/CHINA: Per the FT: "Washington hopes to.........>

US: /CHINA: Per the FT: "Washington hopes to capitalise on anger over persistent

Chinese aggression in the South China Sea to rally rival claimants against

Beijing. China has continued to assert its dominance of the strategically

important waters during the coronavirus pandemic even as other littoral states

have been focused on dealing with the health crisis. "Their harassment has not

served them well. And it has helped start some conversations that we are having

now about how to deal with China," said a US diplomat in south-east Asia. The

incidents have piled up in recent weeks: the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing

boat by a Chinese coast guard vessel; Chinese maritime survey activity in waters

off Malaysia; and Beijing's inclusion of disputed land features in new Chinese

administrative districts."