In the 19th century, the British empire adopted the tactics of "divide and rule" to fight powers in the European continent.

Nowadays, the United States is resorting to the same old trick when dealing with some disputes and conflicts in the international arena.

By claiming U.S. national interests in the South China Sea, Washington intends to expand its involvement in an ocean area tens of thousands of miles away from America.

Obviously, Washington's strategy is to play the old trick again in the South China Sea, in its bid to maintain America's "long-held sway" in the western Pacific Ocean.

For decades, the United States has regarded itself as a dominant power in the Pacific Ocean, and the Pentagon deems any change of the status quo as a severe challenge to it.

As South Korea's Yonhap news agency put it, Washington is worried that China's presence in the South China Sea could "undermine America's long-held sway in Asia."

As a matter of fact, it is U.S. officials, scholars and media who are exaggerating the "tensions" in the South China Sea, while most countries in the region are convinced that the situation there is peaceful.

As Beijing-based The Global Times points out, Washington is trying to incite the hostility of countries around the South China Sea toward China in a bid to seek its own interests.

Unfortunately, some countries around the South China Sea are embracing the U.S. strategy, thus voluntarily playing into the hands of Washington.

These countries may cherish illusions about the internationalization of the South China Sea issue and hope for outside involvement that would cater to their own interests.

But the fact is that things will most likely run counter to their wishes, and they will finally turn into a chess piece of a superpower.