With the Shangri-La Dialogue — a high-profile regional security convention — set to begin on Friday, observers predicted that Washington will try to further pressure and isolate China on maritime issues.

They also cautioned that the United States should not let the South China Sea issue overshadow China-US ties.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the influential gathering of senior defense officials from within and outside the Asia-Pacific region. The 15th dialogue, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, will be held from Friday through Sunday in Singapore.

Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said that the dialogue this year has a new twist — the arbitration sought by the Philippines against China regarding the South China Sea issue.

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2016-06/02/content_25582316.htm