ASEAN ’s Diplomacy of Balancing Great Powers in the South China Seas

　　Abstract: In Southeast Asia, “diplomacy of balancing great powers” involves accepting the existence and influence of great powers in the region, and leveraging their relative advantages, disputes between them and their ambitions for power to proactively develop political, economic and security relations, while simultaneously preventing any great power from gaining an absolute advantage.The effective outcome is the realization of a balance of power in the region, and maintained regional security and stability.In recent years, the escalating dispute over the South China Seas has become the primary barrier to the development of political and security ties between China and some ASEAN member states and even between China and ASEAN as a whole. ASEAN member states have leveraged this issue in their great power diplomacy to strategically balance against China. ASEAN and its member states are not united with respect to what they see as the central focal point in their great power diplomacy. Presently though, China’s long held principle of peacefully resolving the dispute over the South China Seas by “shelving disputes and engaging in collective development” faces serious challenges from rising international emphasis on the South China Seas, from the increasing complexity of frameworks for resolving the issue, and from the trend towards claimant states framing demands in legal terms.

　　About the Authors: Wang Sen is a PhD Student in the class of 2013 of the PLA International Studies University; Yang Guanghai is a Professor in Center for National Strategy of the PLA International Studies University