With the rising of its comprehensive national strength and corresponding military strength, China is becoming more confident and is more willing to have its voice heard in international affairs, but China has never taken Southeast Asia or any neighboring regions as its own "backyard" or "sphere of influence", nor does it oppose neighbors developing normal relations with other powers. Pakistan, for example, has strong relations with the US.

China hopes that its development can benefit neighboring countries and in turn the common development of neighboring countries will help facilitate the realization of the Chinese Dream.

Some people say that the proposal to build a community of common destiny is an "olive branch" extended by China to ASEAN in response to Japan's idea of establishing an "arc of freedom and prosperity". However, the China-ASEAN community of common destiny is a natural extension and development of China's established periphery policy of developing good neighborly and friendly relations, rather than an expedient knee-jerk action like Japan's so-called arc of freedom and prosperity, which is a product of its Cold War mentality and aimed at hooking the US into backing it in its territorial dispute with China.

It is simply a joke to say that ASEAN will side with Japan to contain China. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited all ASEAN nations since he took office last December. And recently at a special Japan-ASEAN summit held in Tokyo, Japan pledged $19 billion in aid and loans to ASEAN in a bid to garner the latter's support for a joint statement targeting China. But ASEAN is an important regional organization with its own principled stand. While the bloc is willing to accept Japan's aid and investment if it is unconditional, it will by no means be bought for such nefarious purposes.

The author is executive director of the Strategy Study Center at the China Foundation for International Studies.

(China Daily 12/20/2013 page8)