. appears to be winning. For Burma, opening to the West was the answer; sanctions were eased, Western leaders rushed to visit, and business investment flowed in.

Manilla’s arbitration requests in the South China Sea concern the standing of “historic rights”; the status of certain land features in these waters and the maritime entitlements they are capable of generating; and the lawfulness of certain Chinese land reclamation and law enforcement actions. Likely neither Beijing nor Manilla will walk away dejected, however.

Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the basic norm of international relations. The US is duty-bound to make a careful study of China’s solemn position on this vital issue and show proper respect for China’s sovereignty instead of taking provocative actions based on contrived legal interpretations.

Richard Weitz reviews the recent speech of U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who describes China’s potential to challenge the U.S.-built international order through its assertive stance in the South China Sea, and finds his approach sensible, given the mixed and fluid strategic relationship between the two countries.

Could access to methane hydrates be behind China’s territorial aggressiveness in the South China Sea? Instead of saber-rattling, China to deploy its sophisticated technology backed by the deep pockets of its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to create ‘partnerships’ with the Philippines and Vietnam to develop these offshore resources

Washington should talk to Beijing to establish their mutual respect for international law, instead of sending a warship so close to China’s islands, no matter if such rocks are natural or artificial.

China and its Eurasian neighbors likely discussed the future of Central Asian security while attending the Chinese military parade. Chinese leaders may have to assume a more prominent security role in Central Asia and talks with U.S. officials can make this process more manageable.

Beyond search-and-rescue cooperation and crisis management, creating hotlines between China and the 10 ASEAN countries would carry a no less important symbolism: the consensus that the South China Sea issue is not an issue between them as a whole.

The recent amnesty that freed 155 Chinese loggers might calm Beijing and Kunming, effectively easing diplomatic tension between China and Myanmar. The move could also signal, however, that when it comes to the timber trade, it is business as usual.

In the South China Sea dispute, the US position has been inconsistent with itself and with norms of international law, breeding misunderstanding and suspicion. The result has raised the political temperature in the region, and could lead to undesirable results for all parties.