In the first six months of 2010 a greater wariness is evident in American dealings with China.
Moreover, the Chinese government has begun to show less regard than previously for the views and interests of its maritime neighbours.
By appearing to condone the aggression of North Korea in sinking a South Korean ship and in seeking to prevent South Korea and the United States from conducting military exercises in the seas around the Korean peninsula [especially in the Yellow Sea] the Chinese deepened the concerns of Japan and South Korea, as well as the United States.
This came on top of claiming for the first time in March 2010 that the South China Sea was a ‘core interest’ [putting it on a par with Taiwan and Tibet] and that china was pursuing a strategy of ‘deep sea defence’.