Does China really support the US-Asean partnership?

CHINA has reacted mildly - to some extent even positively - to the special US-Asean summit meeting hosted last week by US President Barack Obama at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage in California, the first such meeting to be held in the US.

Beijing had viewed the meeting anxiously. The state-owned Global Times newspaper issued a commentary before the two-day meeting headlined: "Sunnylands wrong place to discuss South China Sea row".

The discussions in California were held behind closed doors. However, a Philippine official, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr, told Manila-based reporters: "In their discussions, the leaders expressed collective concern over continued militarisation in the South China Sea, which they recognised as a core issue in the region."