Xi Jinping, “China Dream”, and Chinese Military Diplomacy to ASEAN

Authors

  • Lidya Christin Sinaga Center for Political Studies-Indonesian Institute of Sciences

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21512/jas.v8i2.6483

Keywords:

Xi Jinping, military, military, foreign policy-making, national security, military diplomacy, South China Sea, ASEAN

Abstract

The rise of Xi Jinping has brought together the idea of the ‘China Dream’ as a great revival of China. Since the dream referred to the nationalism spirit of a ‘century of humiliation,’ it has made national security issues as the core of China’s diplomacy. While the national security-related foreign policy has enhanced the military's role in China’s foreign policy-making, it brings consequences for China’s tougher stance in protecting China’s national security. However, Xi Jinping’s notion of using military diplomacy has started uneasy relationships between China and some ASEAN countries resulting in ‘ongoing negotiation without progress’ for the South China Sea dispute. The research examines the impacts of the military’s growing role in China’s foreign policy under Xi Jinping to its military diplomacy in ASEAN. The results show that Xi Jinping’s leadership and vision of the China Dream, which uses military diplomacy as a key tool for advancing its whole diplomatic goals, has been seen as a sign of growing assertiveness.

Dimensions

Plum Analytics

References

Allen, K., Saunders, P. C., and Chen, J. (2017). Chinese Military Diplomacy 2003-2016: Trends and Implications. Washington DC: National Defense University Press.

ASEAN. ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM). https://asean.org/asean-political-security-community/asean-defence-ministers-meeting-admm/

Cai, P. (2016). ASEAN’s defence diplomacy and China’s military diplomacy. Asia Policy, 22, 89-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.33172/jp.v5i1.487

Cameron, F. (2013, 15 November). China’s foreign policy under the new leadership – More continuity than change. Eu-Asia Centre. http://www.eu-asiacentre.eu/pub_details.php?pub_id=124

Chang, F. K. (2015, 27 May). Strategic intentions: China’s military strategy white paper. Foreign Policy Research Institute. http://www.fpri.org/2015/05/strategic-intentions-chinas-military-strategy-white-paper/

China to build landing ship for Thai navy. (2019, 17 September). The Strait Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/china-to-build-landing-ship-for-thai-navy

Gady, F. S. (2015, 26 May). China to embrace new 'Active Defense' strategy. The Diplomat. http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/china-to-embrace-new-active-defense-strategy/

Gore, L. L. P. (2013). China’s New Foreign Policy Team. East Asian Policy: An International Quarterly, 5(3), 5 – 17.

Grieger, G. (2015, June). The role of army in China’s politics. European Parliamentary Research Service. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/564375/EPRS_BRI(2015)564375_EN.pdf

Heydarian, R. J. (2020). The Indo-Pacific: Trump, China, and the New Struggle for Global Mastery. Singapore: Palgrave Macmilan: Singapore.

Huang, C. (2013). Change Agent or Steady as She Goes? in South China Morning Post. (2013). The China Renaissance The Rise of Xi Jinping and the 18th Communist Party Congress. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

Huang, C. (2014, 20 January). How leading small groups help Xi Jinping and other party leaders exert power. South China Morning Post. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1409118/how-leading-small-groups-help-xi-jinping-and-other-party-leaders-exert.

Jakobson, L. and Manuel, R. (2016). How are foreign policy decisions made in China? Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 3(1), 101-110. https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.121

Ji, Y. (2014a). The military role in China’s foreign policy-making. East Asian Policy, 16, 13-25.

