Chronologies
China - Southeast Asia
Chronology from May 2012 to Aug 2012
: Gu Xuilian, president of the China-ASEAN Association, visits Hanoi to take part in the Seventh Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organization. The meeting promotes exchanges on the arts, culture, and people-to-people diplomacy that would complement and deepen ASEAN-China strategic partnership.
: Foreign Minister Yang visits Brunei and meets Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee to discuss the current state of bilateral relations. They reinforce their commitment to expand political, economic, as well as people-to-people exchanges and ties.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Jakarta and meets Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa to re-establish the China-Indonesia Joint Commission, which was initiated in 2004, but has been inactive. It will strengthen bilateral relations with a focus on investment, trade, defense, energy security, and tourism.
: Police forces from China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand conclude a joint law enforcement patrol on the Mekong River to help maintain shipping security. Joint enforcement includes intelligence sharing and exchanges and an emergency response mechanism.
: Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu meets Malaysian counterpart Hishamudin Tun Hussein in Beijing for talks on combating transnational crime, including human trafficking and money laundering.
: According to The Jakarta Post, China and Indonesia are holding talks on joint production of C-705 anti-ship missiles. Missile production site will be in Indonesia, with technical assistance by China, and is part of a joint effort to increase collaboration between Chinese and Indonesian defense industries. China and Indonesia also agree to establish a naval dialogue mechanism later this year.
: Philippine Navy announces it will deploy ships to Thitu Island as a warning to Chinese fishing boats operating near the island and within the Philippines’ 12 nautical-mile territorial waters.
: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense states it is ready to deploy mortars and anti-aircraft guns on Itu Aba (Taiping Island), the largest of the Spratly Islands.
: China’s Defense Ministry announces it will establish a military garrison in the Parcel Islands.
: China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) approves the creation of a military garrison command at Woody Island in the South China Sea’s disputed Paracel Islands.
: The PLA and the Indonesian Army conclude a counterterrorism drill in Jinan. The 15-day drill includes live-fire exercises, air landing, and search and rescue operations.
: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Phnom Penh to attend a series of ASEAN-related meetings including the ASEAN Plus 3 Foreign Ministers Meeting, East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.
: Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu visits Myanmar and meets President Thein Sein. They discuss strengthening border security and law enforcement cooperation.
: Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean co-chair the 9th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation meeting. The meeting focuses on developing a bilateral strategic partnership through increasing cooperation in the financial sector as well as research and development in science and technology.
: Vice President Xi Jinping meets Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul in Beijing and agrees to deepen bilateral ties through closer coordination on international and regional security issues and on expanding humanitarian exchanges. Thailand assumes the three-year role of ASEAN-China coordinator on regional security issues.
: Jing Zhiyuan, member of China’s Central Military Commission and commander of the PLA’s Second Artillery Force, meets Thai Defense Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat in Bangkok. They pledge closer military and security ties through increasing security consultations, joint training, and closer cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
: In response to China’s announcement of the administrative upgrade for Chinese presence in the South China Sea, Vietnam’s legislature passes the “Vietnamese Law of the Sea,” which claims sovereignty over the disputed islands in the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry issues a protest and summons the Vietnamese ambassador to China.
: Xu Caihou, vice chair of China’s Central Military Commission, meets Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen in Beijing. They exchange views on the current state of bilateral military and defense ties and the South China Sea territorial disputes and agree to increase senior-level exchanges and joint training in the military sector.
: Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi meet visiting Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in Beijing. The two sides agree to strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership, including business, trade, and economic ties.
: He Guoqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, embarks on a regional visit that includes Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. His regional tour focuses on exchanging views on tackling corruption and disciplinary inspection and punishment for corruption crimes.
: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying meets experts from China and Vietnam in Beijing on the sidelines of the first round of bilateral negotiations on maritime cooperation. The negotiations include identifying future prospects for the two sides to work together in such areas as environmental protection, joint scientific research, search and rescue operations, and disaster relief, and assistance on the high seas.
: Philippine Defense Minister Voltaire Gazmin and Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie meet separately in Phnom Penh and agree to exercise restraint in order to prevent escalation of tensions in the South China Sea.
: Defense Minister Liang Guanglie meets ASEAN counterparts during the sixth ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh. The ministers agree that defense and military cooperation between ASEAN and China remain unaffected by the South China Sea dispute and that they remain committed to resolving the dispute through peaceful means.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Singapore and meets counterpart K. Shanmugam. They agree to increase senior-level exchanges, contacts, and cooperation.
: Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie visits Cambodia and signs a military cooperation agreement with counterpart Tea Banh. The agreement calls for continued joint training of military personnel and for China to maintain its support for Cambodia’s military capacity by building more military hospitals and training schools.
: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping meets Secretary General of Myanmar’s Union Solidarity and Development Party Htay Oo in Beijing. They agree to work toward implementing the China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, an agreement struck during Myanmar President Thein Sein’s state visit to China in May 2011.
: Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu and Malaysian Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Lee Chee Leong agree to deepen cooperation on combating transnational crimes, including telecommunications fraud, exit and entry administration, and counter-terrorism.
: The first deep-water drilling rig developed in China is put into service in the South China Sea 320 km southeast of Hong Kong at a water depth of 1,500 meters.
: Chinese Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu meets Singaporean counterpart Teo Chee Hean in Beijing to increase joint law enforcement cooperation under the Interpol and ASEAN frameworks and to tackle cross-border organized crimes in the region.