During an annual summit held on Thursday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized the importance of deeper market integration with Southeast Asia, a call for unity against a backdrop of escalating territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The summit, which involved the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), comes in the wake of recent violent confrontations between China and member countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam. These incidents have sparked concerns over China’s increasingly assertive maneuvers in the contested waters.
While Li did not address the ongoing tensions directly in his opening remarks, he highlighted the advantages of strengthening trade relations between Beijing and ASEAN, a collective market comprising 672 million people. “The global economy continues to struggle with sluggish recovery, rising protectionism, and geopolitical turbulence that pose instability and uncertainty for our development,” Li noted. “A vast market is our greatest foundation for fostering economic prosperity. Enhancing market coordination and synchronization is crucial for advancing our cooperation.”
As ASEAN’s largest trading partner and its third-largest foreign investor, China wields significant influence over the bloc, which has led to a measured response from ASEAN leaders regarding Chinese actions in the South China Sea. Instead of strong criticisms, ASEAN has consistently called for restraint and adherence to international law.
Territorial claims overlap between ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, with China asserting sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea and increasingly enforcing these claims. For years, ASEAN and China have been in negotiations to establish a code of conduct to govern interactions in this critical maritime region, but progress has been sluggish, with key issues like the binding nature of the pact remaining contentious.
This year alone, there have been multiple clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels, while Vietnam reported last week that its fishermen were assaulted by Chinese forces in a disputed area. In response, Beijing maintains that it is safeguarding its territorial waters. Additionally, China has dispatched patrol vessels to regions claimed by Indonesia and Malaysia as exclusive economic zones. The Philippines, a longstanding ally of the United States, has criticized fellow ASEAN members for not taking stronger actions to compel China to retreat.
While the U.S. does not have territorial claims in the South China Sea, it has deployed naval ships and fighter jets to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the area. China has cautioned the U.S. against interfering in the disputes.
During the summit, ASEAN leaders also met separately with Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, followed by discussions with China in the ASEAN Plus Three summit format. The bloc is also set to hold talks with individual dialogue partners, including Australia, Canada, India, the U.S., and the United Nations, culminating in an East Asia Summit that includes 18 nations such as Russia and New Zealand on Friday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Vientiane later Thursday to represent President Joe Biden at the meetings.
Former ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong asserted that, despite the challenges posed by disputes in the South China Sea and the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, ASEAN’s pivotal role in the region remains undeniable. “ASEAN’s diplomatic efforts have maintained relative peace and progress in Southeast Asia. The organization will continue to play a vital role in this regard. Major powers cannot act unilaterally in the region,” remarked Ong, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
Since the Myanmar military ousted the elected government in 2021, the country has spiraled into a civil war, resulting in nearly 6,000 deaths and displacing over three million people. The military has reneged on an ASEAN peace plan agreed upon in late 2021, and violence persists with pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic rebels. Reports suggest that the military controls less than half of the country’s territory.
Myanmar’s military leaders have been excluded from ASEAN summits since the coup, and Thailand is set to host an informal ministerial-level consultation on Myanmar in mid-December as frustrations mount within ASEAN regarding the protracted conflict.
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