The Impact Of ASEAN Intergration On Sino-ASEAN Relationships

As one of the most important parts of China's surrounding environment, the ASEAN regions bear on China's survival and future development. In-depth reflections on the opportunities and challenges brought by the integration process of the ASEAN will help China to contribute to her relations with the organization with clear targets in mind and to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in diplomatic practice, in order to fully realize her national interests. The influence of the integration process of the ASEAN on Sino-ASEAN relations involves political, economic, and security-related aspects and shows both positive and negative sides. This paper attempts to discuss the issue from a comprehensive perspective and proposes steps to take to cement the ties between China and the ASEAN.The paper is divided into five parts. Chapterâ… describes the status quo of the integration progress of the ASEAN:political integration enhances its regional influence, regional defense cooperation gives impetus to the building of a security community, and free trade helps to shape an economic community. Chapterâ…¡analyzes the major challenges currently facing the integration of the ASEAN. Chapterâ…¡mainly deals with the positive influence of the integration process on Sino-ASEAN relations in terms of politics, economy, and security. Chapterâ…£discusses the negative influence of the process on Sino-ASEAN relations in terms of aspects closely related to China's national interests, including the South China Sea issue, the Myanmar issue, and the ASEAN's Balance of Powers Strategy. Chapterâ…¤proposes steps to take to cement the ties between China and the ASEAN.The study of the integration process of the ASEAN and Sino-ASEAN relations is a multi-disciplinary, multi-level subject, which is subsumed under different disciplines by different scholars. This paper attempts to analyze the positive and negative influence of the process on Sino-ASEAN relations in terms of the important aspects closely related to China's national interests and proposes some ways to deal with the situation. I sincerely solicit your opinions on the flaws of my work.