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East Asian cooperation in diverse fields including financial security and food security was greatly strengthened at a recent series of summits in Bali, Indonesia, said Chinese analysts. And deepening regional integration has lured the United States, which is struggling to reinvigorate its ailing economy by expanding exports, to join the process.
The series, held from November 17 to 19, included the China-ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) Summit and the Sixth East Asia Summit.
It was the first time the United States and Russia were formally represented at the East Asia Summit, which formerly consisted of the 10 ASEAN member states, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.
Building stability
Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery and an unstable global financial market, it was agreed during the summits that East Asian and Southeast Asian countries should work together to enhance their global competitiveness and improve their ability to resist risks.
Food security was a hot topic at the ASEAN Plus Three Summit on November 18. Cooperation on food security is significant, because it is in the interests of all parties concerned, said Lu Jianren, an expert on Asia-Pacific studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“Food security is a common concern for East Asia,” Lu said. “As a big agricultural country with frequent natural disasters, China attaches great importance to food security. ASEAN is worried that food shortages will endanger its future development.”
Natural disasters caused by climate change, as well as an increase in population, have led to a drop in grain output in ASEAN. For instance, Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has been suffering from a tremendous flood since July.
Not long before the summit, ASEAN signed an emergency rice reserve agreement with China, Japan and South Korea under the ASEAN Plus Three mechanism in October, marking a big step forward in the building of a food security cooperation mechanism. It was expected to help East Asian countries deal with natural disasters, balance food supply and demand, and strengthen food information sharing.
At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, leaders pledged to jointly implement this agreement and further raise the food security level of East Asia.
Participating countries agreed to establish two “banks”—a “blood bank” and a“grain bank.” The “grain bank” refers to an emergency rice reserve set aside in case of disasters, while the “blood bank” refers to a foreign exchange reserves pool aimed at ensuring the financial stability in Asia. They pledged to make these banks effective means of resisting risks from global economic downturn, handling natural disasters and striking supply-demand balance.
In fact, the building of the “blood bank”started as early as 2000. So far, the regional foreign exchange reserves pool has surpassed $120 billion. At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, leaders agreed to improve the management of the funds so they can play a greater role in helping fend off financial risks.
China proposed ASEAN Plus Three countries should improve financial cooperation and enhance the effectiveness of the regional foreign exchange reserves pool, established under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) Agreement.
Launched on March 24, 2010, the CMIM is a multilateral currency swap arrangement among ASEAN members, China, Japan and South Korea. It aims to manage
regional short-term liquidity problems and regional balance of payment problems.
At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, ASEAN also had discussions with China, Japan and South Korea on economic and trade cooperation, as well as cooperation in building connectivity, preventing disasters and combating terrorism.
Getting involved
The presence of U.S. President Barack Obama drew huge attention to the East Asia Summit on November 19. The U.S. debut at the summit reflected Washington’s eagerness to assert itself in the Asia-Pacific region, Lu said.
When the East Asia Summit was inaugurated six years ago, the United States didn’t take interest in it. But with the development of this annual mechanism, its regional and global influence surged. Thus participating in the summit became an important channel for the United States to “return to the Asia Pacific,” Lu said.
Over the past years, the East Asia Summit has served as a forum for dialogue on issues of common concern with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia.
Faced with a sluggish economy accompanied with a high unemployment rate, the United States expects to get a larger part in East Asian markets, especially the markets of emerging economies including China, Lu said.
Disharmony, however, emerged with U.S. participation. The United States in- tended to play up the South China Sea issue at the East Asia Summit.
“Thanks to the coordination of the host country Indonesia, finally, this proposal was rejected,” said Lu. “It was a wise decision. The East Asia Summit is after all not an occasion for addressing such disputes.”
Discussions on territorial disputes are not good for the development of East Asian cooperation. Instead, they may deepen regional rifts. This goes against the purpose of the East Asia Summit, said Lu.
The purpose of U.S. participation in the summit was to influence the direction of East Asian cooperation, fuel South China Sea disputes and sell weapons to Southeast Asian countries, said Song Qingrun, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
At the beginning of his presidency, Obama promised a dramatic rise in exports. Now nearly three years have passed and the next presidential campaign is approaching. He will have trouble fulfilling his promise, and arms sales to Southeast Asia became a good choice, Song said.
These intentions are not only detrimental to harmony in East Asian cooperation, but may also endanger ASEAN’s leading role in the process. ASEAN nations have already sensed this, Song said.
Both Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan have recently stressed ASEAN’s leadership in East Asian cooperation.
China welcomes U.S. participation and it welcomes any open mechanism that is beneficial for East Asian regional cooperation, Lu said.
As for the South China Sea issue, China has reached a number of agreements with ASEAN countries and the two sides are working toward a final solution, he said.
In July, China and ASEAN countries reached an agreement on a guideline for implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), laying a solid foundation for practical cooperation in the area.
China and ASEAN signed the DOC in 2002, pledging to solve the South China Sea disputes through peaceful means.
The South China Sea issue centers on the sovereignty of the Nansha Islands. China has exercised jurisdiction over the islands throughout history. Since the early 1970s, however, Southeast Asian countries including Viet Nam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have claimed sovereignty over all or part of the islands.
At the summit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao elaborated China’s position on the South China Sea. A resolution among directly related countries through friendly negotiation and consultation in a peaceful way was a consensus reached in the DOC, said Wen.
