Worthwhile venture

Despite the increasing global turmoil, peaceful coexistence can be attained if countries make that their goal

On the face of it, there should be no question about the merits of countries seeking peaceful coexistence. Who doesn't want peace and good relations with others? But when we look at the world and international politics today, we see scarce evidence of progress toward peace. Instead, confrontation and conflict appear to be on the rise.

Still, many people yearn for peace. And rhetorical calls for peace are commonplace, including from protagonists in some of the conflicts we are witnessing today.

There are many different ideas in diplomacy and the study of international relations which explore paths to peace. Scholars have dedicated volumes to studying not just the causes of war, but the conditions of peace.

No one has a monopoly on wisdom. But 70 years ago, an important contribution to the diplomacy of peace came from the freshly-established People's Republic of China during former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's visit to India in June 1954, stimulated by the need to deal with issues along the border of the two countries. China issued a joint statement with India, announcing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as the guiding norms for bilateral relations.

These five principles are mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

Although they are usually written consecutively like this, the first four are the essentially approaches that, if adhered to, could help achieve the overarching goal of peaceful coexistence, the last of the five principles. In short, the idea is that peaceful coexistence can be attained if states respect and tolerate each other, and take account of others' interests.

On the global scale, actual progress toward peaceful coexistence has been patchy. While interstate war has been limited in some regions, such as Southeast Asia, over the last few decades, conflict has been a regular feature more widely over the last 70 years. Today, some parts of the world — starting with the Middle East — seem more cursed by conflict than they have been for decades.

China has been relatively more successful in its efforts to achieve peaceful diplomatic relations with other countries. Beijing has resolved disagreements over most of China's land borders and enjoys peaceful interactions with most of its neighbors, and further afield.

Nonetheless, numerous challenges remain, particularly around maritime disputes between many countries in Asia — not just China (as some governments and media imply). Some of these are very current problems, and against this background, it can be hoped that all regional players continue to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful resolution of contentious issues.

The fundamental problem, though, is that not all relevant governments want peaceful coexistence. The reasons are complicated and varied.

For certain major powers, such as the United States, the idea of peaceful coexistence can suggest too much compromise. One issue which concerns some is the need to concede or share power.

This was on display a decade ago in the response of the Obama administration to the notions of a relationship of equality and mutual respect put forward by China under the banner of a new type of major-country relations.

For others, the objections are more ideological. Their problem with peaceful coexistence is that it requires acceptance of different political and social systems or an unwillingness to follow one approach to domestic or international affairs. They would rather try to change or control other countries than accept them as they are.

There are also domestic political and economic forces at play, typified in the military-industrial complex. The sad truth is that there are powerful incentives to keep actual conflict or the prospect of conflict alive. We see this in massive increases in military spending across Europe and beyond.

In the face of this, and given current conflicts from Europe to the Middle East, it is challenging to devise and deliver a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence. For one thing, a balance between interests and ideals is never easy to strike. Engaging in diplomacy to bring parties together can be more challenging and politically risky at home than threats of coercion or adopting a bloc mentality. Even so, recent breakthroughs such as that between Iran and Saudi Arabia show that it is possible to improve relations between countries.

For China there are particular challenges. It has complex historical relations with a number of its neighbors, and the interests of others in confrontation with China appear to have grown as US-China competition has intensified.

In spite of the challenges, though, persisting in seeking peaceful coexistence remains the right approach. The spirit of 1954 should encourage leaders to redouble their efforts to this end.

The author is a research affiliate of the Lau China Institute at King's College London and an assistant professor at the Centre for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.