As Asia frets over China, warmer welcome likely for Japan PM's push

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's message of a bigger global security role for Japan when he speaks at a regional forum this week is likely to find a receptive audience as concerns grow in Asia about China - although some will refrain from clapping too loud for fear of offending Beijing.

While Japan has a festering dispute with China over islands in the sea between the two Asian economic giants, tensions have also spiked between Beijing and several Southeast Asian nations over rival claims to the oil and gas-rich South China Sea.