China-U.S. competition and rivalry in the South China Sea is structural, strategic, and irreconcilable. Preventing conflicts there from damaging bilateral ties is a practical imperative for decision-makers in both countries.

Tensions are rising in the South China Sea — so why is the East China Sea so calm?

Talks on the bilateral investment, the South China Sea and military-to-military relations should help leaders and people in both countries confidence in each other and make China-US relations stand the test of challenging times.

There is increasing commentary among the chattering classes about the importance of making China “pay a price” for its aggressive behavior, but the possibility of miscalculation and misjudgment makes it even more important that all participants step back from confrontation.

Could China’s export infrastructure drive be at risk from its actions in the South China Sea? To win overseas infrastructure contracts, China may have to choose between a trouble free ‘going out’ strategy, and an aggressive ‘island-building’ South China Sea policy.

The U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue, the seventh of its kind, will take place soon amidst an increasing rivalry between the two countries. Ensuring stable peace and continued prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region will require both countries to replace their self-serving interpretations of the other’s strategic intentions with more sober assessments.

What exactly is America's gripe with China in the South China Sea? The question becomes more and more important as the future of the world's most vital bilateral relationship becomes more and more dependent on what happens in this much-contested waterway. And the answer is not very clear.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s speech at the just concluded Shangri-La Dialogue had a theme of attacking China. He irresponsibly dumped blame on China for its construction activities on its own isles and reefs in the South China Sea, accusing China of sabotaging security in the Asia Pacific.

With good reason, Chinese leaders wonder whether the pivot to Asia is the initial stage of a containment policy directed against their country. Similarly, U.S. officials are likely to become concerned about China’s attention and investment in Latin America, not helped by suspicions about China’s intentions in the South China Sea.

The ongoing dispute threatens to drive U.S.-China relations permanently in a far more adversarial, zero-sum direction and destabilize the region.