Ji, Y. (2014b). The PLA and diplomacy: Unravelling myths about the military role in foreign policy making. Journal of Contemporary China, 23(86), 236-254. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2013.832526

Kania, E. (2015, 12 June). China: Active defense in the cyber domain. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2015/06/china-active-defense-in-the-cyber-domain/

Kuhn, R. L. (2013, 4 June). Xi Jinping’s Chinese dream. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/opinion/global/xi-jinpings-chinese-dream.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Latiff, R. and Ananthalakshmi, A. (2020, 23 April). Malaysia calls for peaceful end to months-long South China Sea standoff. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2020/04/23/malaysia-calls-for-peaceful-end-to-months-long-south-china-sea-standoff.html

Lee, V. R. (2015, 14 April). South China Sea: China is building on the Paracels as well. The Diplomat. http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/south-china-sea-china-is-building-on-the-paracels-as-well/

Miller, J. (2013). SITC bulletin analysis: China's Dream army. UC San Diego: Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/67x812nh

Panda, A. (2014, 27 November). One Year of ADIZ: What Next for China? The Diplomat. http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/one-year-of-adiz-what-next-for-china/

Poulin, A. (2016, 15 April). Going Blue: The Transformation of China’s Navy. The Diplomat. http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/going-blue-the-transformation-of-chinas-navy/

Ramzy, A. (2016, 21 April). China’s President, Xi Jinping, Gains a New Title: Commander in Chief. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-military-commander.html

Remarks on the occasion of meeting with the Chinese and Foreign Press by members of the standing committee of the political bureau of the eighteenth central committee of the Communist Party of China. (2012, 15 November). http://www.china.org.cn/china/18th_cpc_congress/2012-11/16/content_27130032.htm

Shi, T. and Tweed, D. (2014, 2 December). Xi Jinping outlines ‘Big country diplomacy for China’. Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/world/xi-jinping-outlines-big-country-diplomacy-for-china-20141202-11yaj5.html

Song, Z. (2008). The Structural Influence of the Military in China’s Foreign Policy Making. Asian Studies Review, 24(1), 71-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357820008713260

Storey, I. (2019, 27 May). Thailand’s military relations with China: Moving from strength to strength. ISEAS Perspective, 43. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2019_43.pdf

The central conference on work relating to foreign affairs was held in Beijing. (2014, 29 November). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1215680.shtml

The power of Xi Jinping. (2014, 18 September). The Economist. http://www.economist.com/news/china/21618882-cult-personality-growing-around-chinas-president-what-will-he-do-his-political

Tiezzi, S. (2014, 10 September). Why is China building islands in the South China Sea? The Diplomat. http://thediplomat.com/2014/09/why-is-china-building-islands-in-the-south-china-sea/

United Nations. (n.d). United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf

Wingfield-Hayes, R. (2014, 9 September). China’s island factory. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_8701/index.html

Xi Jinping - China Dream. (n.d). Global Security. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/china-dream.htm

Xi Jinping and the Chinese Dream. (2013, 4 May). The Economist. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21577070-vision-chinas-new-president-should-serve-his-people-not-nationalist-state-xi-jinping

Xinhua. (2013, 17 March). President vows to press ahead with "Chinese dream". Xinhua. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/17/c_132239786.htm

Xinhua. (2015, 26 May). Full text: China's military strategy. China Daily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-05/26/content_20820628_4.htm

Yasuhiro, M. (2006, March). An essay on China’s military diplomacy: Examination of intentions in foreign strategy. NIDS Security Studies, 8(3), 21-37. http://www.nids.mod.go.jp/english/publication/kiyo/pdf/bulletin_e2006_2_Matsuda.pdf

Yinan, Z. (2013, 18 March). China’s Dream is Xi’s vision. China Daily. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013npc/2013-03/18/content_16315025.htm

Zhang, J. (2015). China's new foreign policy under Xi Jinping: towards ‘Peaceful Rise 2.0’? Global Change, Peace & Security, 27(1), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781158.2015.993958

Zheng, S. and Liu, X. (2015, May). The Pursuit of Peaceful Development: How China's Foreign Policy and Its National Security are Connected. Dissertation. Halmstad University.

Zicheng, Y., Levine, S. I. and Liu, G. (2011). Inside China’s Grand Strategy. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky.

Downloads

Published

2021-01-05

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2020): Journal of ASEAN Studies

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Lidya Christin Sinaga

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
 
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal for non-commercial purposes.
 
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
 
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Abstract 3262  .
PDF downloaded 2309  .