Jul.28 (China Military News cited from Postmedia News and written By Aileen McCabe) -- Opposition is gathering in China to Washington's renewed "national interest" in the territorial disputes over more than 200 tiny islands in the South China Sea.

In an editorial Tuesday, the official China Daily accused the U.S. of trying to "rekindle the feud" over ownership of the islands and warned its neighbours in Southeast Asia that Washington's policy is "directed against China and intended to stir up trouble in those countries that have territorial disputes with the nation."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently took China by surprise when she told a forum of Southeast Asian nations in Hanoi last Friday that the U.S. considered it to be in its own interest to help settle the myriad of claims over the island territories.

Her statement was good news for many of the nations embroiled in disputes that are sometimes over little more than specks of rocky land. China's rise as economic giant in the region and its increasing military might have countries like Vietnam, taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines worried about their longtime claims.

Now China is, too, it seems.

"It is crystal clear that the United States is attempting to coerce Southeast Asian nations into blowing out of proportion the South China Sea issue. This is a dangerous move," the China Daily wrote.

In its editorial, the Global Times was even more blunt.

"With growing economic power China and the U.S. may encounter more clashes in China's adjacent sea. Few Southeast Asian countries would like to get in the middle of Sino-U.S. tensions, but like many other regions they are caught in a dilemma: economically close to China, yet militarily guarded against China.

"Southeast Asian countries need to understand any attempt to maximize gains by playing a balancing game between China and the U.S. is risky," it said.

While often not much more than rocky outcrops, the islands and islets are rich fishing grounds and on important shipping lanes for much of the merchandise and energy that comes in and out of the region. As well, there are growing expectations about oil and gas deposits in the sea under and around them.

China seized the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in the mid-1970s and now calls them the Xisha Islands and includes them on maps as part of Hainan island province. This year it announced plans to begin developing them for tourism.

Vietnam has never given up its claim, however, and the Philippines also dispute ownership of several of them.

The long string of Spratly Islands are claimed in their entirety by Vietnam, China and taiwan and partially by several of their neighbours. China and Vietnam fought a brief naval battle over them in 1988 which claimed the lives of 70 Vietnamese sailors, but nothing was resolved.

In a statement Sunday, the Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi warned the U.S. against "internationalizing" the neighbourhood dispute. "It will only make matters worse and the resolution more difficult," he said.

This war of words is playing out just as the U.S. and South Korea wrap-up the first phase of their controversial naval exercise in the Sea of Japan (or East Sea). The massive war games which involve about 20 ships, 200 aircraft and 8,000 personnel are a show of strength in response to the sinking of a South Korean warship this spring, apparently by the North Koreans.

China, which has yet to accept the international report blaming its ally, North Korea, for the attack, opposed the exercises vigorously earlier this month, but toned down its criticism when it became apparent the manoeuvres would go ahead regardless.