“We hope relevant parties would take into concern the overall situation of regional peace and stability, and do something more conducive to mutual trust and cooperation,”he said.
The series, held from November 17 to 19, included the China-ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) Summit and the Sixth East Asia Summit.
It was the first time the United States and Russia were formally represented at the East Asia Summit, which formerly consisted of the 10 ASEAN member states, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.
Building stability
Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery and an unstable global financial market, it was agreed during the summits that East Asian and Southeast Asian countries should work together to enhance their global competitiveness and improve their ability to resist risks.
Food security was a hot topic at the ASEAN Plus Three Summit on November 18. Cooperation on food security is significant, because it is in the interests of all parties concerned, said Lu Jianren, an expert on Asia-Pacific studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“Food security is a common concern for East Asia,” Lu said. “As a big agricultural country with frequent natural disasters, China attaches great importance to food security. ASEAN is worried that food shortages will endanger its future development.”
Natural disasters caused by climate change, as well as an increase in population, have led to a drop in grain output in ASEAN. For instance, Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has been suffering from a tremendous flood since July.
Not long before the summit, ASEAN signed an emergency rice reserve agreement with China, Japan and South Korea under the ASEAN Plus Three mechanism in October, marking a big step forward in the building of a food security cooperation mechanism. It was expected to help East Asian countries deal with natural disasters, balance food supply and demand, and strengthen food information sharing.
At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, leaders pledged to jointly implement this agreement and further raise the food security level of East Asia.
Participating countries agreed to establish two “banks”—a “blood bank” and a“grain bank.” The “grain bank” refers to an emergency rice reserve set aside in case of disasters, while the “blood bank” refers to a foreign exchange reserves pool aimed at ensuring the financial stability in Asia. They pledged to make these banks effective means of resisting risks from global economic downturn, handling natural disasters and striking supply-demand balance.
In fact, the building of the “blood bank”started as early as 2000. So far, the regional foreign exchange reserves pool has surpassed $120 billion. At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, leaders agreed to improve the management of the funds so they can play a greater role in helping fend off financial risks.
China proposed ASEAN Plus Three countries should improve financial cooperation and enhance the effectiveness of the regional foreign exchange reserves pool, established under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) Agreement.
Launched on March 24, 2010, the CMIM is a multilateral currency swap arrangement among ASEAN members, China, Japan and South Korea. It aims to manage
regional short-term liquidity problems and regional balance of payment problems.
At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, ASEAN also had discussions with China, Japan and South Korea on economic and trade cooperation, as well as cooperation in building connectivity, preventing disasters and combating terrorism.
Getting involved
The presence of U.S. President Barack Obama drew huge attention to the East Asia Summit on November 19. The U.S. debut at the summit reflected Washington’s eagerness to assert itself in the Asia-Pacific region, Lu said.
When the East Asia Summit was inaugurated six years ago, the United States didn’t take interest in it. But with the development of this annual mechanism, its regional and global influence surged. Thus participating in the summit became an important channel for the United States to “return to the Asia Pacific,” Lu said.
Over the past years, the East Asia Summit has served as a forum for dialogue on issues of common concern with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia.
Faced with a sluggish economy accompanied with a high unemployment rate, the United States expects to get a larger part in East Asian markets, especially the markets of emerging economies including China, Lu said.
Disharmony, however, emerged with U.S. participation. The United States in- tended to play up the South China Sea issue at the East Asia Summit.
“Thanks to the coordination of the host country Indonesia, finally, this proposal was rejected,” said Lu. “It was a wise decision. The East Asia Summit is after all not an occasion for addressing such disputes.”
Discussions on territorial disputes are not good for the development of East Asian cooperation. Instead, they may deepen regional rifts. This goes against the purpose of the East Asia Summit, said Lu.
The purpose of U.S. participation in the summit was to influence the direction of East Asian cooperation, fuel South China Sea disputes and sell weapons to Southeast Asian countries, said Song Qingrun, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
At the beginning of his presidency, Obama promised a dramatic rise in exports. Now nearly three years have passed and the next presidential campaign is approaching. He will have trouble fulfilling his promise, and arms sales to Southeast Asia became a good choice, Song said.
These intentions are not only detrimental to harmony in East Asian cooperation, but may also endanger ASEAN’s leading role in the process. ASEAN nations have already sensed this, Song said.
Both Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan have recently stressed ASEAN’s leadership in East Asian cooperation.
China welcomes U.S. participation and it welcomes any open mechanism that is beneficial for East Asian regional cooperation, Lu said.
As for the South China Sea issue, China has reached a number of agreements with ASEAN countries and the two sides are working toward a final solution, he said.
In July, China and ASEAN countries reached an agreement on a guideline for implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), laying a solid foundation for practical cooperation in the area.
China and ASEAN signed the DOC in 2002, pledging to solve the South China Sea disputes through peaceful means.
The South China Sea issue centers on the sovereignty of the Nansha Islands. China has exercised jurisdiction over the islands throughout history. Since the early 1970s, however, Southeast Asian countries including Viet Nam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have claimed sovereignty over all or part of the islands.
At the summit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao elaborated China’s position on the South China Sea. A resolution among directly related countries through friendly negotiation and consultation in a peaceful way was a consensus reached in the DOC, said Wen.
“We hope relevant parties would take into concern the overall situation of regional peace and stability, and do something more conducive to mutual trust and cooperation,”he said.