By Kavi Chongkittavorn

ASEAN and China Go for‘Diamond’ Years

By Kavi Chongkittavorn

About the author: Kavi Chongkittavorn is a senior researcher at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

ASEAN-China dialogue relations were launched 25 years ago. Chinese leaders held a special commemorative summit in Vientiane to push their relationship to new heights.

ASEAN-China friendship has stood the test of time. Last year, at a summit in Kuala Lumpur, the two sides signed a five-year action plan for strategic partnership, beginning in 2016. The plan encompasses a combined 263 measures that are set to keep officials as busy as ever.These practical actions cover a wide range of cooperation including rule-based and functional areas, ranging from economics and politics to security and culture, from human rights and media to humanitarian and disaster relief cooperation. What is particularly unique about the current plan is the new area of space cooperation, in which China is ready to share advanced space technology with ASEAN partners.

Current ASEAN-China relations are the most extensive bilateral relations that the two sides have ever had. Long before ASEAN’s other dialogue partners, China was the first to firmly support ASEAN centrality in the face of an evolving regional situation. This helps explain why ASEAN and China have established at least 48 committees and working groups at various levels. These groups meet to consult on and implement their agreed joint programs. Other ASEAN dialogue partners, including the US, Australia and New Zealand, have fewer than two dozen such committees each.

After the conclusion of the Sunnylands Summit (ASEAN-US) in mid-February, ASEAN leaders said they looked forward to meeting with Russian and Chinese leaders, and that they hoped to achieve similarly successful outcomes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin played host to the ASEAN-Russia summit in Sochi on May 19-20, where he held official talks with eight ASEAN leaders. The summit represents the first time Putin has attended a security forum with ASEAN leaders, and he said he hoped to make a key difference by spending two days with his ASEAN guests.

ASEAN leaders have attended or held a total of 18 summits with Chinese leaders, the highest number among ASEAN’s dialogue partners.

Crucially, China was the first country to express an interest in agreeing to the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which Beijing signed in 2003. China was quick to recognize and praise the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, doing so as early as 2000. Currently, ASEAN is considering China’s wish to sign on to the nuclear weapons treaty.

In economic terms, China is ASEAN’s largest trade partner, with trade volume of about US$480.4 billion in 2014. ASEAN is China’s third largest trade partner. In 2014, a total of 17.6 million Chinese tourists visited ASEAN countries.

Following the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi outlined a grand vision known as the Belt and Road Initiative which would link Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. To provide a special focus, Premier Li Keqiang proposed the 2x7 formula (two-point political consensus and cooperation in seven fields, a policy declaration on the development of China-ASEAN relations over the next 10 years). This formula would see both China and ASEAN enhance cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity, education, technology and other areas. Relations between the two sides are set to see fast and positive development. More importantly, the cooperation will lay a solid foundation for mutual trust between ASEAN and China, providing an opportunity for the settlement of the South China Sea dispute and the promotion of maritime cooperation.

ASEAN and China are making progress on the drafting of a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea. The COC will serve as a guideline in efforts to avoid misunderstanding and reduce tension. Both sides have agreed to accelerate the drafting process, which is currently being coordinated by Singapore.