Chinese behaviour in Asian seas driven by Monroe Doctrine of its own

Two centuries ago, the increasingly assertive United States declared that the Western hemisphere was off limits to the great colonial powers of Europe. Just as president James Monroe's eponymous doctrine altered the nature of transatlantic relations, so today China is essentially following the American footprints in transpacific affairs with its own Menluo (a transliteration of Monroe) Doctrine in the East and South China seas.

Beijing's competing claims primarily involve the Diaoyu (or Senkaku in Japan) Islands dispute with Tokyo; the Paracel (or Xisha in China, Hoang Sa in Vietnam) archipelagos with Hanoi; and finally the Scarborough Shoal clash (or Huangyan Island in China), along with the Second Thomas Shoal (known as Renai in China), with Manila. This maritime territory encompasses a historical "nine-dash line" map of China.

Last month, a few days after making a strong statement about the US treaty obligations to defend Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, President Barack Obama reiterated at a news conference in Manila that the Philippines and Vietnam should bring the disputed claims against China before an international tribunal under the UN Law of the Sea Treaty.

During his four-nation tour in Asia, Obama emphasised the US commitment to the "rebalancing" policy in the Pacific, saying "we don't think that coercion and intimidation is the way to manage these disputes".

On its part, China unilaterally declared an air defence identification zone over parts of the East China Sea last November. Since then, it has clashed with its neighbours over the disputed fishery-rich Scarborough Shoal claimed by the Philippines, and an oil rig near the Paracels claimed by Vietnam.

The US and its regional allies do not have a straightforward geostrategy to deter China's assertive behaviour.