Third, China has to meet the challenges posed by maritime disputes. The Diaoyu Islands dispute has become a major diplomatic thorn in China-Japan relations. Now it is up to the new leaders of the two countries to handle the issue. At a meeting of the Central Military Commission, Xi Jinping, China's top political leader and head of the military, told the military to always give priority to the country's sovereignty and security, and improve its deterrent capacity and capability of real combat to protect China's sovereignty, security and development interests. This shows the determination of the new Chinese leadership to safeguard national territory and sovereignty.

The Japanese government's scheme is to occupy the Diaoyu Islands permanently. The "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands by the Japanese government is a move aimed at strengthening its "actual control" over the islands in an attempt to turn its illegal occupation into "legal possession".

It is highly likely that the new Japanese government will continue with the "nationalization" policy to "legalize" its occupation of the Diaoyu Islands and refrain from reaching a compromise. As a result, the continued confrontation between China and Japan in the East China Sea could become a permanent concern with uncertainty writ large over it.

So China has to devise ways to strengthen its legal protection mechanisms and grasp the initiative in dealing with the dispute.

With China moving on the road to national rejuvenation, its relations both with the US and neighboring countries will pose huge challenges. On one hand, despite its rising influence overseas, China must adopt a calm, rational and objective attitude to assess its power projection. On the other hand, it must know that it cannot necessarily transform all its strength into "positive energy" to safeguard its interests.

This makes using its growing strength positively and convincing the US and neighboring countries of China's commitment to peaceful development a comprehensive project beyond the diplomatic realm.

The year 2013 not only signifies a major point on the road to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects for China, but also the beginning of a difficult period for China and its neighboring countries. And China has to see the new situation more prudently with an eye to seizing the initiatives to decrease the risks for a long-term and interactive resolution to the disputes.

The authors are with the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article is an excerpt from China's Regional Security Environment Review: 2013.

(China Daily 01/10/2013 page9)