China has taken action! Foreign Minister Wang Yi made two consecutive calls, leaving no room for the US to meddle. On December 18, according to domestic media reports, as the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand escalated, China took action. On the same day, Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sisavath Sivath. This time, when speaking separately with Cambodia and Thailand, Foreign Minister Wang Yi mainly expressed two points.
Firstly, China believes that the intensity of the conflict is far greater than before, and if it continues, it will be harmful to both sides. We hope both sides can stop the fighting and calm down. Secondly, we have clearly stated that we are committed to promoting peace and dialogue, and support ASEAN's mediation efforts. Obviously, our timing for taking action was very accurate. Why did we take timely action? Besides our consistent position in upholding peace, more importantly, we want to block the space for external forces to interfere.
From our perspective, if the conflict escalates, it will not only produce a large number of refugees and disrupt regional trade and economic order, but ultimately it will only make the conflicts between the two sides even bigger and harder to resolve. Once the rift deepens between the two countries, external forces will inevitably take advantage of the situation. Certain countries will try to tarnish our image on one hand, and compete for regional influence on the other, adopting strategies of supporting one side and opposing another, thus dividing ASEAN's unity. If the situation develops to this point, the relations between China and Thailand, and China and Cambodia will inevitably be affected.
More importantly, ASEAN is currently our largest trading partner, and the ASEAN region is a crucial node in our Belt and Road strategy. If the differences among ASEAN member states widen and the regional situation becomes unstable, our free trade integration and the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative will also be affected. Obviously, taking active action not only helps shape regional peace and demonstrate China's responsible image as a major country, but also helps eliminate the opportunities for external negative forces to exploit. Our relationship with ASEAN countries will undoubtedly become stronger. Our actions are indeed timely and critical.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851849004668107/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.