Dismissing the so-called tense situation advertised by the US over the South China Sea, Chinese Fore...
South China Sea issues and thoughtless moves of some countries should not hinder ASEAN's continued exchanges with Beijing
The annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum
Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held recently in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar,
with the disputes and situation in the South China Sea on the agenda.
This is not the first time that the ARF has touched upon the South
China Sea disputes. In July 2010, at the ARF Foreign Ministers' Meeting
in Hanoi, then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the disputes
were concerned with the United States' national interests and solving
them in line with international laws would be the key to regional
stability. Her speech was considered to mark a new twist of US policy
line vis-à-vis the South China Sea disputes.
The disputes have since then become a key part of the implementation
of the US' "pivot to Asia" policy, as well as an increasingly thorny
issue in China-US exchanges. Especially so since China operated an oil
rig near the Xisha Islands in April, which many US observers believed
was part of China's speeding up of its "salami slicing" strategy and
called for a response to it.
Before the current ARF Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the US and its
allies made multiple moves. In July, US Assistant Secretary of State
Daniel Russel advised a "freeze" on actions aggravating disputes in the
South China Sea, namely that related parties stop occupying more islands
or reefs and establishing outposts, avoid changing landforms and do not
take unilateral actions against any other country. While on the surface
this initiative might reasonably opt for peace, but in the eyes of
Beijing at least, it would actually legalize certain nations' illegal
occupying of islands and reefs in the South China Sea in past decades,
as well as bestow on the US the status of "arbiter".
The Philippines echoed the US' initiative by claiming it would
propose a three-step process to the ARF, namely suspending all actions,
setting up a code of conduct among involved parties and solving disputes
through international arbitration. Both initiatives seemed to gain
support from several nations, and, as Washington and Manila expected,
China would face the most coordinated pressure at the ARF.
The US is also trying to improve the binding effect and enforcement
mechanism of international arbitration. For example, whether a nation
accepts arbitration of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
can be taken as the prerequisite of participating in multinational
military exercises or the Arctic Council. The US can also consider
strengthening economic pressure on the involved Chinese SOEs like China
National Offshore Oil Corp, which is reported to build floating
liquefied natural gas carriers and explore underwater gas.
Meanwhile, the Philippines has been strengthening its maritime force.
Since Benigno Aquino took office in 2010, the Philippine government has
already invested 40 billion PHP ($910 million) on purchasing frigates,
anti-submarine helicopters and long-range patrol aircraft, with a
further plan to install advanced radar and a coastal warning system in
the disputed sea area. Japan and Vietnam signed an agreement in early
August, according to which Japan will give six ships to Vietnam to
empower its maritime police. The Vietnamese government issued an order
that all vessels of its Fishery Resources Supervision Department be
equipped with weapons like pistols and machine guns as of Sept 15.
On July 11, Nguyen Phuoc Tuong, a former adviser to two Vietnamese
prime ministers, said Vietnam must form an alliance with the US "to
defeat the new Chinese expansionism" in an op-ed on The New York Times.
Japan is preparing for the first Japan-ASEAN Defense Ministers' meeting
in November, which many believe is to counterbalance China's emerging
maritime power.
All the heated disputes about the South China Sea make the ARF
Foreign Ministers' Meeting especially important. On Saturday,
Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China supports and advocates a
"dual-track" approach to solving the South China Sea disputes, namely
that disputes should be addressed by the concerned countries peacefully
through friendly negotiations, while peace and stability in the South
China Sea should be jointly maintained by China and ASEAN countries.
That means China is willing to embrace a multilateralism spirit in
pacifying the situation and willing to negotiate with the parties
involved in the disputes in a rule-based manner, though it will not
accept any new trouble caused by certain nations.
("Countries outside the region can express reasonable concerns, but we
are opposed to 'bossy gestures'", Foreign Minister Wang Yi , adding:
"China and ASEAN are totally able to safeguard well the peace and
stability of South China Sea.")
To some extent, China and the US are competing over South China Sea
issues and such competition is on proposing initiatives and rules that
can attract more international support with a firmer legal and moral
basis.
It should be noted, specifically, that China as a committed supporter
of ASEAN and related mechanisms should clarify that it is not seeking
to divide ASEAN. Over the years, China has hosted about one-third of the
cooperation programs within the ARF framework; in 2015 it will co-host
six programs together with ASEAN nations, which cover disaster-relief,
maritime security, preventive diplomacy and cybersecurity.
These are good opportunities for ASEAN and China to improve their
relations. Both sides need to prevent the maritime disputes from
poisoning mutual relations. They cannot afford to be strategically
misguided.
By Zhao Minghao (China Daily)/Asia News Network
The author is a research fellow with the Charhar Institute and
adjunct fellow with the Center for International and Strategic Studies,
Peking University.
Round one of Asia pivot ends with tie
The latest ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting wrapped up on Sunday with a
joint statement, in which quite an emphasis was given to the South China
Sea crisis. Washington has shown its approval for the result, and some
US analysts believe US backing has inspired ASEAN countries to be more
united in facing China. But there are also other voices claiming that
the US was cold-shouldered in the meeting as China was not mentioned in
the statement and Washington's call for a South China Sea "freeze" was
also missing from discussions.
Perhaps a more convincing
conclusion would be that China and the US reached a tie in this
engagement in the South China Sea issue.
It was quite a surprise
to China when the Obama administration pitched the "pivot to Asia"
strategy in 2009. Washington has kept pushing so the dormant
controversies in the East China Sea and South China Sea have become more
explicit. Countries like Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam keep posing
challenges to China's geopolitics.
But in these years, China's
neighborhood has become more controllable, as some principles have
become a consensus. For example, in the Diaoyu Islands dispute, both
China and Japan have expressed their determination to avoid military
confrontation, although squabbles and spats never cease about the East
China Sea. In the South China Sea, China is taking more initiatives to
check the recklessness of the Philippines and Vietnam.
The first
wave of force sent by Washington's "rebalancing to Asia" strategy has
died down. The US has achieved some of its goals effortlessly, but China
has exerted some strength to deal with it. Both sides drew in the first
round, as neither side can push their strategies without limitations.
Washington
boasts military strength and the support of allies, but China's
economic influence in this region gives it leverage to win over many
friends. In this case, the US parry has been fended off by China's
shield. If we must make these East and Southeast Asian countries pick
sides between China and the US, the result would be unpredictable. This
is because standing on neutral ground benefits them the most.
Washington
will find it more difficult to inflict problems on China after the
first round. It will face more resistance. If conflicts surrounding the
South China Sea escalated, it would be an unfolding and
resource-consuming disaster for both sides.
China has clear goals
in its neighborhood policy, which is to safeguard its sovereignty and
development environment. But as for the US, a rebalancing to Asia
strategy to maintain its dominance in this area is not where its core
interests lie. China is more determined than the US. Washington should
become more level-headed and stop making calculations. There won't be a
united front going against China in this area, and this truth also
applies for China, as it is unable to drive off the presence of US as
well.
- Source:Global Times Published: 2014-8-12 0:43:02
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The South China Sea is a critical
strategic point.As the mid-term presidential elections in the US
approach, Obama wants to show a hard-line attitude.
By confusing right and wrong and throwing its weight behind countries
such as the Philippines, Washington's real intention is to contain
China's rise in the region and expand its own interests here.
The Philippines has developed a "three-step" solution plan for the South China Sea dispute with Chin
[Read it]
Philippines’ three-pronged plan for South China Sea doomed to fail
Where those responsibilities lie is not decided by Washington. What the US desires does not equal the welfare of all humankind.
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