Illustration: Sun Ying
The murder of 13 Chinese sailors killed in the Golden Triangle region on October 5 has caused great public concern and outcry in China. Security issues in the Golden Triangle are vital to the stability of regional cooperation. They are also a great determinant of the development of the Sino-ASEAN relations.
The Golden Triangle lies between China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, where the Lancang-Mekong river, known as the "golden gateway,"flows. With the rapid development of Sino-ASEAN trade and economic relations, many railway and road construction programs that are designed to cross the Golden Triangle have also been put on the agenda.
Generally speaking, China and the ASEAN countries are enjoying the fastest development in the world. The average annual growth rate of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam is over 6 percent. But economic development in this region is not in balance.
The northern parts of Myanmar and Laos are relatively backward, and this is coupled with complicated minority issues that have produced a volatile regional situation.
In recent years, drug cultivation, production and trafficking have been revived, which greatly affects the security and stability of China and its neighbors.
The unique location of Golden Triangle ensures its negative impact on the regional cooperation. An unstable Golden Triangle blocks the smooth transport of goods between countries in the region and will limit cooperation between them.
Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, more and more people have realized that the biggest bottleneck for developing trade in this region is the inconvenience of transport. Air transport is costly while water transport is time-consuming, and therefore China and the ASEAN countries are engaged in building a railway and road network.
However, the murder of the Chinese sailors reminds us that building more roads or bridges is not enough to solve the problem. We also need a secure environment.
Economic development and improved livelihoods for local people are the guarantees of security. Volatility and poverty in the Golden Triangle make it impossible to protect transport on the Mekong, as well as on the roads and railways presently being built.
Helping poor areas benefit through cooperation has far-reaching significance in developing Sino-ASEAN relations. The development of economic and trade relations between China and the ASEAN stimulates regional vitality and makes the region an important engine for global growth. The deepening trade and economic ties reflect that a complementary economic relationship has been gradually established, but at the same time, leaves us with the challenge of how to help the backward areas.
To solve these problems, China and the ASEAN countries should further deepen their cooperation. They should jointly crack down on drug trafficking and help improve conditions in poor areas by implementing some large-scale programs. China could also exert political influence to promote regional ethnic and social harmony.
Promoting the development of the neighboring backward areas should be an important part of Chinese diplomacy. If a stable regional environment can't be formed, the cooperation among these countries will be limited and the expansion of Chinese business to other countries will suffer.
The author is a senior reporter with the People's Daily. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn