#Beijing

After bowing to Beijing’s request to retract his decision to plant a flag on Thitu Island over Philippine Independence Day, the President Rodrigo Duterte has likely angered the Chinese again.

The unpredictable Duterte, has again changed course in the South China Sea, cancelling his plans to plant a flag on Thitu Island over Philippine Independence Day.

Vietnam reacted strongly in response to a recent visit by a Chinese cruise ship to the disputed Paracel archipelago. Hanoi pressed for an end to the cruise ship visits, which have taken hundreds of Chinese tourists to the island chain since 2013.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson concluded his visit to China earlier this month, pledging that relations between the two countries would be based on “non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.”

The new pick for U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, recently signaled the new administration’s get-tough approach to China over trade issues.

“We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.”

Vietnam and China pledged to settle disputes and to work toward a code of conduct for maritime operations after Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to Beijing.

Comments from White House spokesman Sean Spicer on the South China Sea seem to have riled the Chinese and confused others who follow developments in the region.

What makes Tillerson’s bellicosity even more absurd is that the U.S. position in the South China Sea has never been weaker.

Pyongyang could decide to conduct a new ballistic test in the early weeks of the new administration to gauge President Trump’s response.

Despite U.S. objections and concerns, China’s $100 billion initiative seems determined in its quest for respectability and prominence.

Hanoi has been actively fortifying its key holdings in the Spratlys, including the construction of a runway, tunnels and bunkers to defend its territory against China.