1、1 ( Director of Southeast Asia and Oceania Office, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations) This year marks the 40th anniversary of thefounding of ASEAN, and the 4th China ASEAN Expowhich will be held in Nanning, China can be seen as abirthday gift contributed by China to ASEAN. At t
2、hishistoric moment, it undoubtedly bears pragmaticsignificance to have a review of the history of ASEANin the past 40 years, to identify the role played by theSoutheast Asia in Chinas diplomatic strategy and tofurther advance the strategic partnership betweenChina and ASEAN for peace and prosperity.
3、 Southeast Asia:A fulcrum in the neighboringdiplomatic strategy of China China 2is surrounded geographically bySoutheast Asia, Northeast Asia, Central Asia as wellas South Asia, where a diversity of countries ofdifferent sizes and a host of historical and currentconflicts as well as various interest
4、 groups areentangled to form a potential touch and go. Therelations with its neighbors for China are actually morecomplicated than what they seem. China has to protectits core interests and meanwhile take cares of theinterests of its neighbors. Such situation may belikened to a dance with a silk rib
5、bon, where the dancerand the silk ribbon can bring out the best of each otherif they go well with each other but where the dancercan fall over the ribbon or be bound by it. As a result, in the neighboring diplomacy ofChina, there must be a fulcrum which can ensure thatthe dancer can stand steadily,
6、bring out his skills andhave room of maneuver. (According to the definition offulcrum given by dictionary: “the point on which alever turns or providing supports：or the crucial point orthe core of something.“)Standing steady it mustntbe rickety to rid the dancer of his balance, havingroom 3of maneuv
7、er moveableit mustnt be stiff to limitthe dancer, bringing out the skills -it should not bepassive in reaction to restrain the dancer. Looking around, there is only Southeast Asiathat can be the fulcrum of Chinas neighboringdiplomatic strategy. Obviously, the regional stability in Southeast Asiais m
8、uch higher than its counterparts around China.Against the North Korean nuclear crisis in NortheastAsia, ASEAN has made it clear on its early days thatit will become a “nuclear-free area“. Against theterrorism in Central Asia, the extremism in SoutheastAsia is much more moderate. Compared with the fe
9、udbetween India and Pakistan in South Asia, the inter-relations within the 10 ASEAN countries are moreharmonious. Hence Southeast Asia is the stable vicinitythat China calls for. Diversity and integration are standing side byside in todays Southeast Asia. The former preservesthe unique identity of e
10、ach individual country and thelatter provides the region with access to self-improvement on joint forces. In the process, the countries have displayed their own wisdom 4andresourcefulness in response to challenges made by thechanging international situations and globalization. Thedevelopment of Sout
11、heast Asia follows a steady pathand leaves much to be expected than the other threeregions which are of so much uncertainty, Why shouldChina drop the company of a region with such a goodfuture? The relation of Southeast Asia with countriesoutside the region is becoming clear. In recent years,ASEAN h
12、as established the balance framework withbig powers which is based on itself, advocated theprocess of the East Asia Cooperation, and hosted avariety of forums where it can sit down with big powersto discuss issues in strategy, politics, security andeconomy. In future, with an undivided ASEAN, therew
13、ill be expected a stability where all big powers wantto establish good relation with ASEAN with none ofthem being able to dominate in that area. The othersurrounding areas fail to do so, or at least they areunable to provide the common products for the wholearea. The most important is that with the
14、efforts madein the fifteen years after the Cold War, the relationsbetween China and ASEAN as well as its membercountries have reached a historic high, with territorialdisputes directed to final solution. The strategicpartnership also marks the relation 5between China andSoutheast Asia as a whole hit
15、ting the highest point thatis unprecedented, which is far beyond the one Chinacan expect currently from its relations with NortheastAsia, Central Asia and South Asia. With Southeast Asia as a fulcrum, Chinasneighboring diplomacy has brought about the sense ofstability, safety and achievements that h
16、as not beengained since the founding of China in 1949. China cannow focus on settling the Taiwan Strait Issue, North Korean Issue, and Sino-Japanese Issue, all of which remain unsettled for years; it can also advance the East Asia Cooperation along with ASEAN. and eventhe Pan Asia Cooperation which
17、covers Central Asia and South Asia；China can stay in the track of the balance framework of ASEAN to dispel the misgiving from the US and Japan, In turn, ASEAN can benefit strategically from the good relation with China, forexample, China supports the integration of ASEAN andits leading role in the E
18、ast Asia Cooperation and doesno harm to any fundamental interests in other regions. Some may argue that a fulcrum can be seen inthe opposite perspective as the Achilles heel inChinas neighboring diplomacy, As the logic goes, ifthe fulcrum is destroyed, isnt 6it a failure for Chinasneighboring diplom
