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SINGAPORE – China is expanding its military cooperation with its US security partners in Southeast Asia, seeking to link these countries closer to Beijing and to ease their long-standing defense ties with Washington.
Military exercises involving Chinese forces and 10 Southeast Asian countries this month show improved relations of regional nations with Beijing, which have been strained by disagreements over maritime claims in the South China Sea and the militarization by China of atolls of the strategic waterway.
Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said at a meeting of regional defense ministers Friday that exercises with China "will allow our navies to build confidence and interoperability". The ministers also agreed to conduct an exercise with the United States next year. I said.
At the same meeting, officials adopted voluntary guidelines for meetings between military aircraft to prevent accidental collisions and launched an initiative to share intelligence on terrorism.
Washington has long used joint military maneuvers to forge closer relations with countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. These countries have viewed the US military presence as a stabilizing force in a conflict-ridden region, allowing them to focus on economic development.
Now, as US-China tensions mount and China presents the US military presence as a destabilizing threat, Beijing offers Southeast Asia an alternative – a solution that excludes Washington.
Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe and his counterparts from the Southeast Asian Nations Association of 10 in Singapore on Friday.
Photo:
wallace woon / epa-efe / rex / Shutterstock
In discussions this year with Southeast Asian governments about a code of conduct in the South China Sea, Beijing lobbied for an effective veto of members seeking joint exercises with outside countries, according to people familiar with the draft text. He also called for the exploitation of the natural resources of the South China Sea to be exclusive to the countries of the region, to the exclusion of foreign companies.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang declined to comment on the draft code of conduct on Friday, saying the deliberations should not be discussed in public.
"Consultations now rest on sound foundations," he said, calling on "all parties concerned" to respect the efforts of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, composed of 10 members.
The first joint exercises at sea with China are scheduled for early next week off the coast of China. They are following an office exercise in August and separate exercises involving China, Malaysia and Thailand on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry of Defense confirmed Friday the joint naval exercise plans with Thailand and Malaysia, and said its goal is to improve trust and cooperation between countries.
The United States is not involved in any of these maneuvers.
"China aims to exclude the United States," said Carlyle Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra. "The current military exercises are designed to link Asean members to China."
Controlled by China,
claimed by Vietnam
and Taiwan
Claimed in whole or in part
by Brunei, China, Malaysia,
Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam
China reefs turned
in artificial islands
Controlled by China,
claimed by Vietnam
and Taiwan
Claimed in whole or in part
by Brunei, China, Malaysia,
Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam
China Reefs
became
artificial islands
Controlled by China,
claimed by Vietnam
and Taiwan
Claimed in whole or in part
by Brunei, China, Malaysia,
Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam
China reefs turned
in artificial islands
China Reefs
became
artificial islands
* Controlled by China, claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan
† Claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam
The Chinese Ministry of Defense has stated on its website that the exercises are "not directed against third parties".
While China has organized military exercises with different countries in the region and participated in larger exercises including many other countries, next week will be the first time that it will host all the forces of the world. Southeast Asia.
On the sidelines of a meeting with Southeast Asian officials on Friday, US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said he did not consider joint Chinese exercises with the region as an attempt to repel the United States, saying "we can not see everything very positively". in a binary way. "
If the exercises are transparent, he said, unlike other Chinese actions in the South China Sea, "then it is going in the right direction."
The United States remains far ahead in military diplomacy in Asia. In August, it held its 17th joint annual exercise in the region, which also included countries outside Southeast Asia. But as China strengthens its commitment, it seems to be trying to freeze the United States apart from the upcoming drills.
Security analysts say that it is unlikely that the region will accept terms that expressly exclude other nations – the organization includes several countries wary of China and making its decisions by consensus – this shows an attempt by Beijing to put the United States aside in regional affairs. The negotiating group includes Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei, each with competing claims with China in the South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway that carries much of the world's trade.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, accompanied by Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich and Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, at a luncheon during the meeting of ministers of defense Defense of Asean.
Photo:
Don Wong / Associate Press
The negotiation "clearly aims to undermine the US strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia," said Ian Storey, senior researcher at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, specializing in Asian security issues. "This could be a negotiating tactic or a serious attempt by China to exclude foreign countries from commercial and military activities in the South China Sea."
In recent months, Washington has taken steps to counter what it sees as China's unrelenting economic and military aggression, particularly in sensitive areas such as the South China Sea, where Beijing has reconquered and militarized several island elements in conflict with other Asian nations.
Asked about China's attempts to limit its relations with countries outside Southeast Asia, Singapore's Minister of National Defense said on Friday that he and his counterparts agreed that "all countries have right to sail as well as military activities in accordance with international law ".
Meanwhile, at the opening of a regional meeting with China's Defense Minister, Ng said China is essential for Southeast Asia. "We want to continue to develop strong relations and ties with China."
-Nancy A. Youssef in Singapore and Josh Chin in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Jake Maxwell Watts at [email protected]
