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South East Asia and China's good-neighbor policy

By Zhou Shixin: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, October 9, 2013

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In the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visits to Indonesia and Malaysia from Oct. 2-8 during which he attended the 21st informal economic leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Premier Li Keqiang is visiting Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam and will take part in the East Asia leaders meetings from Oct. 9-15. These two consecutive visits by the two top leaders demonstrate the importance of Southeast Asia in China's international strategy, and the visits have manifested China's good-neighbor policy.

The sound of ASEAN music [By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

The visits may be examined from three perspectives.

Firstly, they are significant in terms of the bilateral relations between China and individual Southeast Asian countries. China hopes to build comprehensive strategic partnerships based on tangible cooperation.

Secondly, the visits will determine China's cooperation with ASEAN, which has developed over the last ten years.

Thirdly, the visits concern APEC's trans-regional cooperation. China and seven of the ASEAN members are playing an important role in promoting APEC's restructuring and institutional development.

The visits to Southeast Asian countries by top Chinese leaders are not the cascade effect produced by the APEC and East Asia Summits, but the natural product of bilateral relations between China and these countries. Such visits have contributed greatly to bilateral relations this year. For example, China has signed action plans for comprehensive strategic partnerships with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar; updated those with Indonesia and Malaysia; and built a new strategic relationship with Brunei.

Perhaps even more importantly, enhanced bilateral relations are easing the tension in the South China Sea through concrete confidence building measures. This April, CNOOC signed a Cooperation Agreement with Petroleum Brunei to enhance cooperation between China and Brunei in the energy sector. On Oct. 2 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on fisheries was signed between the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry of Indonesia and China's Ministry of Agriculture during Xi Jinping's visit to Indonesia, under which the two countries will cooperate to counter illegal and unregulated fishing. This is part of China's joint development initiative in the disputed Nansha Islands area, which will be conducive to the peaceful solution of competitive claims by bilateral negotiation.

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