Once again, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is about to be taken hostage if the issue of disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea is hyped up at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A senior Philippine official recently called on ASEAN members to pressure China in order to draw international attention to the maritime disputes between China and a few Southeast Asian nations.
The world is familiar with the Philippines' practice of raising the issue at every improper regional or international moment to peddle its own greed in the South China Sea. It tries it frequently, but always fails due to lack of support from fellow ASEAN countries.
The issues in the South China Sea do not pit China against the ASEAN as a whole. Therefore, it should not affect the overall interests of China-ASEAN cooperation.
China has maritime disputes with only a few ASEAN countries, but such disputes should not stand in the way of incremental engagement between China and the ASEAN. The South China Sea is only one of many regional topics and should not steal the show at multilateral meetings.
At the ongoing ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the 10-nation bloc is in the final spurt to realize the goal of establishing an "ASEAN Community," which involves a plan to create a common economic, political-security and sociocultural region by the end of this year.
The multilateral forum is not an appropriate place for discussing specific bilateral disputes. Attempts to do so cannot help resolve the underlying issues, but instead will aggravate the conflict.
China and the ASEAN have agreed a dual-track approach to resolving the South China Sea disputes. That is, the directly concerned states will peacefully negotiate, and in the meantime, China and ASEAN countries will work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday that the senior officials meeting to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and the joint working group for consultation on the Code of Conduct have been operating smoothly in addressing tensions in the the South China Sea.
Although sovereignty disputes remain, ASEAN countries still take the economy as a major focus. After China initiated the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in 2013, the Philippines and Vietnam were among the first countries to join as founding members of the multilateral institution designed to finance infrastructure building in Asia.
China and Southeast Asian countries were linked with each other by the ancient maritime Silk Road, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 and aimed at reviving the ancient trade routes that span Asia, Africa and Europe, will provide a new cooperation platform for China and the ASEAN.
