India, July 2 -- China has delivered its most pointed message yet to Southeast Asia's ten-nation bloc: Beijing does not seek to dominate the region and should be seen as a partner in stability, not a threat to it. The reassurance comes at a moment of rare geopolitical opportunity for China, one created not by Beijing's own charm, but by Washington's spectacular retreat from the role of reliable regional anchor.

The message was crystallised in a series of high-level diplomatic encounters ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Manila, where China's foreign ministry and state media have pressed the argument that Beijing's vision of "amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness" with its neighbours stands in deliberate contrast to what Chinese o...