ASEAN-China summit in Cambodia to chart closer relations

S. Pushpanathan, Assistant Director, External Relations, ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta

ASEAN and China will be holding their annual summit on 4 Nov. 4, 2001 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The forthcoming summit will be a landmark meeting as ASEAN and China would be adopting a number of significant agreements that would guide the future of the relations.

ASEAN-China relations started in 1991 when China was invited to attend the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Economic cooperation and political consultations between ASEAN and China were initiated in 1994 and China was elevated to a dialogue partner in 1996.

In just three years, ASEAN-China relations were further raised to the summit level together with Japan and the Republic of Korea. This signifies the importance ASEAN placed on its relations with China. Besides, the financial crisis had drummed into ASEAN the importance of moving closer with its East Asian partners for economic and financial stability. The ASEAN plus Three Summit was a resultant of the crisis which enables ASEAN and its East Asian partners to forge closer economic relations, especially in the economic and financial areas.

This year's summit is significant as ASEAN and China would be signing the framework agreement on economic cooperation. The framework agreement would provide for negotiation of an ASEAN China free trade area (ACFTA), investment and services liberalization and facilitation as well as other areas of cooperation within next year. It would also include special and differential treatment and flexibility for ASEAN, especially the new member countries and an early harvest package to provide incentives to accelerate the ACFTA. The ACFTA when established in a decade or more would be the largest in the world with a combined market of 1.7 million people, a gross domestic product of US$2 trillion and two-way trade of $1.23 trillion.

ASEAN and China will also be signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on agricultural cooperation on the sidelines of their summit. Agriculture was identified by the last ASEAN- China summit as a priority area for cooperation. Under the MOU, China would be providing ASEAN with training and capacity building activities in agriculture, fisheries and aquiculture, biotechnology, farm machinery, agro industry, livestock production, post harvest technology and food security. China has earmarked additional funds to implement these activities.

While economic cooperation is progressing well, ASEAN and China would also want to strengthen their cooperation in the political and security field to achieve a balance in the relationship. China is a strategic partner of ASEAN and is a key to ensuring peace and stability in East Asia important for economic development of countries in the region.

ASEAN and China are expected to sign a declaration on cooperation in non traditional security issues covering terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and others. Following the signing, both sides are expected to look at developing a work plan and appropriate mechanisms to implement the declaration.

Another document that could come out of the ASEAN-China summit would be the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea which was mooted in July this year by Malaysia as a confidence building measure to promote peace and security in the South China Sea. The Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that both sides had been working on for sometime has hit a snag since the claimants could not agree on the geographical scope of the agreement.

Apart from signing these documents, the ASEAN-China summit is expected to discuss a number of important issues. China has reiterated its interest to sign ASEANs Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and the Protocol to the Treaty of Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone. The summit may look into the possibility of China signing the TAC and at some point of time the SEANWFZ Treaty. ASEAN is expected to conduct its second round of direct consultations with the five nuclear weapon states on the SEANWFZ Treaty in 2003.

Cooperation in the other priority areas identified by the last ASEAN-China summit, information communication technology and Mekong basin cooperation could also be discussed. China is ready to support the Kunming-Bangkok highway project by undertaking construction of the some sections of the highway through co- financing with the concerned ASEAN countries. China has also spent $2.08 billion to develop its own portion of the highway.

China is keen to develop river navigation with ASEAN and could provide limited funding to regulate some sections of the navigation channel within the territories of Laos and Myanmar. China is also interested in participating in the construction of Singapore-Kunming railway line, especially through bidding and to exploring the possibility of enhancing railway transit transport cooperation with neighboring ASEAN countries.

Air services would be an area that both sides could touch upon. China is keen to enlarge the air service arrangements with ASEAN member countries on a bilateral basis with the intention to establish more air services among the secondary cities, especially those in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and to develop air freight services. Multilateral arrangements for air services with the ASEAN countries would be a possibility when the bilateral air services arrangements have been expanded.

Human resources development is another area that China is actively pursuing to promote exchange of experts, sharing of knowledge and best practices in areas of mutual interest.

Nine projects have been completed worth $750,000 since the last ASEAN-China summit and 31 projects are under consideration.

The partnership of ASEAN and China has been fostered based on mutual interests and a high level of commitment. The relations is highly enduring and is expected to reach new heights as both sides begin implementation of the key agreements that would be coming out of the summit next week.