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head of ASEAN’s 50th anniversary, it is important for the regional grouping to consider boosting security cooperation with China in order to prevent tensions between some countries escalating into conflict, a Chinese academic has said.

Yan Xuetong, director of Tsinghua University’s Institute of International Relations, said Thursday that even if ASEAN countries and China did not share mutual trust, preventive cooperation was needed to maintain peace.

“What do we prevent? We prevent tensions from escalating into war,” Xuetong told a discussion held by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

A year ago, tensions between China and ASEAN countries over the South China Sea dispute escalated after the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines over a territorial and maritime dispute in the area, describing China’s historic claims as without legal basis.

In the wake of the ruling, China maintained that it would ignore the verdict, which it considered invalid. Four of the 10 ASEAN member countries are claimants in the disputed region, through which approximately US$5 trillion worth of trade passes each year.

However, foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries and China have reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the disputed area through the framework of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties.

Xuetong said the problem in the South China Sea was not in the dispute over the area, but in the attitude of the claimants toward the issue, adding that they could either resolve the dispute or use it as an excuse to start a confrontation.

“This is more about political attitude than the issue itself,” he continued.

ASEAN and China already engage in various joint mechanisms related to political-security issues including ASEAN Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three, The East Asia Summit, as well as the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus.

Xuetong said it was important for China to strengthen its bilateral ties with Indonesia, which he considered to be the leading power in ASEAN. To date, China remains the biggest market for Indonesian exports, with the total value reaching US$1.57 billion in May according to data released by The Central Statistics Agency (BPS), followed by the United States with $1.36 billion and India with $1.19 billion.

“China and Indonesia should pursue further cooperation in both economic and security fields, because if China wants to have a good relationship with ASEAN it must start with Indonesia,” he continued.

He said that while other forms of cooperation, such as students exchange programs between countries, could also boost ties between Indonesia and China, security remained the most important issue to focus on.

“We cannot rely on that [student exchange] for our strategic relationship. I think China and Indonesia should spend more effort developing security cooperation,” Xuetong added.

Earlier, ASEAN-China Center secretary general Yang Xiuping said Indonesia would play an important role in boosting ASEAN-China ties in the future and referred to Indonesia’s status as the most populous country in the region and its great economic potential as important factors.