Is the ‘China-ASEAN+’ model quietly taking shape?
“Furthermore, Indonesia has the fourth-largest population and the largest Muslim population in the world, in addition to being a major developing country. Indonesia, therefore, fits neatly in China’s strategy to strengthen its ties with countries in the global south.”
“China also values strong ties with Malaysia because the latter serves as ASEAN chair and country coordinator for ASEAN-China dialogue relations from 2024 to 2027. Through these roles, Malaysia helps drive ASEAN’s agenda and shapes how the bloc engages its dialogue partners, especially China. Beijing hopes Malaysia will focus on strengthening ASEAN-China relations while downplaying differences over the South China Sea — an approach that Malaysia shares.”
“…there is a Chinese view that ASEAN is transitioning from ‘ASEAN+’, i.e., a 10+1 or 10+3 cooperation model, to a ‘China-ASEAN+’ cooperation model, with China and ASEAN as the axis and hub. Under this new framework, China and ASEAN could proactively link up with other countries, regions — the ASEAN-GCC China platform is one example — and international organisations in a new global cross-regional cooperation network.”
https://www.thinkchina.sg/politics/china-asean-model-quietly-taking-shape