Chinese FM Wang Yi concludes SE Asia trip

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concludes a six-day tour of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Cambodia today.

China is a primary trading partner and source of foreign direct investment for the three countries and seeks to bolster its strategic relationships with ASEAN through this trip. During Wang’s visits, key discussion topics included quelling tensions in the South China Sea, strengthening bilateral economic ties, and the proposed Funan Techno canal project in Cambodia.

As all three countries visited are part of ASEAN, during his trip Wang stated that China is willing to work on devising a Code of Conduct with ASEAN countries to maintain stability in the South China Sea. However, this proposal may be difficult to achieve given China’s claimed territorial sovereignty in the sea. The Philippines, a U.S. ally and significant ASEAN member has competing claims with China in the waters. Accordingly, China must be careful in navigating the South China Sea issue with the Philippines or risk nearby ASEAN countries, like Indonesia, aligning themselves closer to the US. China is likely to continue to leverage its bilateral ties with individual members of ASEAN to slowly tip regional preference away from the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific. It is thus probable that China will continue to emphasize peace amidst tensions with the US-backed Philippines.