ASEAN unwilling to see China, US clash
- By Zhao Minghao
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E-mail Global Times, February 19, 2016
Picking Sunnylands as the host city of the summit seems a deliberate choice. This is where Obama met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in 2013. Both leaders talked about establishing a new major-power relationship characterized by non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
Southeast Asia doesn't want China and the US to clash with each other, in case they have to pick sides. Meanwhile, they don't want to live in the shadow of major powers if China and the US grow too close. Since 1960s, ASEAN has been dealing with major powers prudently, even with different strategies.
The maritime disputes in the South China Sea have hindered the China-ASEAN relationship. The situation will become risky if the US irresponsibly drives a wedge between China and ASEAN. In order to resolve the South China Sea disputes, China has proposed a dual-track approach that calls for peaceful negotiations with other claimants on the one hand, and vows to protect the peace and stability of the South China Sea with ASEAN on the other hand. The negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea are speeding up, but the international arbitration launched by the Philippines has added more uncertainties in the process.
ASEAN doesn't want to be a bargaining chip used by the US or China for geopolitical games. It wants its own strategic autonomy, which must be respected by China and the US. Besides the South China Sea disputes, ASEAN is also troubled by non-traditional security threats including terrorism and natural disasters. In order to deal with these challenges, ASEAN needs full-scale cooperation with China and the US. It is unwise to observe how China and the US interact with ASEAN from a zero-sum perspective.
China and ASEAN will commemorate the 25th anniversary of launching a dialogue process, and both sides have deepened their cooperation in many spheres including maritime economy and poverty alleviation. This US-ASEAN Summit will probably herald more thoughts about China-US-ASEAN trilateral cooperation.
The author is a research fellow at the Charhar Institute and an adjunct fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
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