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Plots of Manila and Hanoi will never succeed

By Luo Yongkun (People's Daily Online)    11:10, June 02, 2014
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Recently, some countries have been making trouble in the South China Sea. On May 6, the Philippines illegally seized 11 Chinese fishermen and a boat from waters off China’s Half Moon Shoal in the Nansha Islands. Vietnam continues to forcefully disrupt the normal drilling operations of the Chinese company in the waters off China’s Xisha Islands. Meanwhile, Hanoi also indulged domestic looting and arson targeted at the enterprises in Vietnam invested by China and other countries.

While continuing confrontation with China at sea, the Philippines and Vietnam have tried many times to egg the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on to pass a resolution concerning the South China Sea issue, attempting to force ASEAN to take their side over the South China Sea issue with calls for the “consensus” that ASEAN values. However, the Philippines and Vietnam’ attempt to abduct ASEAN has disrupted ASEAN’s integration process, becoming the most prominent negative factor hindering regional peace, stability and development.

Since its founding in 1967, ASEAN has been committed to regional peace and stability and focusing on economic integration and development. Since the construction of ASEAN free trade area was started in 1992, ASEAN’s economic development has caught more and more attention from powers outside the region. With the establishment of free trade areas with regional countries (China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand), ASEAN has become the center of regional economic cooperation in East Asia. According to ASEAN’s development plan, the ASEAN economic community will be established in 2015, and strengthening region connectivity, promoting foreign trade and attracting foreign investment have become the priority of ASEAN’s development at present. Most ASEAN countries are making efforts to speed up community building and regional integration and to move forward to the realization of master plan for ASEAN Community.

However, in such a critical moment the Philippines and Vietnam go against the trend of regional development and stirred up the South China Sea dispute arbitrarily. By provoking maritime disputes with the excuse of so-called national interests, the Philippines and Vietnam attempt to abduct ASEAN to jointly confront China, resulting in escalating tensions in the South China Sea and rising risks to regional security. What the two unreasonably troublesome countries have done distracted ASEAN’s focus on community building, spoiled the peaceful and stable environment that ASEAN needs for its development and hindered the bloc’s integration process.

What the Philippines and Vietnam have done not only go against the development process of ASEAN, but also undermined the basic principles that ASEAN values. ASEAN is a relatively loose regional organization with a unique mode of operation. The principle of reaching consensus through consultation without mandatory constraint is the main feature of the “ASEAN way”. The so-called non-mandatory consensus through consultation means that in the process of reaching consensus through consultation, ASEAN leaders should fully consult other decision-makers, take into consideration other decision-makers’ opinions and feelings and on this basis leaders discuss and pass modest proposals and put forth a comprehensive conclusion.

If unanimity cannot be achieved, ASEAN puts “Y-X” principle into practice, namely part of the members agree with the relevant proposal and are willing to take part in collective action, and a few members agree with the proposal, but don’t participate in collective action, then ASEAN can also pass a relevant resolution. Whether pursuing the unanimity or the "Y-X" principle, the core principle of ASEAN’s decision-making mechanism is to seek common ground among member states, namely all member states must support the proposal, rather than “the minority obeying the majority”.

In other words, by forcefully promoting a resolution concerning the South China Sea at ASEAN ministerial meeting and summit repeatedly, the Philippines and Vietnam trampled the rights of countries that have no claim in the South China Sea and also pose a challenge to the “ASEAN ” that emphasizes mutual respect and equal consultation. The two countries’ rude actions make ASEAN come under question in the international arena.

In 2102, Vietnam and the Philippines attempted to turn the disputes between them and China into a problem between China and ASEAN as a whole, which was unacceptable for the other members of the bloc, resulting in the 45th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the ASEAN wrapping up without the release of a customary communiqué showcasing common ground. The two countries should be blamed for the failure to pass a communiqué, which is rare over the past 45 years. The international image of ASEAN suffered a disastrous decline.

The Philippines and Vietnam always emphasize that the South China Sea dispute endangers the interests of ASEAN but China has never had and nor will have any sovereignty disputes with ASEAN as a regional bloc. It is ridiculous for the Philippines and Vietnam to draw Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Indonesia into the South China Sea sovereignty dispute. These countries can only express concerns about the security situation in the region, rather than responding positively to Philippines and Vietnam’s “claims”.

On May 10, ASEAN foreign ministers issued a statement on the South China Sea issue in Myanmar, appealing to all parties in the South China Sea to comply with universally recognized principles of international law, maintain self-restraint, and avoid activities that might damage regional peace and stability, to settle disputes peacefully and not resort to force or menace with force, to safeguard peace, stability and safety in the South China Sea, and to ensure free navigation and overflight. It also calls for full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the conclusion of a code of conduct in the South China Sea as soon as possible.

China has reiterated that relevant ASEAN countries should earnestly respect and implement the DOC and make positive contributions to peace, stability and maritime security in the South China Sea. In the final analysis, maintaining regional peace and stability is the common responsibility of China and ASEAN countries. On the contrary, it is the Philippines and Vietnam that took the lead in violating the DOC, spoiled friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN by transferring the issue of the South China Sea to ASEAN, stirred up tensions in the region and created barriers for regional peace and development.

China respects the state sovereignty of ASEAN countries, but is opposed to any country which attempts to force ASEAN to take their side over the issue of the South China Sea. It is not in line with international practice to turn the territorial disputes between China and specific ASEAN countries over certain islets and claims over particular areas of the South China Sea into a problem between China and ASEAN as a whole.

ASEAN and China are each other’s important strategic partner, and maintaining regional stability and promoting common development are their consensus and the direction of joint efforts. When China is making joint efforts with the ASEAN to safeguard regional peace and stability, Vietnam and the Philippines’ scheme of abducting ASEAN and spoiling the friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN can never win support from other ASEAN countries.

The author is an expert with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. 

(Editor:Gao Yinan、Bianji)

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