China’s top diplomat has accused the United States and other Western nations of disrupting regional stability in the South China Sea, even as he urged South-east Asian countries to “press ahead” with the negotiations on a code of conduct to manage maritime and territorial disputes in the contested waters. In a wide-ranging annual press conference yesterday that lasted more than 90 minutes, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeatedly warned the US against interfering in its domestic affairs, although he also held out an olive branch to the new Biden administration, calling for dialogue and cooperation. Dr Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at RSIS, said senior officials from ASEAN and China were unable to meet face-to-face in the past year, which has stalled negotiations on the code. “Most governments will want to get the pandemic under control before they will want to talk about the (code of conduct),” said Dr Koh, a maritime security expert. Associate Professor Li Mingjiang from RSIS pointed out that unlike during the previous Trump administration, there would be limited cooperation between both sides on issues where “there are no serious clashing interests” – such as on climate change and World Trade Organisation reforms. But Beijing will be especially wary of Washington’s fresh focus on engaging ASEAN nations, he added. “This is something that China will be watching very closely – Washington’s new policy towards South-east Asia and how it engages the region,” he said.