The Cartagena Dialogue: a new bridge across the Pacific
- By Jiang Shixue
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 15, 2015
As a matter of fact, Asian countries pose no security threat to Latin America, and vice versa. That is to say, when we discuss the bilateral relations between Latin America and the Asia Pacific, it is meaningless to focus on security. If too much attention is devoted to security between Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, it would be like putting the wrong wine in a nice bottle.
Second, which countries on the eastern side of the Pacific can be taken into account for the discussion of the trans-Pacific relations? There are two dimensions regarding this issue: it could be every country in the Americas, including the United States and Canada, or only Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the four members of the Pacific Alliance, a regional integration initiative established on April 28, 2011
The first Cartagena Dialogue only looked at the Pacific Alliance. Therefore, the trans-Pacific relationship seems to be between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru on the eastern side of the Pacific and Asian partners on the western side. In reality, however, these four countries only come together with the attractive name of the Pacific Alliance. In the eyes of the Asian countries, they do not constitute the whole picture of the eastern side of the Pacific. Therefore, in the future, it might be more inclusive and productive to take all the countries on the eastern side of the Pacific into account.
Even the United States was not perceived as a major player at the first Cartagena Dialogue. In reality, however, it is the U.S. "pivot to Asia" or "rebalancing to Asia" strategy that has caused great concern for some Asian countries.
Finally, it is also important to mention that the Cartagena Dialogue should not be used as a platform to intervene in other countries' domestic affairs. It was a pity that a South Korean speaker in the capacity of an ambassador made some insinuations criticizing China's human rights and rule of law.
A new-born baby cannot be expected to be as beautiful as a grown-up. Despite the short-comings of the first Cartagena Dialogue, the IISS efforts to build a bridge across the Pacific must be praised. Members of Chinese think tanks should redouble their efforts to learn from IISS by establishing similar dialogues so as to promote mutual understanding among the countries of the world.
The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/jiangshixue.htm
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