Yang Jiemian, Chairman of the SIIS Council of Academic Affairs
International Conference on China-Southeast Asia Relations and Taiwan Question, Shanghai, December 5, 2013
(As prepared for delivery)
The main NEW FEATURE of the Asia-Pacific Region is that it has maintained economic and political dynamism. Asia continues to be the main contributor to the world economy at a time of sluggish growth and fragile recovery from the financial crisis. Behind economic progress is the pursuance of political reforms and learning spirits in many Asian countries. Here China is a case in point.
Secondly, the Asia-Pacific Region witnesses more interaction among the major actors. Catalyzed by the U.S. rebalancing strategy, many of the actors and players in the Region have re-defined their positions and adjusted their policies. Asian regionalism tends to be more open, inclusive and sometimes even fluid such as the TPP and RCEP.
The third feature is that the Region has seen more disputes among the relevant countries such as maritime disputes and arms races. Obsessed by the traditional issues and legacy of the Cold War, the Asian Pacific Region has lost some of its opportunities to forge ahead with forward-looking ideas and urgently-needed mechanism building to cope with both traditional and non-traditional issues. Consequentially, the Asia-Pacific Region has thus become a part of the problems instead of a part of the solutions.
Speaking of NEW TRENDS, the following three aspects are noteworthy. Firstly, the overall regional developments are positive and manageable. I do not believe the so-called a new Sino-Japanese war is imminent. Some sensational media would readily come out to warn the Chinese of the Lessons of WWI and WWII but has kept a blind eye to some other countries, such as Japan’s attempt to go radicalism and extremism.
Secondly, the increasing political and security divergences are of uncertainties. Extremism of Japanese politics ignites a down-spiraling of action and reaction. Moreover, territorial and maritime disputes have the danger of further deterioration. The Asia Pacific Region lacks of efficient confidence building measures as well as crisis management. Furthermore, the Region has long stagnated in streamlining and integrating security cooperative mechanism. In absence of strong and effective norms, rules and institutions, the Region poses uncertainty.
Lastly, the main actors are pursuing mixed strategies and policies of both cooperation and confrontation. On the one hand, there are some positive developments. China and the United States have made the Asia-Pacific Region as the most important testing ground for the proposed New Model of Major Country Relations. China, India and some other Asian countries believe that Asia-Pacific Region is large enough for common development of the countries both inside and outside the region. China has mitigated the tensions in the South China Sea with Vietnam and pushed its cooperation with Brunei ahead. On the other hand, Political confrontation has already affected economic cooperation and bloc strategy overshadows the future of the Asia-Pacific Region by its confrontational elements.
Quite some of the present challenges are those at this particular period of transition and transformation. Therefore, proper strategic and policy readjustments can eventually meet these challenges. Therefore we should add more positive energy to the evolving features and trends of the Asia-Pacific Region.
As to the interrelated subjects of China-SE Asian Relations and the Taiwan Question, we must understand, among others, the following three aspects of importance.
Firstly, the relations between China and the SE Asian nations are closely interconnected with the overall international development. In the past decades including the years of Asian and Global Financial Crises, the two sides have showed to the world that we stay, together and stay on the right track. In October this year, there were two note-worthy events. One is the relayed visits by the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to SE Asia. At these visits, China proposed “2 7” plan. The two important strategic targets are to strive for political consensus and deepening cooperation. The seven areas of cooperation are: preparing for good-neighborly treaty, enhancing security cooperation, upgrading FTA, expanding interconnectivity, furthering financial cooperation, working for maritime silk road and strengthening ties in cultures, science, technologies and environmental protection. The other is that China convened its first ever working conference on its relations with its neighbors. The Conference put forward four-word concept of affinity, sincerity, benefit and inclusiveness, which gives a clear signal that China will further develop its good-neighborly policy.
Secondly, on the whole, the greater interdependence between us has been beneficial to the complicated relation among the Chinese Mainland, Taiwan and SE Asia. Moreover, the presence and absence of the negative impacts of the Taiwan Question certainly result in a divergent way. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Transit or Vocational Diplomacy by Mr. Lee Teng-hui and the Taiwan Independence advocacy by Mr. Chen Shui-bian caused great trouble and problems for the China-SE Asian relations.
Finally, the second track dialogue like ours makes important and irreplaceable contribution to China-SE Asian relations as well as the peaceful development across Taiwan Straits. As scholars, we are pooling our wisdom and professionalism to contribute to the peace, development and win-win cooperation as a whole. Compared with the first track, the second track can speak with more candidacy, present more analysis and provide more options.
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