By Prashanth Parameswaran
Beijing floats 5-point proposal at inaugural ASEAN-China Defense Ministers’ Informal Meeting.
On October 16, China hosted ASEAN defense ministers for the first-ever informal meeting of this kind in Beijing.
The holding of the inaugural ASEAN-China Defense Ministers’ Informal Meeting (ACDMIM) is itself an achievement for China and ASEAN.
For China, it is the realization of a proposal it has been floating for years to boost defense ties with Southeast Asian states (See: “China to Hold First Meeting with ASEAN Defense Ministers in Beijing”).
For ASEAN, it is another step in the deepening of the regional grouping’s security relations with major powers. Despite the singular focus on China, a point often missed amidst sensationalist headlines is that this comes after the holding of similar ‘first’ defense ministerials with the United States and Japan in 2014. The timing and sequence of these events is not insignificant.
But beyond this general significance, what did China aim to achieve at this inaugural meeting? Close observers of ASEAN-China relations know that China is fond of making proposals in numerical terms – with the “2 + 7 cooperation framework” in 2013 and the “ten point proposal” in 2015 being just two recent examples of this (See: “Beijing Unveils New Strategy for ASEAN-China Relations”).
Things were no different at the first ACDMIM. Chinese defense minister Chang Wanquan, who chaired the meeting, put forth a “five point proposal” for boosting security and defense cooperation between China and ASEAN. The first two points essentially lay out the link between defense cooperation and the broader ASEAN-China strategic partnership as well as the Asian Security outlook respectively. The first point is fairly boilerplate – Beijing is fond of emphasizing that security ties are just one part of the overall ASEAN-China relationship.
Read the full story at The Diplomat