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Promoting the 21st century Maritime Silk Road to ASEAN

There’s no denying that the 21st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and the overall Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formerly named One Belt One Road, or OBOR, provide a very lucrative initiative from China toward ASEAN member states

Gilang Kembara (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, October 10, 2016

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Promoting the 21st century Maritime Silk Road to ASEAN

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here’s no denying that the 21st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and the overall Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formerly named One Belt One Road, or OBOR, provide a very lucrative initiative from China toward ASEAN member states.

The vision to connect Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the rest of Asia will help to accelerate the flow of goods and capital from each of those places. Not to mention, the regions and states affected by this initiative will be showered with foreign direct investment from China, especially toward infrastructure development.

At least that’s what the Chinese are trying to sell us.

It is most unfortunate that information regarding the implementation of this 21st century MSR and the overall BRI is still sparse. Official documents with the ASEAN secretariat still state the name of this initiative as OBOR, despite the change of name this year. In addition, official documents held by the Chinese government are still mostly in Mandarin and I was advised to search using Baidu, the Chinese search engine, instead of Google.

The Chinese have certainly touched our soft spot by promoting investment in infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. ASEAN states have for so long experienced an “infrastructure hunger” due to the inability of their governments to provide quality public goods for their people (with the exception of Singapore). Proper infrastructure development will lead to a more streamlined logistics process, which would provide the necessary goods to all our populations at an affordable price by keeping the cost of logistics low.

However, in successfully implementing the 21st century MSR in ASEAN, China will have to understand several key factors that require its adherence. First, it is imperative that China engages ASEAN and its member states on the same level. It should not engage in the concept of primus inter pares (first among equals) with ASEAN, or it will risk being seen as hegemonic toward its “little brothers”.

By that sense, it must also concentrate on providing a win-win solution to promote the successful implementation of its initiative.

China must be able to fulfill the need for quality infrastructure development throughout ASEAN, should it wish to strengthen its investment here. We have had decades of neglect and low-quality infrastructure built throughout ASEAN by our own governments. Therefore, if China can provide high quality infrastructure, there will be no doubt that it would be seen differently by the ASEAN people.

In addition, both ASEAN and China must refrain from harvesting short-term gains. Doing so will leave both parties with long-term losses.

To put it in another way, one should not spend all of one’s money buying a supercar if it one does not have any funds to maintain it. It would be better to purchase a more efficient car to maximize use and efficiency.

Thus we come to the second key factor, sustainability. A sustainability ranking devised by Channel News Asia in 2015 listed four ASEAN companies and zero Chinese companies in its Top 20 list. In fact, not a single Chinese company made it to the Top 100 list. This is not a cause for celebration for either party, yet it is a moment for self-reflection.

But we are not just talking about environmental sustainability here. Sustainable knowledge of both the people and their culture must be preserved and improved. This is where people-to-people exchange is crucial between the two parties. The Chinese people would need to understand ASEAN in a deeper context, aside from seeing it just as a market for Chinese goods and tourists. Meanwhile, ASEAN would also need to do its part by improving its Chinese studies sector and establishing Chinese study centers across all member states.

Sustainable management of natural resources must also be a strong priority. We need to remember that should we exhaust a country of its key resources without providing any alternatives, then we will have permanently lost any opportunity with said country, whether large or small. As the old saying goes: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Thus, both parties have a duty to provide the necessary skills “to fish” and make sure that the “fish stock” is sustainable.

Both China and ASEAN have had 25 years to get to know each other and to identify key strengths and weaknesses. The next 25 years should be focused on preserving and expanding the relationship. By doing so, ASEAN would be more than willing to partner with China to implement its initiatives.
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The writer is research assistant at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

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