(Analysis) All's Not Smooth Sailing Along China's Maritime Silk Route
2015-07-16 08:45:21 source：Eurasia Review
By David Hurrell
July 15, 2015
"Perhaps the most interesting aspect of China's Rise over the past decade has been its diplomatic setbacks in a region it needs to consolidate first before setting its sights further abroad. The might of the PRC has not been lost on the states of Southeast Asia, some of which have been slowly congealing into a loose ant-Chinese coalition of sorts. Beijing has become aware of its failure to balance its hard power excesses with the reassurances necessary to prevent fear amongst its neighbours from becoming a stumbling block in its goal of regional leadership and is attempting to address its failings via various means, including economic - drawing these states into a commercially integrated 'maritime silk route' as part of its 'peripheral diplomacy'. But recent events have shown the limitations of this policy.
In June the Philippine president Benigno Aquino arrived in Japan for a 4 day visit where he drew headlines after giving a speech likening China’s policies in the South China Sea to Nazi Germany's expansionism during WW2. The timing of the statement was welcome to Japan since 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 with corresponding levels of 'Japan bashing' across the region. Aquino's statements drew attention away from the memory of Japanese aggression in the region, focusing instead on the growing threat posed by China to regional stability. Aquino has sought Japanese help in resisting Chinese actions in the South China Sea and is also benefiting from a deal financed by Japan which will see 12 high speed patrol vessels for the Philippines Coast Guard delivered in 2016. In 2012, Aquino’s foreign secretary, Del Rosario stated that: 'We are looking for balancing factors in the region and Japan could be a significant balancing factor.'"
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