China will never seek hegemony, Xi Jinping tells Asian leaders

China’s President Xi Jinping told leaders of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit on Monday that Beijing would not “intimidate” its smaller regional neighbors amidst growing tension in the South China Sea.

Beijing’s territorial claims over the sea clashed with those of several Southeast Asian countries and raised alarm from Washington to Tokyo.

But Xi said China will never seek hegemony or leverage its size to coerce smaller countries and will work with ASEAN to eliminate “interference”.

“China was, is and always will be a good neighbor, good friend and good partner of ASEAN,” Xi said according to Chinese state media.

China’s assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea has pitted it against ASEAN members Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also claim their parts.

The Philippines last Thursday condemned the actions of three Chinese coast guard ships that blocked and used water cannons on refueling boats heading for an atoll occupied by the Philippines at sea.

The United States on Friday called the Chinese actions “dangerous, provocative and unwarranted” and warned that an armed attack on Philippine ships would invoke US mutual defense commitments.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said at the summit organized by Xi that he “has abhorred” the altercation and said the rule of law was the only way out of the dispute. He referred to a 2016 international arbitration decision that found China’s maritime claim to the sea to have no legal basis.

“That doesn’t speak well for relations between our nations,” said Duterte, who will step down next year and has been criticized in the past for not condemning China’s conduct in the disputed waters.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Myanmar does not attend

Xi said at the summit that China and ASEAN “cast out the darkness of the Cold War” – when the region was ravaged by competition from superpowers and conflicts like the Vietnam War – and jointly maintained regional stability.

China often criticizes the United States for “Cold War thinking” when Washington engages its regional allies to react against Beijing’s growing military and economic influence.

US President Joe Biden joined ASEAN leaders for a virtual summit in October and pledged greater involvement with the region.

The summit was held without a representative from Myanmar, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Monday. The reason for the non-attendance was not immediately clarified, and a spokesman for Myanmar’s military government did not respond to calls asking for comment.

ASEAN ousted Myanmar military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has led a bloody crackdown on dissent since taking power on Feb. 1, at virtual summits last month over his failure to make inroads in implementing a plan of peace agreed, in an unprecedented exclusion for the bloc.

Myanmar refused to send junior representation and blamed ASEAN for departing from its principle of non-interference and giving in to Western pressure.

China lobbied for Min to participate in the summit, according to diplomatic sources.