Although competition between China and Japan will benefit ASEAN, the latter cannot take sides, because that would compromise its interests. Japan has been trying to use China's maritime territorial disputes with some ASEAN member states - saying Beijing could establish an ADIZ even over the South China Sea - to force them to take action against China.
But such tricks are not expected to work, because China is not the first country to establish an ADIZ. More than 20 countries and regions have one, with the US establishing its ADIZ six decades ago and Japan's four-decade-old ADIZ being only 130 kilometers from China's coastline.
China's ADIZ is not no-fly zone and will not hinder aviation freedom over the high seas. It is aimed only at strengthening national defense, and people who are making a hue and cry over it are either misguided or have ulterior motives.
China does have maritime disputes with some Southeast Asian countries, but they are manageable and can be resolved only through bilateral dialogue. ASEAN is not and will never be the platform to resolve these disputes.
The visits of President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang to Southeast Asia in October have not only promoted bilateral ties with the ASEAN member states, but also "upgraded" the China-ASEAN development road map. Xi's proposal to build a new "maritime silk road" is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both China and ASEAN.
At an academic conference organized by Hainan University and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences over the weekend, Chinese scholars highlighted the importance of adding security to the "maritime silk road" to make it more compact.
The academics cited the example of Zheng He, an admiral during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), as historical proof of China's peaceful maritime strategy. The most famous explorer in China led seven maritime expeditions, sailing through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, and reaching as far west as the east coast of Africa. But unlike Western explorers and navigators, Zheng's large fleets never invaded another country.
Hopefully, ASEAN member states will refer to history and make the decision that serves their own rather than Japan's interests.
The author is an editor with China Daily.
(China Daily 12/11/2013 page9)
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