Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction by Marc Lanteigne

Author:Marc Lanteigne [Lanteigne, Marc]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, pdf
ISBN: 9781317387527
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-12-22T05:00:00+00:00

At present, there is no equivalent of a NATO or an OSCE in East Asia which would hypothetically create better security confidence-building and mediate regional disputes.51 Those mechanisms which do exist, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asian Summit (EAS), are comparatively very weak and act mainly as debate forums. However, China has viewed the ARF as useful in developing non-alliance forms of regional security cooperation.52 Thus, there is concern that the region remains conflict-prone due to a lack of strong regional security mechanisms. For example, relations with Japan became increasingly strained by the turn of the century due to both historical grievances and regional security concerns.53 North Korea has been transformed from an ally to a troublesome neighbour of China after Pyongyang tested its first nuclear weapon in October 2006, along with two subsequent tests, and concerns about longer-term American strategies for the Pacific Rim region also persist. It can be argued that the presence of a strong regional security organisation for Northeast Asia could be useful to, at the very least, provide a forum to address these problems.

China has also become more accepting of “Track II” diplomacy (ergui weijiao 二轨外交) in strategic matters, another area of traditional suspicion. Track II diplomacy has been increasingly used to address traditional and non-traditional security problems in regions where direct government-to-government contact is complicated. Rather than meetings between official state representatives or officials (or “Track I”), Track II meetings involve persons from academia, think-tanks and research centres, non-governmental organisations, businesses, and oftentimes government functionaries representing themselves de facto rather than their offices.54 Politically difficult topics can be discussed more freely and often ideas can be circulated which would be too difficult to address at the governmental level. China has made increasing use of such Pacific Rim meetings, including the Council of Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP), the ASEAN Institutes for Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) and the Network of East Asian Think Tanks (NEAT), to discuss delicate issues relating to regional security.55 Chinese representatives also participate in the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which could be considered a “Track 1.5” meeting as the Dialogue includes representatives of both government and non-government groups. While Beijing has been wary of allowing certain topics, especially Taiwan and the South China Sea, onto the agendas of Track II meetings, other issues such as terrorism, trade security and maritime strategy are increasingly discussed by Chinese representatives.

Although China and the US remain allies combatting international terrorism, Beijing’s suspicions of American power persist and there is concern by scholars in the US that the current partnership between Beijing and Washington is a marriage of convenience only. China appears uncomfortable with America’s strengthening of traditional alliances, including the upgraded security link with Tokyo, ongoing hegemonic behaviour, its pursuit of democratisation around the world, which Beijing believes is a cover for a policy of weakening potential adversaries, its shaky adherence to international law and its selective intervention in domestic disputes under the guise of humanitarian intervention.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.