Asia should not be bound by a few islands

East Asia, one of the world's most dynamic regions featuring trade and economic wonders for the past few decades, is seemingly becoming a hot spot of anger and confrontation, as a result of recent sovereignty disputes.

The US vow to stick a hand into the already troubled situations around China only makes the mess even more difficult.

With territorial quarrels continuing to escalate, China has to rethink its priorities. Should it keep its focus on increasing trade and the economy, or should it be drawn into a quagmire that hurts both China and its neighbors?

This is not to say that China should forfeit its claims over the islands, but China has to be clear that its utmost strategic goal now is to keep growing strong.

The biggest beneficiary of a troubled East Asian region is the US, which wishes to diminish China's healthy ties with its neighbors and to realize its goal of leadership in the western Pacific.

Southeast Asian countries, out of a natural anxiety over the rise of China, may want to "balance" the rising power. Yet with many of them also on the fast track of development, they should cherish a stable neighborhood more than ever.

Being tough is sometimes necessary. But, history also teaches us the one who chooses to be tough was often the weaker player, and the stronger player often showed flexibility in dealing with the situation, as a result of its greater resources and confidence.

In terms of the recent island disputes, what China needs to do is not simply to get tougher. First of all, it should work toward a practical solution to end the disputes. If this is hard to achieve, China should at least try to avoid developing a situation that caters more to US interests than to Asia's.

China has to face the fact that these Chinese islands, which are currently under the control of Japan and Viet-nam, cannot be taken back in a short period of time.

Japan is also in the same situation: No matter how tough Japan appears to be in its claim of the Russian-con-trolled Southern Kurils, they will not be able to force the islands to change hands overnight.

It takes great wisdom to solve these territorial problems. To preserve the upward trend of China and East Asia's development, China needs to consider holding back a little bit on the island issues. How much China should hold back may depend on the joint efforts of all East Asian players toward a goal of common prosperity.