History shows upholding Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence offers best hope for Asia-Pacific

Seven decades ago, China put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence — mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence — marking a significant milestone in international relations. Over the years, the concept has been accepted and globally recognized as the basic norm governing international relations.

Today, the world stands once again at a historical crossroads. The Ukraine crisis and the Gaza conflict seem to reinforce pessimists’ view that although a military conflict has not yet broken out in the Asia-Pacific region, the escalating China-US rivalry means a security crisis could get out of control at any time and war can be avoided only through enhanced military deterrence.

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This is a major misconception. Multiple examples prove that upholding the five principles leads to peace, while neglecting them invites chaos and turbulence.

In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union’s collapse resulted in the emergence of five Central Asian countries, each struggling to establish itself as a sovereign nation-state. Challenges — such as territorial disputes, and racial and religious tensions —risked military conflict in the region.

To bring regional stability, China started to develop friendly ties with Russia. In Shanghai in 1996, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed an agreement to enhance military trust along their border areas. The “Shanghai Five” later agreed to reduce stationed troops in border regions and then successfully resolved their border issues. In 2001, the “Shanghai Five” and Uzbekistan jointly established the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO. Since then, the SCO has overcome security challenges from rampant terrorism, separatism and extremism unleashed in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, and during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

In the Asia-Pacific, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is a longstanding problem, and the world witnessed numerous setbacks in efforts to find a peaceful solution to the issue. That being said, adhering to the five principles offers the region hope for peace and stability.

In 2003, Six-Party Talks were initiated under the mediation of China, which was in line with the five principles that uphold equal participation and dialogue among all stakeholders.

A joint statement issued by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, China, the United States, Russia, and Japan on Sept 19, 2005, is perhaps the most successful multilateral political document so far on the Korean Peninsula issue, and a milestone in Northeast Asia relations.

The joint statement epitomized the five principles, with stakeholders affirming their commitment to denuclearizing the peninsula and agreeing to negotiate on building a lasting peace. It also saw the US and the DPRK pledge to normalize ties and peacefully coexist, with the other five parties agreeing to give economic aid to the DPRK.

The Six-Party Talks represent a significant initiative in building a multilateral security framework in Northeast Asia, and they underscore the potential for solving the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and diplomacy as long as the five principles are followed, especially when sovereignty is respected.

The Taiwan question is another hotspot issue in the Asia-Pacific region. History has proved that whenever the five principles are upheld, peace prevails across the Taiwan Strait.

During the George W. Bush administration, the US opposed unilateral steps by Taiwan separatists to push for the island’s independence, leading to stability and increased cross-Strait exchanges, creating a favorable environment for peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question.

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In contrast, former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022 in alleged support of “shared democratic values” was a flagrant violation of the Five Principles that advocate respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sharply escalated regional tensions.

In 2002, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a result of their shared commitment to the five principles. This has prevented the South China Sea issue — maritime disputes between China and other claimant countries in the region — from affecting international shipping and the friendship between China and ASEAN countries.

However, the US takes “freedom of navigation” (which in essence is freedom of movement for its warships) as an excuse to interfere in the South China Sea issue, which deviates from the five principles and exacerbates the security situation in the region.

The history of the Asia-Pacific has demonstrated that sustainable peace can be maintained so long as countries stick to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

The author is an associate professor of international relations at Niigata University in Japan and a nonresident senior fellow at the Center on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.