China is making more friends of non-claimant nations in Asia and the Middle East as an international ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines nears.
It appears to be a matter of choosing sides between China and the United States, which supports having Beijing subjected to arbitration for its constant "bullying" of smaller nations.
But according to the South China Morning Post, Beijing has already gained support from a total of 10 countries in Asia and the Middle East who would reportedly vouch for the Asian giant's plans on settling the territorial disputes directly with the countries involved without the interference from an international court.
"We insist we should peacefully resolve the disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations with other parties directly involved," the SCMP quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying.
Chinese-friendly Countries
The report from SCMP summarized statements from several countries around the South China Sea regarding China's expansive claims over sea and land territories along the region.
Among the Chinese-friendly nations mentioned in the report are Belarus and Pakistan, which both declared that they respect the Asian giant's stance on the matter.
Apparently, the foreign ministers of these two countries met with Beijing in two separate meetings while attending the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia on Wednesday.
Aside from that, Beijing claims to have already reached an agreement with Laos, Cambodia and Brunei to maintain Sino-ASEAN ties amid the conflict on territories.
However, Phay Siphan, the spokesperson for the Cambodian government, said that they have not yet reached a new consensus with China regarding the dispute.
China said that there are already over 10 countries that supported their plans, and these include India and Russia who both agreed on having the conflict resolved through negotiations.
Warning China
Despite this, analysts cited by the outlet seem to be having trouble accepting the fact that there are still friendly nations with China.
"Countries in the region want to be able to cooperate with China and have good relations with Beijing; they don't want to face coercion or intimidation on matters of security or economic policy. Claimants would much prefer a peaceful resolution of disputes," said Carnegie-Tsinghua Center Director Paul Haenle.
On the other side of the bout, the U.S. is calling for unity among ASEAN nations to support the international ruling on China's case, per a statement on Thursday reported by Reuters.
According to the statement, China is risking "terrible" damage should it continue to resist the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which handles the case filed by the Philippines regarding the territorial dispute.
"China has a decision to make. [If] it ignores the decision . . . it risks doing terrible damage to its reputation, further alienating countries in the region and pushing them even closer to the United States," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a House of Representatives hearing.