Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday warned of “small cliques” and called for joint efforts to preserve hard-won peace in the South China Sea during his visit to Indonesia.
The call represents the consensus of most countries in the region, analysts said, warning that if the Philippines continues on the wrong path of following the US’ strategy, it will be isolated in Southeast Asia and risk burning itself by the fire it started.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto on Thursday.
Widodo and Wang expressed their desire for regional peace and stability and repeated calls for a de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza, the Jakarta Post reported Thursday.
Wang, during the meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, said the two sides are highly vigilant against the formation of various “small cliques” in the region, and oppose any attempts by certain groups to create camp confrontation. We shall cherish and maintain the hard-won peace and stability in the region, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
China is willing to continue working with other ASEAN members to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, accelerate the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace and cooperation.
Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that Wang’s remarks in Indonesia represent the consensus and sincere hope of most countries in the region for peace and stability, amid the US’ continuous attempts to reshape regional geopolitics against China with the Philippines as an auxiliary, Xu said.
Being a wheeler-dealer will isolate the Philippines, its former president Rodrigo Duterte said in a recent exclusive interview with the Global Times,adding that if the Philippines identifies itself with America, “then everything becomes blurry with our relations with China and the rest of the ASEAN countries.”
For the Philippines, using the South China Sea as a bargaining chip to introduce an external major power and rashly getting involved in major power competition brings the risk of burning itself, Xu warned.
“US will not die for us,” Duterte noted.
The US and the Philippines have been enhancing military ties, with the latest move being the deployment of the Typhon (Mid-Range Capability) missile system. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Thursday advised the Philippines to recognize the US’ true intention and not pull the US’ chestnuts out of the fire at the cost of the Philippines’ security interests.
Xu said that as the biggest country in the ASEAN, Indonesia has been playing a constructive role in mediation and accelerating related negotiations. It is hoped that through communication between China and Indonesia, China and ASEAN can consolidate consensus and join hands to prevent a further escalation of tensions.
Analysts stressed the importance of an independent and neutral ASEAN, saying that the current tension, with US’ support for the Philippines against China, has the potential to compel certain ASEAN member states to take sides, to the detriment of the broader well-being of the region.
According to a published schedule, Wang will chair a session of the China-Indonesia High-level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism on Friday before traveling to Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.
As Indonesia has just held general elections and is in a transition period, Xu expected the high-level meeting to facilitate the stable and sound development of China-Indonesia relations and continue to make fruitful progress under the new administration.
President-elect Prabowo made a China visit from March 31 to April 2, shortly after his win in the elections, marking the high level of mutual political trust, according to observers.
China and Indonesia, the country where “the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” was initiated, have seen maritime cooperation and joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative as new growth poles in addition to traditional political, economic and trade, and cultural exchanges, Xu said.
Citing flagship cooperation projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, Xu said the bilateral relationship has set a cooperation model for the region and named sectors including infrastructure connectivity, new energy and digital economy as cooperation areas of great potential.
