Before Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida left for Laos to meet with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said that Tokyo would offer financial and technological support to the country in farming and other sectors.

Yet Kishida had his own calculation - hoping to reach an agreement with Laos to urge China to accept the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration.

As an outsider, why does Japan keep meddling in the arbitration? A crucial intention of Tokyo is to accuse and even demonize Beijing, while demanding China eventually accept the arbitration result with the excuse of so-called international law.

The ultimate goal of Japan and the US's hype over South China Sea issue is simple - containing China. Beijing has realized this for a long time, and has kept refuting the arbitration in the global arena. Japan, however, finds it hard to end the farce that easily and is still sensationalizing the case.

During the just concluded Asia-Europe Meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe not only voiced his clear stance on the South China Sea, noting that the rule of law was "a universal principle that the international community must firmly maintain," but also met with many state leaders on the sidelines of the conference in a whirlwind, trying to build consensus on the issue with them. Now Tokyo's target is to induce and cozy up to Laos, the current rotating chairman of ASEAN, through economic aid, in order to make Vientiane endorse Japan's stance on the South China Sea issue.

In terms of the South China Sea dispute, Tokyo's strategy is to win over ASEAN nations one after the other, separating the bloc by making its members pick a side. Over the past few years, high-level Japanese officials have been making constant tours to Southeast Asian countries to persuade them to jointly contain China. Since Abe assumed office, he has also been persistently stirring up troubles in the region while promising to offer financial help, making a bid for a united ASEAN voice to back the South China Sea arbitration.

Apart from playing tricks behind Beijing's back, Japan is highly likely to come on stage and create more tensions in the waters.

Soon after the arbitration result was announced earlier this month, Japan and the Philippines launched an anti-piracy joint maritime exercise in the waters near Manila. With support from some Western nations including the US, as well as countries which are unaware of the truth, Tokyo will hardly stop its behaviors of deteriorating the situation in the area.

Although a handful of Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam buy Japan's tricks, China has maintained traditionally friendly relationships with the majority of ASEAN members.

With increasing connectivity and collaboration of mutual benefit, Beijing and ASEAN have already developed highly interdependent ties via Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as well as the mechanism of ASEAN+3. China's peaceful development has been witnessed by all. As long as Beijing can bring the organization mutually beneficial achievements, maneuvers to sabotage regional stability by the US-Japan military alliance will be curbed.

Safeguarding peaceful development is the goal of the most Southeast Asian nations. Therefore, as long as China shares the same pursuit and steps up its cooperation with ASEAN through the One Belt and One Road initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Tokyo will end up failing in its scheme of disturbing the waters and jeopardizing the win-win cooperation in the region.

According to the latest report, a joint statement was issued on Monday after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his 10 counterparts from ASEAN countries in Laos. The statement said that territorial and jurisdictional disputes should be resolved by peaceful means through "friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned." This can be seen as a slap in the face of Japan's latest attempt.

The author is director of the diplomacy studies office at the Institute of Japanese Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn