The Humility China Once Knew

It is funny how the submitted version of this article made a mistake of substituting the name "Parker" for "Pauker." Guy J. Pauker's name, while today is rarely mentioned, back in the 1950s was considered as one of the experts on Indonesia. I enjoy reading his reports and writings. He seems to have a very acerbic and cynical point of view, unlike other Indonesian experts.


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The Humility China Once Knew
Yohanes Sulaiman | November 25, 2011

In 1955, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru promoted the Asian-African Conference in Bandung as a coming-out party for Communist China, hoping that China would be encouraged to come to terms with its neighbors and develop a diplomatic approach independent of the Soviet Union.

While the conference is seen today as a diplomatic triumph for Indonesia, Guy J. Pauker, an expert on Indonesia and onetime consultant to the US National Security Council, noted that back then it was also a diplomatic triumph for Nehru and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

For Nehru, bringing Communist China to the conference was an affirmation of India’s status as a harbinger of global peace, and Zhou did not disappoint his patron. Pauker noted that after the Iraqi delegate said communism was the major cause of global unrest, Zhou replied that China came to seek unity and not to quarrel. After admitting his belief in communism, he stressed that China was attending the conference to seek common ground and unity and that the meeting should not be used to promote the ideology and political system of any country.

Zhou noted that China did not raise the issue of its seat in the United Nations — which at that stage was filled by a Taiwan representative — “because otherwise our conference would be dragged into disputes about all these problems without any solutions.”

A few years later, Nehru would regret his decision to bring China to the conference, as India would be on the losing end of war with China. President Sukarno, however, was impressed enough with Zhou that a close bilateral relationship began between Indonesia and China.

In contrast, the major rebuke of China’s regional foreign policy at last week’s Asean and East Asia Summits in Bali should give the decision makers in Beijing reason for pause. Almost every member of Asean expressed concerns on maritime security in the South China Sea, in spite of China’s desire to settle the maritime disputes bilaterally with individual claimants.

The discussions on the South China Sea were just the tip of the iceberg. It seems that every pent-up grievance against China, from China’s military posturing to unfair economic practices, exploded in that moment.

Whether Beijing is aware of it or not, China is experiencing the growing pains of being a superpower — that regardless of whether its intentions are benign or not, its actions will have large impacts on its neighbors.

While China had power in the 1960s and 1970s, it could get away with many things because its power paled in comparison with the United States and the Soviet Union. But today, China is seen by its neighbors as an 800-pound panda next door with ferocious appetite for the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands and Spratly Islands and a desire to extend its influence in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Pakistan, Burma and East Timor.

At the same time, the United States, previously viewed with suspicion by many states in the region, scored a series of diplomatic triumphs: repairing a shattered relationship with Burma, garnering diplomatic support for deploying its marines in Australia (a first step to transforming Darwin into a logistics hub for US operations in the region) and to insert itself as an ally of Southeast Asian nations by defending their interests in the South China Sea.

Adding to the sense of irony is the fact that Vietnam and the Philippines — the former having ejected the United States in 1975 after decades of war and the latter having forced the United States to close its Clark and Subic bases in 1991 — this time strived to bring America back to the region to balance China.

The United States is able to take advantage of the situation as there seems to be no regional or global alternative to confront China’s suzerainty. The European Union is reeling from financial crisis. Russia is preoccupied with its own matters and its presence has been declining since the end of the Cold War. India is rising as a power, but has a limited ability to project its power abroad as it remains preoccupied with Pakistan. Japan’s power is declining as its economy remains at a standstill. Australia is rising but is considered an isolationist nation with no deep connection to other countries, and has no desire to confront China. There is also no candidate within Asean strong enough to balance China on its own.

Thus, instead of being able to take advantage of the region’s weaknesses, China united many countries in the region and brought the United States closer to its doorstep.

China should look back at history and take the heed from Zhou’s masterful performance in the 1955 conference. Instead of responding to US maneuvering with indignation, China should accept the fact it is seen as a common threat due to its diplomatic missteps and try to strike the right tone.

Nobody disputes the fact that China is rising economically and militarily. This century may be “China’s Century,” but China should make sure that its rise to power is peaceful by signaling its willingness to be a good neighbor.

Years ago, Zhou’s excellent performance and his diplomatic smoothness to guarantee the Asian-African Conference’s success generated goodwill among delegates toward China. Pauker put it succinctly, saying Zhou “was personally successful largely because he did not behave like the representative of a great power.”

It is time for China to channel the spirit of the wise old statesman.