0230616704ts01.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page i Living with China This page intentionally left blank 0230616704ts01.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page iii Living with China Regional States and China through Crises and Turning Points Edited by Shiping Tang, Mingjiang Li, and Amitav Acharya 0230616704ts01.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page iv LIVING WITH CHINA Copyright © Shiping Tang,Mingjiang Li,and Amitav Acharya,2009. All rights reserved. First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States - a division ofSt.Martin’s Press LLC,175 Fifth Avenue, New York,NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK,Europe and the rest ofthe world,this is by Palgrave Macmillan,a division ofMacmillan Publishers Limited,registered in England,company number 785998, ofHoundmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint ofthe above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,the United Kingdom,Europe and other countries. ISBN-13:978–0–230–61670–7 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Living with China :regional states and China through crises and turning points/Shiping Tang,Mingjiang Li,and Amitav Acharya,editors. p.cm. ISBN-13:978–0–230–61670–7 (alk.paper) 1. China—Foreign relations—1976- 2. China—Foreign relations— 1976—Case studies. 3. China—Relations—Asia—Case studies. 4. Asia—Relations—China—Case studies. 5. China—Relations— Pacific Area—Case studies. 6. Pacific Area—Relations—China—Case studies. I. Tang,Shiping. II. Li,Mingjiang. III. Acharya,Amitav. JZ1730.A55L59 2009 327.51—dc22 2008048149 A catalogue record ofthe book is available from the British Library. Design by Integra Software Services First edition:July 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States ofAmerica. 0230616704ts01.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page v Contents Preface vii Introduction:Understanding “Living with China” 1 Shiping Tang 1 Explaining China’s Proactive Engagement in Asia 17 Mingjiang Li 2 The PLA’s Role in China’s Regional Security Strategy 37 Da-peng Qi 3 The Politics and Economics ofChina’s Economic Presence in Asia:A Preliminary Empirical Assessment 53 Ruobing Liang 4 India and China:Confidence Building through Crises 69 Swaran Singh 5 Indonesia-China Relations:The Politics ofReengagement 89 Rizal Sukma 6 Japan:Reengaging with China Meaningfully 107 Haruko Satoh 7 Coping with Complexity:Trends in Thailand’s and Malaysia’s Relations with China 129 Joseph Chinyong Liow and Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman 8 Pakistan-China Relations:The Shadow ofKargil and 9/11 153 Fazal-ur-Rahman 9 Waltzing with Goliath:Philippines-China Engagement in Uncharted Waters 173 Aileen San Pablo – Baviera 10 Russia and China:The Politics ofSolving Problems 193 Alexander Lukin 0230616704ts01.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page vi vi CONTENTS 11 South Korea’s Evolving Relations with a Rising China: Symbiosis or Mere Cohabitation? 211 Jae Ho Chung 12 Grand Strategic Fit and Power Shift:Explaining Turning Points in China-Vietnam Relations 229 Alexander L.Vuving Conclusion:Living with China,but Loving It? 247 Amitav Acharya About the Contributors 267 Index 269 0230616704ts01.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page vii Preface Debating China’s rise and its implications for Asia and beyond has become a cottage industry,and much ink has been spilled regarding whether China is going to be a benign or malign power and how other states ought to deal with China.By and large,pundits—usually outside Asia—have advanced their pre- ferred policy recommendations for handling the “China Problem”based on their theoretical or intuitive readings into the history of the rise and fall of great powers, without paying much attention to the real world. Few have looked into the actual process through which regional states have managed to live with a rising China and how their dynamic interaction has shaped the region so far. Theory-driven and prescription-driven discussion has its inherent limits. Without solid empirical understanding ofhow other states have actually been trying to live with a rising China,we cannot possibly know the virtue of all those prescriptions.This volume fills a vacuum by examining ten countries’ actual experience ofliving with a rising China in the past two decades or so. Many contributors to this volume have direct access to and have been often consulted by policy-making bodies in their respective countries and thus have intimate knowledge ofhow their countries live with China. This volume is the final product ofa project funded by the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.We thank the dean ofRSIS,Ambassador Barry Desker,for his keen support ofthis project. The final product could not possibly be in this shape without the critical comments from discussants ofeach chapter during and after the conference, held for this project in March 18-19,2007 at RSIS.The editors and the authors wish to thank the following individuals for their comments on the volume: Rajesh Basrur,Richard Bitzinger,Leszek Buszynski,Heungkyu Kim,Ho Khai Leong, Kwa Chong Guan, Lam Peng-er, Lijun Sheng; Chih-yu Shi, Leonard Sebastian,Tan Seng Chye,Tan See Seng,Sarah Tong,and Guihong Zhang. Finally,we wish to thank the supporting staffofRSIS,Adeline Lim,Tan Eng Chong,Peter Ng,and Caroline Ng.Their outstanding support made the con- ference for this project a smooth sail. This page intentionally left blank 0230616704ts02.qxd 4/20/09 3:48 PM Page 1 Introduction: Understanding “Living with China” Shiping Tang1 In the early 1990s, when China’s economic growth became impossible to ignore,many regional observers became anxious about how China was going to exercise its growing power.Along with the anxiety about China’s power and intentions,various proposals for handling the “China Problem”—from contain- ment,to engagement,to congagement,to hedging—also began to dominate pol- icy conversations in the region.2 So far,however,much ofthe debate on the China Problem has been not only Western-centric but also heavily theory driven (partly because it was Western- centric).There has been an outstanding dearth ofregional voices in the debate and, at the same time, an outstanding lack of solid empirical work on how regional states have coped with the rise ofChina.3By and large,pundits outside the region have advanced their preferred policy recommendations based on their theoretical or intuitive readings into the history of the rise and fall of great powers,without paying much attention to the real world. In other words, few have looked into the actual process through which regional states have managed to live with a rising China and how their dynamic interaction has coincided with one and a half decades of relative peace and robust growth in the region despite shocks from the 1997 Asian financial crisis,the fallout from the September 11 terrorist attacks,SARS,and the Bird flu. With more than a decade since the rise ofthe debate on China now may be a good time to assess what has really happened between China and regional states. Because regional states are more sensitive to China’s behavior,they should also be the most qualified to make that assessment. This volume is the product ofsuch an attempt.Its stories ofhow regional states have actually lived with China in the past decade or so are told by scholars from individual regional states.Importantly,many ofthese authors have intimate knowledge gained from active involvement in shaping their