Top China Envoy Faces Spooked Region After ‘Destabilizing’ Moves

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomePMN BusinessTop China Envoy Faces Spooked Region After 'Destabilizing' MovesChina’s top diplomat arrived in the Philippines this week carrying a message of regional stability — to an audience of Asian neighbors that Beijing itself has unnerved recently.Author of the article: You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.(Bloomberg) — China’s top diplomat arrived in the Philippines this week carrying a message of regional stability — to an audience of Asian neighbors that Beijing itself has unnerved recently.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountForeign Minister Wang Yi is in Manila to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meeting, where he’ll also hold talks with counterparts from across the globe including Marco Rubio of the US.The summit backdrop and diplomatic pomp come quick on the heels of several recent signs that Beijing’s behavior has spooked its neighbors: a recent brawl between China and the Philippines coast guards, Thailand’s public complaint over tank sales to Cambodia, and Japan’s protest over live-fire drills near one of its remote islands.Earlier this month Australia — whose Foreign Minister Penny Wong met Wang in Manila on Tuesday — and several Pacific island nations were outraged by a missile test conducted with little warning.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againTaken together, they add to the region’s sense of instability, with oil prices climbing again as the Iran war reignites. They also tap into a deeper sense of concern as President Donald Trump’s erratic policymaking erodes the credibility of America’s long-standing regional security guarantees. It also comes as Japan raises its military profile, which has drawn intense criticism from Beijing.“Times are tough. We see greater geopolitical contest. We see behavior which is destabilizing. We see a lot of challenges for peace and security,” Australia’s Wong told Bloomberg in an interview Tuesday in Manila before the meeting began. “What other countries would want in the face of the fastest military build-up we have seen is assurances about intent, assurances around transparency,” she said, referring to China’s rapid increases in defense spending, which have grown more than 6% annually since at least 2016.The Guardian reported that Wong raised the missile test with Wang in their meeting. However despite those tough lines on China, there were few hints of any tensions in Beijing’s account of their meeting Tuesday. Chinese state media Xinhua reported that he urged Australia to seek common ground while managing differences, and ensure bilateral relations develop in a positive cycle rather than allowing them to be disrupted by “certain prejudices.”Also on Tuesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned the China ambassador following the clash on Monday at the Second Thomas Shoal. China accused the Philippine personnel of “malicious harassment.”Wang is scheduled to meet his Philippine counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, while in Manila this week.The competition with the US will also be on show in Manila, with Rubio spending three days at the meetings, compared with one for Wang.Ahead of the talks, the Asean nations’ foreign ministers expressed “serious concern” over renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, warning the impact could further damage regional trade, food security and energy markets. Australia’s Wong called for both the US and Iran to resolve the war. This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.The hot war in the Middle East compounds the uncertainty the Trump administration already unleashed through its trade and tariff war last year.“The overwhelming source of anxiety has been, and will continue to be, the sheer capriciousness of US foreign policy and its impact on the global economy,” said Shahriman Lockman, a director at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. “Countries that have found themselves on the sharp end of Chinese policy will no doubt be dismayed by what they see as the relative indifference of others,” he said. “But the broader mood is overwhelmingly shaped by uncertainty over Washington rather than Beijing.”The US criticized China’s actions against the Philippines coast guard, with a State Department spokesman saying “China’s troubling pattern of provocation against lawful Philippine maritime operations undermines regional peace and stability.” Chinese state media on Tuesday argued that the criticism was an attempt by the US to exploit the incident and elevate a bilateral dispute to an issue concerning the region and international order. “This exploitation is closely related to the competition for influence between China and the US among Asean countries,” Ma Bo, an associate professor at the School of International Studies at Nanjing University, told the Chinese state media newspaper Global Times.While in Manila, “Wang is likely not going to focus or draw attention to all these contentious issues that it has been doing,” said Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore. Instead, Wang will likely “criticize what the US is doing, while at the same time not highlighting what it is doing within those flashpoints like the South China Sea or in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.”China and Southeast Asian nations have been trying to negotiate a “Code of Conduct” for the South China Sea for more than 20 years, but the unresolved territorial disputes, including with the Philippines, have meant that there has been little progress. Ten years ago last week an international tribunal ruled that China had no maritime claim to various areas in the South China Sea, including the area where the clash this week took place. China has rejected the legitimacy of that ruling, but 14 nations including the US, Japan, the Philippines and Australia issued a joint statement supporting it.—With assistance from Minmin Low, Philip J. Heijmans and Jing Li.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.