MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The United States is seeking to exploit territorial disputes between China and several ASEAN countries in the South China Sea, Anton Kobyakov, an adviser to the Russian president and executive secretary of the Eastern Economic Forum’s organizing committee, told TASS ahead of the forum.

"A number of ASEAN countries - primarily the Philippines and Vietnam, and to a lesser extent Brunei and Malaysia - have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. Washington is trying to drive a wedge into these tensions by offering ostensible ‘assistance’ in ensuring security," he said.

Kobyakov cited Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in The Prince that inviting a foreign "prince" onto one’s territory is a grave mistake because "then you won’t be able to smoke him out."

"Therefore, ASEAN countries are confident that they can resolve their problems at the regional level, without outside assistance and without exposing Southeast Asia to the risks of military confrontation and US military intervention, as was the case during the Vietnam War," he said.