Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul shakes hand with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Thai MFA. May 1, 2013
Newly-appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Southeast Asian tour signifies a move that Beijing wants to renew closer ties with its regional neighbours.
But the contentious sea territorial row between the world’s second largest economy and ASEAN remains to be a clear hurdle, despite 2013 marking the 10th anniversary of China-ASEAN strategic partnership.
In the effort to create a conducive atmosphere, Beijing proposed to host a special foreign ministerial meeting between China and ASEAN, which also in hopes to settle the issue of sea dispute. Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul has informed that the meeting will be scheduled for August; before the next regional gathering in October.
Minister Wang referred to the current regional dispute as historically critical, where he stated that it is now time for both China and ASEAN to review their relations of the previous decade and jointly move to deepen its strategic partnership forward.
Beijing has prioritized its foreign policy towards Southeast Asia in this regard.
“The Chinese government stands firm to improve friendly relations and cooperation between China and ASEAN. The emphasis on this development has been set as a top priority of China’s diplomacy.” Wang said.
Although Minister Wang’s message was clear of Beijing’s goodwill intention, China wants to resolve territorial disputes with ASEAN through dialogue.
It appears that the four countries on his Southeast Asia tour were picked for being neutral in the 10-member ASEAN bloc currently chaired by Brunei.
“China insist on solving the dispute with ‘some’ ASEAN countries through fair negotiation and beneficial cooperation,” he added. “We also hope Thailand, in its capacity as the coordinator, will play constructive role in forging the China-ASEAN ties.”
Minister Wang Yi’s southeast Asian tour does not only signal China’s drive to mend closer ties with the ASEAN bloc, but his first destination to Thailand also indicate that Beijing gives significance to the development of Thai-Chinese ties.
“China and Thailand have been close friends. Being close friend, one should help promote cooperation that brings versatile development and take into consideration the desire and need of each side.” Wang said.
He said the Chinese-Thai relation is a special one, which is comparable to a valuable treasure that ought to be cherished by both sides.
Despite the Chinese foreign minister’s insistent that the Thai-Chinese or the China-ASEAN ties are of importance to the Chinese government, the sea dispute remains a test for both the regional bloc and Asian powerhouse to work out a common ground before the October ASEAN Summit in Brunei.
Juarawee Kittisilpa reports.
