Veteran diplomat says 20 years of TAC proves Beijing has been good neighbor, friend and partner

People load pineapples onto a truck at a planting garden in Lampung Province, Indonesia, on July 5. More than 580 tons of pineapples have been shipped from Lampung to China after China Customs approved in August the export of Indonesian pineapples to China. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The two decades since China’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) prove that China has been and will always be a good neighbor, friend and partner to Southeast Asia, veteran Chinese diplomat Fu Ying said.

Amid challenges today, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members can stick to principles, keep centrality, and not be manipulated by one major country against the interest of another, she said in an interview with China Daily.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the TAC, a foundational peace treaty for ASEAN established by its founding members in 1976. The treaty embodies principles of peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation among the Southeast Asian states and China, setting out guidelines for interstate relations in the region and beyond while promoting perpetual peace and cooperation among the signatories. 

China was the first among major countries to join the TAC and establish a strategic partnership with the ASEAN. This was not only a milestone in China-ASEAN relations but also an event of great significance for the whole region, said Fu, a former Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom who also served as vice minister of foreign affairs. 

“China’s accession to the Treaty cleared major political hurdles and trust deficits, providing an important impetus for the relationship to move into a golden period of 20 years,” she said.

Fu expressed her appreciation for the several significant strides in collaboration since the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and ASEAN.

Political mutual trust between China and ASEAN has deepened over the past decades, she said, noting that the two sides have formulated the Plan of Action (2021-25) to implement the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. 

“Economic integration has further improved while connectivity has also well developed as the two sides have worked closely under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 for carrying out high-quality collaboration to forge a closer, open and integrated regional development,” Fu noted.

According to statistics from the Chinese government, the country’s trade with ASEAN continues to grow rapidly, expanding dramatically from $78.2 billion in 2003 to $975.3 billion last year. In 2020, ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner while China has been ASEAN’s largest trade partner for more than 10 years.

In terms of connectivity, Fu highlighted the China-Laos railway as a good example and voiced great expectations regarding the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, the China-Thailand railway, and some other Belt and Road projects in ASEAN covering a wide range of fields, including transport, commerce, and clean energy. 

“Those projects that have been carried out under the partnership between China and ASEAN have improved the well-being of more than 2 billion people,” she emphasized, adding that people-to-people exchanges in the community have become more active thanks to platforms such as the China-ASEAN Expo, the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week and the ASEAN-China Centre.

“Those events have served as bridges. In addition, mutual understanding between the two parties has been improved through seminars and forums. Such exchanges have boosted science and technology collaboration and exchange, which will bring mutual benefits to regional development,” she said.

China and ASEAN have successfully followed a path of good neighborliness and common development over the past 20 years, especially in the past decade since President Xi Jinping put forward the idea of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, Fu said.

“Our cooperation has become a model of most vibrant and productive cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, effectively promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region,” she noted. “Both sides should work closely to safeguard peace and security, promote economic stability and prosperity, and foster people-to-people exchanges and friendships.”

Regarding the South China Sea disputes, Fu pointed out that China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests over the islands and reefs in the sea have long been established throughout history.

Fu Ying. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction between China and some countries in the region began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and are related to the geopolitical status of the South China Sea, the establishment of the relevant regime of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the discovery of oil and gas resources. 

“China has long advocated and engaged in peaceful negotiations to resolve differences, primarily to maintain the general stability of the China-ASEAN relationship and to protect a peaceful and cooperative security environment in its neighborhood,” Fu emphasized.

In 2002, China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea with ASEAN countries and is committed to managing differences over the sea, promoting maritime collaboration, strengthening the partnership of good neighborliness and mutual trust, and jointly maintaining peace and stability in the region.

In 2014, China and ASEAN countries proposed adopting a “dual-track approach” — which calls for friendly consultation with related countries to resolve disputes peacefully — and appealed for joint efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. 

Fu said peace and stability in the South China Sea bear on the overall development of countries in the region and is the common concern of the international community.

“China and ASEAN countries should adhere to the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, respecting international laws and managing differences and disputes (properly) for regional peace and stability,” she said.

“All parties should stay vigilant to resist any attempt or practice that jeopardizes cooperation, peace and stability within this region,” Fu said, calling for a joint effort to build the South China Sea into “a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation”.

As the world now finds itself in a new period of turbulence and transformation, there is a prevailing view in the United States that Washington should strengthen its relationship with ASEAN states to counterbalance China. 

Fu took issue with the US approach to the region, pointing out their changing policy from supporting China’s sovereignty over the islands after World War II to retreating to “maintaining neutrality” later, before “taking sides” and “publicly interfering” in South China Sea disputes.

Regarding concerns of smaller countries amid the “jungle of major countries”, Fu stressed that manipulating small and medium-sized countries is not the way a responsible power should behave.

She said Southeast Asia has a painful memory of being enslaved and exploited by foreign powers in modern history. After the Cold War ended, countries in the region focused on economic development, actively participated in cooperation, and, as a result, enjoyed better times.

“They fully supported economic globalization, improvement of relations between major powers, and mutually beneficial integration between countries because they understand that this security policy best serves their own interests,” Fu added. 

“I have talked to diplomats from ASEAN countries. They often said that major powers are like elephants in the jungle, while other countries are like grass. And when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” 

“ASEAN countries promote their own reform and development and they highly value China’s recognition and support,” the veteran diplomat noted. 

Fu said the US has made China a target of strategic competition and is pursuing its so-called Indo-Pacific strategy, which is actually a move that pushes the region back into the abyss of Cold War confrontation. The strategy reflects an outdated Cold War mentality that is dangerous and runs counter to the will of the people.

“China and ASEAN are close neighbors. China will uphold the diplomatic policy featuring amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness. We always promote friendship and partnership with our neighbors, and will not ask ASEAN countries to choose between China and the US,” Fu stressed.

She added that ASEAN countries have their own perceptions and capabilities, and can adhere to their own diplomatic principles and their “centrality” in building frameworks for regional collaboration and security. 

“We also believe that ASEAN countries will be unwilling to be manipulated by one major power to harm the other,” Fu said.

Fu, who is the founding chairperson of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, gained great experience as a diplomat in Southeast Asia since her career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began in 1978, with several key postings in the region. 

She served as director and counselor in the ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs. In 1992, Fu Ying joined the UN peacekeeping mission in Cambodia. She was then appointed Minister Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia in 1997, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines in 1998, and director-general of the Asian Affairs Department of the foreign ministry in 2000.

Contact the writers at yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn