Shi Jiangtao

My Take | If China hopes to grow its regional influence, it must stop blaming and start listening

Beijing has refused to accept that its attempts to project power are creating the sources of its own predicament

As China’s ascendancy wavers and its economy sputters, pressure tactics on its neighbours will only push them further away, regional leaders say

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A still taken from a video released by the Chinese Coast Guard through the Chinese embassy in Manila shows a collision between a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Philippines’ vessel during a resupply mission in Second Thomas Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing and Manila traded blame for the October 22 incidents. Photo: AFP

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 8:43pm, 31 Oct 2023Updated: 9:19pm, 31 Oct 2023

Persistent tensions have escalated again in the South China Sea following recent collisions between a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Philippine vessel, and near mid-air encounters between Chinese and American warplanes.

The incidents underscore the acute danger of a major mishap, as China and the United States veer towards a collision course despite a White House confirmation of a summit between Chinese and American leaders in San Francisco next month.

The latest confrontations are a reminder that the spiralling US-China rivalry has brought the world closer to the precipice of war. Instead of anticipating anything resembling a reset of the relationship, Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden must focus on managing the near-term crisis by clarifying their real intentions and bottom lines.

02:26

Philippines condemns ‘floating barrier’ set up by Chinese fishermen in Scarborough Shoal

But recent tensions between Beijing and Manila have also exposed another problem that has long plagued China’s relations with its regional neighbours. As China watches ties with the US and most of its Western allies nosedive, there has been a growing sense in Beijing – which tends to view the world through the lens of power politics and geopolitical fault lines– that it’s under siege.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr complained about the “misleading” narrative that frames the South China Sea dispute “solely through the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries”.

“This not only denies us our independence and our agency, but it also disregards our own legitimate interests,” he said at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Jakarta in September, without mentioning China.

02:13

Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters

Marcos experienced it first-hand during a state visit to Beijing in January. China’s state-controlled media hailed the beginning of a “new golden age” between the two countries and praised the Philippine leader for his “independent diplomacy” that “soberly and wisely deals with ‘coercion and temptation’ from Washington.”

My Take | If China hopes to grow its regional influence, it must stop blaming and start listening

Beijing has refused to accept that its attempts to project power are creating the sources of its own predicament As China’s ascendancy wavers and its economy sputters, pressure tactics on its neighbours will only push them further away, regional leaders say

Beijing has refused to accept that its attempts to project power are creating the sources of its own predicament

As China’s ascendancy wavers and its economy sputters, pressure tactics on its neighbours will only push them further away, regional leaders say