By Tran Thuy
As the most powerful country, China sets the tone for the dispute in the South China Sea. As Beijing adopted a more accommodating stance in the South China Sea disputes, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DoC) between China and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was reached in 2002.
A relatively “softer” policy by China toward the South China Sea might stem from certain factors, including:
i) ASEAN’s consensus and solidarity;
ii) an increasing engagement from outside forces, especially the United States, in the South China Sea issue;
iii) China’s need to project a good image and promote its relations with other countries in the region.
Since 2007, as Beijing corrected its policy toward the South China Sea issue with a more assertive approach, the situation was tense again.
Opportunities have been created for the United States to intervene into the issues and strengthen its position in the region.
In the last months of 2010, Beijing voiced a softer tone on the issues to ensure neighboring countries and to gain back its partly damaged image in the region.
However, the fact that China has softened its tone in recent times reflects tactics in dealing with the South China Sea issue.
In the near future, China will likely continue to pursue its assertive approach in dealing with other smaller claimants in the South China Sea disputes.
To promote regional security and cooperation, China and ASEAN should successfully implement DoC and Beijing should accept a legally binding regional Code of Conduct (CoC), which would ensure smaller parties from being intimidated and making them more confident to proceed with the cooperative activities in the South China Sea.
Tran Thuy is a member of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.