Nations in Southeast Asia want peace and trade, not war

“It is in the national interest of Asean countries to maintain good relations with both the United States and China. They all want to extract benefits from both powers.”

They understand they will be living next to China for a long, long time.

“Southeast Asia’s perspective on China is different from that of the United States,” Dino wrote.

“While Asean members remain rightly anxious about China’s moves in the South China Sea, they have also recognised that China will be a big part of their future – bilaterally and regionally. They have no illusions about their relationships with China, which will be complex and challenging. While the bipartisan view in Washington sees China as a threat … Southeast Asians generally accept China as an important partner for their development plans.”

Asian nations have no interest in interfering in each other’s internal politics.

“No Southeast Asian country particularly minds China’s political system, mainly due to the principle of non-interference,” Dino wrote, “but also because they simply have no interest in China’s domestic politics.

“In fact, Asean’s leaders would sympathise with President Xi Jinping’s statement that every country has a right to choose its own path of development, because this is being practiced in Asean itself.”

Neither has Asean fallen for the Muslim “genocide” propaganda of the West.

“Not a single Asean country has echoed the US State Department’s claim that China is committing “genocide” against Muslims in

There, a much-needed sensible voice of Asean!