19、acy?The answer is No. Becausethe situation has been formed and stabilized in thecontext of globalization after a series of interactionsand has very strong reasonableness and vitality. Time and space view of strategicpartnership between China andASEAN At this historic moment, a time and space view of
20、 relation between China and ASEAN is explored onthe basis of “equality and mutual trust for win-wincooperation“ To take the tempo property-a new time view A new time view means the tempo for bothsides to grasp in their long term relations. The next 13years have great significance for both sides ASEA
21、N iscommitted to build the ASEAN Community before 2020which is based on the three pillars, namely, economy,security and social cultures, it will be a crucial growingperiod; China takes the path of peaceful development,it will be a strategic opportunity period. It is notexaggerated that it is complyi
22、ng with the 7timecharacteristics and international situation in the regionfor both China and ASEAN to make advancement handin hand in their own important periods. It also displaysthe long-term vision and maturity in the strategicdecisions of both sides. It is few and far between in theinternational
23、community and can be taken as a goodexample. The 16 years from 1991 to 2007 is the stagewhere bilateral relation develops at full speed, withdialogue partnership-mutual trust and good -neighborly partnership strategic partnership towardspeace and prosperity established respectively,accomplishing the
24、 historical leap forward. The next 13years will witness a new stage for both sides to realizea more stable, healthier, more secure strategicpartnership. In that new stage, it is vital important toknow the point where both side can work well. Theideal situation is for each period there is always apro
25、per tempo for each action taken, with different timeschedules made for different areas of cooperation. 8For instance, in the areas where cooperationhas become quite mature such as politics, economy,society, culture, non -conventional security, thecurrent speed can be preserved or acceleration willap
26、ply to consolidate the foundation for bilateral relation.In areas like the East Asia Cooperation, shaping thecommon regional ideology and others whereuncertainty and risks are expected, practices andreviews can be carried out simultaneously so as tobroaden the room of maneuver for both sides. In are
27、aswhere there are sensitive factors like in conventionalsecurity cooperation, patience and a peace of mind willbe applied within the tolerance of both sides toaccumulate favorable conditions for mature cooperation. To coordinaate association and exchange-a new space view A new space view means that
28、the coordinationin the bilateral relations at multi levels. For the ChinaSoutheast Asia relation there have been formed sixlevels of platforms for association and exchangesranging from small to big in sizes: the first is therelations between provinces in China with theSoutheast Asia countries, tradi
29、tionally, 9Yunnan,Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Guangdong have close tieswith Southeast Asian countries. The second is the sub-regional cooperation launched or participated bysome of the Chinese provinces with Southeast Asiancountries, for example, the Mekong Sub-regionalEconomic Cooperation participated
30、 by Yunnan, and thePan Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Regionlaunched by Guangxi: the third is the bilateral relationsbetween China and the 10 ASEAN countries, whichare the fundamental and common relations; the fourthis the relation between China and ASEAN, for instancethe annual summit of governmen
31、t or state leaders anddialogue partnership mechanism at different levels,cooperation in the construction of China-ASEAN FreeTrade Area and other pragmatic cooperation, theannually held China-ASEAN Expo; the fifth is theassociation of China and ASEAN in the context of theEast Asia, for example, the c
32、ooperation of ASEANwith China, Japan and South Korea (10+3), the EastAsia Summit (EAS) the sixth is the relation ofASEAN and China in the context of the world affairs,for example, the interactions in Asia-Pacific，Euro-Asia, Asia-Africa, Asia-Latin America regions, aswell as in the international comm
33、unity and the UnitedNations. The six levels 10intermingle with each other toform a comprehensive and integrated mode ofassociation of multi-layers. Faced with such complicated and multi-layeredassociation and exchange, China should take into fullconsideration the coordination of local, national.regi
34、onal and global interests. The next 13 years, the key for China in win-win of multi-layered association and exchange isseeking the coordination of regional and globalinterests. In recent years, with the good situation in theEast Asia cooperation and the growing influence ofChina in Southeast Asia, b
35、ig powers like the US,Japan, India, Russia and the EU are increasing theirstrategic input in that region. Now there gradually formthe interactions between big powers with ASEAN at thecore and todays Southeast Asia is no longer thearena for big powers fighting for their own interests,and is expected
36、to be the “garden“ which calls forharmonious co-building from all sides. Hence, the time and space view of China andASEAN have two features: in terms of time differentspeeds should be controlled and applied, and in termsof space multi-layered coordination should be adopted.The purpose of the new concept is that in theestablishment of bilateral strategic partnership,disadvantages should be avoided and advantages
