hina is in desperate need of better translators, as much of its intentions in Southeast Asia have been stifled by the lack of understanding among ASEAN member states, a recent seminar has concluded.
With its enormous economic clout, the country has already offered ASEAN a number of large scale projects like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
But despite strategic partnerships proposed during China’s 25-year dialogue relationship with ASEAN, Beijing is finding it hard to convince countries in the region to embrace its grand plans.
According to senior journalist Kavi Chongkittavorn, part of the reason why China is having difficulty currying favor with ASEAN is because members of the bloc are suspicious of Beijing’s intentions in the region.
“China is looking at ASEAN, wanting to form a strategic partnership that is [simultaneously] flexible, multilateral and multifaceted,” said Chongkittavorn, also a fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangok.
“ASEAN seldom understands what the Chinese have in mind,” he told the discussion on China and ASEAN.
In the wake of souring relations following an international arbitration ruling on the South China Sea dispute, ASEAN and China are seeking ways to move on from unresolved disputes onto the bigger picture of cooperation.
For instance, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo continues to seek cooperation with China.
However following skirmishes between Indonesian and Chinese coast guard vessels, his ministers have reiterated Indonesia’s insistence on others respecting its sovereignty.
According to an ASEAN statement adopted in Laos last month, ASEAN has yet to embrace China’s proposals like OBOR, which Indonesia is part of.
However former deputy foreign minister and previous ambassador to the US, Dino Patti Djalal separately told The Jakarta Post, “Our China policy must have balance between economic symbiosis and geopolitical play. Economically we must have intense engagement with China […]. But geopolitically, we must keep our stategic autonomy as a middle power. This means that Jakarta must be willing to stand up and say “no” to Beijing whenever it is necessary for us to do so.”
Analyst Evan Laksamana said earlier that compared to economic diplomacy in ASEAN and with China, Indonesia showed “less energy and drive to link the processes to regional disputes such as the South China Sea.”
On a visit to China on Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the Philippines’ “separation” from the US on Thursday and realignment with China, in a drastic shift from its traditional alliance with the US.
Meanwhile China’s representative acknowledged it needed a comprehensive communications strategy in the region. “I agree with you when you say China needs a better translator,” Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN, Xu Bu, “Since China has such a long history and such a complicated culture, we need to do a lot of homework to make ourselves [...] better understood.”
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