China "Seduces" Southeast Asian Countries After Relationship With The US In The South China Sea Heats Up

Illustration (Unsplash / Macau Photo Agency)

JAKARTA - China is currently consolidating Southeast Asian countries by strengthening economic sector relations and offering assistance to tackle the COVID-19 problem. The movement intensified after relations with the United States (US) in the South China Sea heated up.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China's claim to nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea was completely against the law. This statement reinforces the previously bad Sino-US tensions.

In the midst of this tension, China is trying to "seduce" Southeast Asian countries. Vietnam, for example, launched SCMP, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is trying to win the country's heart in a virtual meeting with Vietnam's Foreign Minister, Pham Binh Minh. The meeting comes a day after China's Deputy Foreign Minister, Luo Zhaohui, persuaded Vietnam that it wanted regional peace and stability.

"Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam and China strengthen friendship to support each other," Wang Yi said during the meeting. "We both managed to control the outbreak and we will continue to build economic and trade cooperation," he said.

Meanwhile Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh pledged to donate 100,000 US dollars, as a "sign of friendship" to help China, which is facing the worst floods in decades. This disaster has hit 27 provinces and affected more than 38 million people.

"I want to extend our sincere empathy to China, which is fighting natural disasters," said Minh. During the meeting between the two countries, they also discussed controversial maritime disputes.

Apart from Vietnam, China has also re-established intensive relations with Cambodia, one of its closest allies in the South China Sea dispute. The bamboo curtain country said it had concluded talks on Monday for a free trade pact with Cambodia.

The pact is largely seen as symbolic, given their limited trading volume. Meanwhile, analysts say the cooperation is China's strategy to seduce Southeast Asian countries away from the US.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China's claim to nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea was completely against the law. This statement reinforces the previously bad Sino-US tensions.