【明報專訊】SINO-US wrestling over the South China Sea (SCS) question has recently kept escalating. The two countries have kept putting on wenxi as well as wuxi (scenes of singing (talking) as well as scenes of acrobatic fighting (fighting))". Viewed panoramically, the situation is like a weiqi game. The Americans consider it important to "gain influence". They seek to put in place a new ring of international containment to make it harder for the Chinese to build up islets and reefs there. As for the Chinese, they keep a firm hold on "terra firma" and have stepped up the construction of civil and military facilities on islets and reefs there.