The commentary from the state-run Xinhua news agency came as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held previously unannounced talks with Obama after a week of sharp exchanges between the two nations during the US leader's Pacific tour.

Obama and Wen met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, following public spats over currency, trade and a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Xinhua said Asian suspicions would be raised by Obama's new plan to base 2,500 US troops in Australia and by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's declaration that the 21st century will be "America's Pacific century".

"If the United States sticks to its Cold War mentality and continues to engage with Asian nations in a self-assertive way, it is doomed to incur repulsion in the region," the news agency said.

On Friday, Obama hailed the summit as the top forum for settling the region's maritime territorial disputes with China, contradicting Beijing's desire to see such rows negotiated bilaterally.

"Many countries wonder what kind of 'leadership' America aspires to assume in the future. The hard fact is that the Pacific Ocean belongs to all countries sharing its shores, not just the United States," Xinhua said.

China sees the US Pacific initiatives as intruding into its sphere of influence, and Wen warned Friday against interference by "external forces" in the territorial wrangle.

China claims all of the South China Sea, as does Taiwan, while four Southeast Asian countries declare ownership of parts of it, with Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Chinese forces of increasing aggression there.

In closing, Xinhua called upon the US "to guard against sparking disputes and encroaching on others' interests".

"Otherwise, the region's stability and prosperity will become an impossible dream," it said.

The plan to send up to 2,500 Marines to the northern city of Darwin from mid-2012 was announced this week by US President Barack Obama, one of a series of Asia-focused initiatives which have triggered criticism from China.

"The United States strongly engaged in our region is a force for stability and is supported by Australia," Gillard said on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"We will continue to have our alliance with the United States and friendship with China," the prime minister told reporters.

The deployment of the Marines is part of Obama's campaign to assert the United States as a Pacific power and provide a counterbalance to China's growing diplomatic, economic and military might.

China keen to cooperate with US in Asia: official
Nusa Dua, Indonesia (AFP) Nov 19, 2011 - China is keen to cooperate with the United States in the Asian region, assistant foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said Saturday in positive comments after a week of wrangles.

"We are looking forward to cooperating with the US in the region and at the EAS," Liu told reporters on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, when asked about Washington's new focus on Asia which has irked Beijing in recent days.

Earlier Saturday, US President Barack Obama prodded China's Premier Wen Jiabao on maritime territorial rows and economic wrangles amid signs of Chinese scorn for his Pacific diplomacy push.

Among other issues, Obama mentioned the South China Sea territorial disputes at the two-way talks, US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said.

Washington wanted to discuss the dispute in general terms at the summit, but China says the issue should be confined to talks between the claimant nations and that other countries should not interfere.

Liu said the issue should be "resolved directly among concerned parties through negotiation," referring to China's preference to dealing individually with its smaller neighbours.

Donilon said the United States had an interest in ensuring freedom of movement in the strategic waters.

"The United States has an interest in the freedom of navigation, the free flow of commerce, a peaceful resolution of disputes (but) we don't have a claim, we don't take sides in the claims," he said.

Liu defended Beijing's handling of the South China Sea, after allegations it has become more aggressive in asserting its claims in recent times.

"China has continued to allow that freedom of navigation in the region," he said, adding that his country was willing to start discussing with Southeast Asian nations a legally binding code of conduct for the area.

"China believes in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea (which) has not been affected," he added.

"Over the decade, over the century it has been maintained as a very important route for international trade not only for Southeast Asian countries, Northeast Asian countries but also for the international community."

China claims all of the South China Sea, as does Taiwan, while four Southeast Asian countries declare ownership of parts of it, with Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Chinese forces of harassing their vessels.

The region is a conduit for more than one-third of the world's seaborne trade and half its traffic in oil and gas, and major petroleum deposits are believed to lie below the seabed.