Keep neighborly ties warm

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's four-nation trip to Southeast Asia, which concluded on Sunday, has sent an unmistakable message to the outside world that China attaches great importance to maintaining friendly relations with its Asian neighbors.

The trip, which was Wang's first as China's new foreign minister, took him to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. It helped cement China's ties with these countries and deepened understanding and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Since China's new leadership took office in March, the country has driven home the message that it will continue to enrich its time-honored friendly ties with ASEAN countries.

Given that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN, relations are at a new starting point that will usher in new opportunities to take their reciprocal interaction to an even higher level.

China has always supported ASEAN playing a leading role in regional integration and development, and China's fast economic growth in recent years has promoted regional economic cooperation and development. The cooperation between China and ASEAN has proven a win-win strategy. They are making efforts to bring their trade volume up to $100 billion in 2015, while ASEAN is striving to realize an ASEAN community.

But these ambitions are attainable only if the two maintain a stable and peaceful environment in the Asia-Pacific.

In the past few years, the Philippines and Vietnam have staged blatant provocations that have not only disturbed the otherwise harmonious neighborhood, they have also threatened the premise of regional peace and stability.

In an attempt to legalize its illicit occupation of disputed islands in the South China Sea, Manila is seeking international arbitration, which China strongly opposes as the move is an open violation of the consensus reached between China and ASEAN on resolving the disputes through bilateral negotiations and consultations.

During his trip to Southeast Asia, Wang once again stressed China is willing to continue high-profile consultations on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea as well as discuss the Code of Conduct.

To create conditions for these consultations and negotiations that aim to produce binding rules regulating the conduct of concerned parties in the waters, it is important that countries like the Philippines stop stirring up trouble for selfish gains.

(China Daily 05/06/2013 page8)