Security was also multilayered as the regional institutions, especially of South east Asia, encouraged the development of patterns of cooperative security. Indeed it was precisely by embracing the norms of cooperative security and working with the regional institutions that China was welcomed as a partner by the resident states of Southeast Asia, who nevertheless kept a wary eye on the giant in their midst, conscious of the destabilizing role it had played in the Maoist era and of its claims to superiority before the advent of the Europeans. There is a wide gap between China’s interpretations of history and those of many of its neighbours. The contemporary Chinese account it of a benevolent and peaceful unitary state that never sought to expand or to intimidate its smaller neighbourss. Vietnamese, Koreans and others remember the history differently. Conscious of the apprehensions of their Southeast Asian neighbours in particular (despite these rarely being voiced in public) China’s leaders have been keen to emphasize their peaceful intent and to stress the significance of their so-called win-win economic exchanges. They have sought to cultivate soft power in the region through encouraging students to attend schools and universities in China, through tourism, social and educational exchanges and even military-to-military relations. Thus the concern of the Southeast Asians to avoid confrontations with China and the Chinese interest in promoting good relations has provided another layer to regional security. However , in 2009 and 2010 China became more assertive in asserting its sovereignty over disputed maritime territories, to the discomfort of its neighbours, which elicited a tough response from the US at a meeting of ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2010. Much to the annoyance of the Chinese, the Americans insisted that continued access to the international waters of the South China Sea was a major interest of the US and they favoured a militarized solution to the territorial dispute in the sea as opposed to the series of bilateral settlements favoured by the Chinese side.