During the U.S.-China Dialogue on South China Sea in Washington, D.C., on July 5-6, representatives from the two countries’ think tanks exchanged views on hotly contested issues including the Philippines-initiated arbitration. Views from some U.S. participants follow:
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Alan Romberg (distinguished fellow, Stimson Center): I think everybody agrees that there shouldn’t be conflict. But tension is real. And there is a perception, I think among many in China, that the United States does take sides in, particularly, the sovereignty disputes, which it doesn’t. So I think it takes some objective thought about the way people talk about the issue on both sides in terms of the United States and China and we’ll have to see if that takes place.
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