Hand-in-hand:
ASEAN secretary-general Le Luong Minh (seventh right) poses with ambassadors
during the celebration of 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations at
Raffles Hotel, Jakarta on Monday.(JP/Donny Fernando)
ASEAN is
anticipating an arbitrary ruling at an international tribunal in The Hague
pertaining to overlapping claims between China and the Philippines in the South
China Sea (SCS), and the results might reshape the political relationship
between the region and the East Asian giant.
But the
ruling — expected to be announced on Tuesday — has not stopped the strategic
partners from celebrating the silver anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue, with
representatives of the world’s second-largest economy and the regional
organization harboring hopes that their relationship will be steadier and
stronger in the future.
Member
country representatives and Chinese diplomats gathered in Jakarta on Monday in
a commemoration event for the dialogue’s anniversary, during which a Chinese
representative assured that his country would work closely with ASEAN in
settling issues in the waters, in which four ASEAN member states are claimants.
ASEAN
secretary-general Le Luong Minh said the 25th commemoration of the dialogue was
a good opportunity for the two sides to review past achievements and chart out
the future direction of the partnership.
“As we
are celebrating a quarter century of ASEAN-China dialogue, ASEAN is committed
to working closely with China to bring the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership to
new heights in the interest of regional and international peace, stability and
prosperity,” he said in his remarks.
Effective
implementation of the ASEAN-China free trade area has boosted two-way trade by
nearly 50 percent, and the two entities are on track to book a trade value of
US$ 1 trillion by 2020, he pointed put. There are also other success stories,
including in enhancing people-to-people contact to build trust and promote
understanding through cultural and educational exchanges.
Chinese
Ambassador to ASEAN Xu Bu also emphasized strong cooperation in the partnership
“Thanks
to the concerted efforts from both sides, the partnership with China has become
the most vigorous and dynamic one among relations of ASEAN with its dialogue
partners,” he said.
China has
been ASEAN’s biggest trading partner for seven consecutive years, while ASEAN
has been China’s third-biggest trading partner for five consecutive years.
Investment flow from China has sharply inflated over the period of the
dialogue, from initially $500 million in 1991 to over $150 billion last year.
For some
ASEAN member states, China dominates at least half of investment in the
countries.
In his
remarks, Xu also addressed increasing threats of security, including terrorism,
and called on the partnership to work together in addressing them.
“Some
forces still cling to the Cold War mentality and behave to undermine regional
peace, stability and development. Against this backdrop, it is more than
necessary and important that China and ASEAN countries further enhance unity
and cooperation,” he said
Xu called
for the partnership to further nurture mutual political and security trust and
enhance strategic communication.
“As for
the sensitive issues such as the South China Sea, China will keep on working
with ASEAN countries toward a full and effective implementation of the
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and actively
promote the consultation on the Code of Conduct [...] so as to appropriately
manage differences, promote practical cooperation and jointly maintain peace
and stability in the South China Sea and our region at large.”
He called
for the partnership to synergize development strategies, to further develop
subregional cooperation, as well as to tap into potential in other fields.
Anggi M.
Lubis
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