Beijing uses ‘divide and conquer’ tactic with Asean as South China Sea tensions heat up

Southeast Asia is playing an ever-growing part in China’s investment and diplomatic decisions, particularly as Beijing’s rivalry with Washington heats up. In the first of a four-part series on China’s ties with Asean, Shi Jiangtao looks at the wider implications of the increasingly adversarial relationship between Beijing and Manila.

Escalating hostilities between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea has brought the region closer to an undesired conflict, putting Southeast Asia’s growing China conundrum on the spot.

China and the Philippines have exchanged fiery criticism of each other’s “provocative behaviours”, with coastguard vessels from both sides colliding six times since March near two uninhabited flashpoint shoals in the disputed waters.

Despite fears of armed confrontation and a potential larger conflict involving the US, Beijing has doubled down on its high-handed tactics against the Philippines, while ratcheting up efforts to leverage its political, military and economic clout to pull other Southeast Asian countries away from Manila.

According to observers, Beijing is deliberately upping the ante, trying to thwart a united front against China on its doorstep, while escalating pressure in the hope of forcing the Philippines to back down from its robust resistance to China’s expansive maritime claims.

In recent months, as Manila has continued tilting decisively towards Washington, Beijing has launched a charm offensive to woo its Southeast Asian neighbours, with a flurry of high-level diplomatic exchanges and defence engagements, such as joint drills.