by Ye Pingfan

JAKARTA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the United States, Japan and the Philippines held a meeting at the White House on Thursday, agreeing to "strengthen military cooperation in the South China Sea."

However, politicians and experts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said that actions by the Philippines, including repeatedly making trouble in the waters of China's Huangyan Dao and Ren'ai Jiao, and joining forces with Japan and the United States to foment confrontation in the South China Sea, are a serious departure from ASEAN's long-standing practice of pursuing peace, stability, and good-neighborliness.

PEACE-ORIENTED POLICY

ASEAN was established in the 1960s in the global context of the Cold War. Its initial purpose was to unite to avoid becoming a pawn in the game between major powers.

In the following decades, ASEAN has nurtured an "Asian way" of consensus, non-interference in internal affairs, and accommodating each other's comfort levels, and has established a tradition of helping each other and working together in times of difficulty.

Now, the 10-nation group, with a total population of approximately 662 million, has been growing into a regional organization that pursues political unity, economic cooperation, and social integration, with the goal of establishing a stable, prosperous, competitive, and integrated common market.

In December 2008, the ASEAN Charter officially came into effect. Article 1 of the charter swore to maintain and enhance peace, security and stability and further strengthen peace-oriented values in the region.

Following the spirit of the charter, ASEAN currently serves as a model for maintaining regional peace and cooperation, and has transformed Southeast Asia into one of the most economically dynamic and culturally diverse regions in the world, with great progress in economic and social development.

S&P Global reported that the economic outlook for the ASEAN region remains positive in 2024, supported by the continued expansion of domestic demand in some large economies in Southeast Asia. As multinational companies continue to diversify their manufacturing supply chains, foreign direct investment inflows are also expected to remain strong.

With rich natural resources, a unique strategic location, and a relatively peaceful and stable political environment, ASEAN countries have launched ambitious economic development plans and continuously strengthened regional connectivity, to bring their integrated development to a new level.

ADHERENCE TO OPENNESS, INCLUSIVENESS

The ASEAN Charter emphasizes maintaining the central and proactive role of ASEAN as the primary driving force in its relations and cooperation with its external partners in a regional structure that is open, transparent and inclusive.

In the late 1990s, amid economic globalization, ASEAN countries gradually realized the importance of launching a new level of cooperation and building an all-round cooperative relationship, and decided to carry out "export-oriented" economic cooperation.

The "10+1," cooperation mechanisms between ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea respectively, and "10+3," a cooperation mechanism between ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea, came into being. In addition, ASEAN also launched the East Asia Summit mechanism, which focuses on cooperation.

In January 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes the 10 ASEAN countries and five non-ASEAN member states including China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia, officially came into effect, establishing a free trade zone with the largest participating population, the most diverse membership and the greatest development potential in the world.

Christine S. Tjhin, director of strategic communication and research at the Indonesian Gentara Institute, said that ASEAN's central role is crucial, because it not only enables Southeast Asian countries to come together to jointly solve regional problems, but also helps promote regional cohesion and economic integration.

It also ensures that Southeast Asia remains neutral while promoting development through cooperation, said the expert.

DIPLOMATIC INDEPENDENCE

For decades, ASEAN has adhered to an independent and ASEAN-oriented diplomatic strategy and does not take sides among major powers, as the principles of unity and independence are more valuable, according to experts.

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Unlike taking sides during the Cold War, most countries today want to remain neutral to limit the scope of geopolitical contests and prevent "elephants" from fighting too fiercely, said Singaporean scholar Kishore Mahbubani.

As an important country in ASEAN, Indonesia has adhered to a non-aligned foreign policy for decades.

"Indonesia respects all countries, respects all great powers," the country's President-elect Prabowo Subianto said in an interview earlier this year, adding that Indonesia embraces a philosophy of non-alignment.

"We want to have great relationships with everybody. We don't want to be joining one bloc against another bloc. Our position is quite unique. We are friends with everybody. In any conflict or competition, we are the ones who can be accepted by all sides," said Prabowo.

For his part, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that there is "Sinophobia" in Western countries, but there is no problem between Malaysia and China. Western governments should not prevent Malaysia from developing friendly relations with its important neighbors.

Regarding the repeated attempts by some forces outside the region to use the South China Sea issue to provoke conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region, Ei Sun Oh, principal adviser for the Malaysian Pacific Research Center, said that for many years, Southeast Asian countries have generally hoped to resolve the South China Sea issue through peaceful means.

"Emotion rather than reason has prevailed in our maritime conflict with China and is leading us down a dangerous path that will cost us more than just Filipino pride," said Imee Marcos, chair of the Philippine Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, criticizing the Philippine government's provocations in the South China Sea. Enditem

(Xinhua reporters Yang Yunqi and Liu Kai in Manila, Mao Pengfei in Kuala Lumpur, and Tao Fangwei in Jakarta contributed to this story.)

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