Don't ignore the soft content

The second message from the report is that China attaches more importance to development and cooperation rather than confrontation and conflict. China understands that neighboring countries worry about the sea disputes and it strives to promote cooperation among related parties in order to ease tensions and maintain regional stability. China has made positive moves to reassure its neighbors. Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed three suggestions for dealing with the South China Sea disputes during his visit to Thailand last month.

Meanwhile, the United States should be aware that China will not be able to catch up with the US' maritime power for decades. According to a recent analysis by Russian experts, it will take at least 20 years for China to become a maritime power. China is sober-minded; it has no intention of challenging the US. Based on this, the US should not overreact to China's maritime development and treat it as a rival.

Even though both countries have not yet built up strong enough mutual trust to accommodate in-depth military exchanges, they can still work together in a number of non-sensitive areas that benefit regional countries.

China and the US have made some progress in collaborative efforts in areas such as disaster relief, response and warning. In 2012, they jointly funded and participated in an urban search and rescue training exercise aimed at improving the capacity of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. USAID and the China Earthquake Administration also co-funded a regional earthquake response exercise in Indonesia.

However, maritime cooperation still lags behind their cooperation on land. Part of the reason is that China's maritime capabilities are not sufficient to support related operations. With the development of its navy, China will be able to become a qualified partner for maritime cooperation with the US.

China and the US have cooperated in anti-piracy operations in the Asia-Pacific several years ago. Unfortunately, these efforts were not sustained and little progress has been achieved since. Now, with China's efforts to become a maritime power, it may be the right time for both sides to resume and renew their maritime cooperation.

The author is deputy director of the Department of International and Strategic Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

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(China Daily 09/06/2013 page8)