Opinion | China needs to adjust its diplomatic approach to win the battle for Southeast Asia and the South China Sea

China’s behaviour in the South China Sea was high on the agenda at the June 15 and 16 Asean Defence Ministers and the Asean Defence Ministers Plus meetings.

China’s fishing and coastguard incursions into Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), its massing of fishing and maritime militia boats in waters claimed by the Philippines, a new law authorising its coastguard to use force, and its provocations in waters claimed by Vietnam and Malaysia, are all of concern to rival claimants. 

Beijing has made some diplomatic advances, the latest being the June 7-8 meetings between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Association of Southeast Asian Nations counterparts – both as a group and bilaterally – in Chongqing. According to Wang, they agreed to resolve disputes through dialogue, exercise self-restraint and avoid unilateral actions that would exacerbate conflicts. China has even proposed to elevate their relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.

President Xi Jinping has communicated with some Southeast Asian leaders, and Wang has travelled through the region and met his counterparts in person. The foreign ministers of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines also visited China for bilateral talks in late March.

China has clearly made inroads with its Belt and Road Initiative, too, despite warnings of debt traps, environmental damage and coercion. Its diplomacy during the Covid-19 pandemic has been successful, donating vaccines and even working with Indonesia to produce more.