BEIJING: Improved relations between the US and Vietnam must not lead to greater pressure on China or threats to its interests, an official Chinese newspaper said on Tuesday.

While China applauds the spirit of reconciliation between Hanoi and Washington, “whatever common interests the two countries pursue, they should never compromise China’s national interests and threaten regional security,” the English-language China Daily said in an editorial.

The comments point to Beijing’s underlying concerns about closer ties between its chief regional rival and its southern neighbour, with which it is in dispute over ownership of islands in the South China Sea.

Any attempt to enlist Vietnam in an effort to contain China “bodes ill for regional peace and stability, as it would further complicate the situation in the South China Sea, and risk turning the region into a tinderbox of conflicts”, the newspaper said.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2016