If we look back over the past few years, we will find that the improvement of China-Japan relations is really hard won. After the two countries' joint fight against the coronavirus, in particular, the two peoples have reached a brand new level of friendship. This is hard won and such relationship needs deliberate care of both countries.
As an ancient civilization, India is wise enough to avoid understanding China through biased US lens. It is in the interests of India to understand the real China and make correct and strategic judgments on this basis.
The COVID-19 pandemic calls for global collaboration.
What we need to do is fight against the coronavirus, not each other. Cooperativeness needs to prevail over divisiveness and collaboration over confrontation.
Trade interdependence is generally a good thing and one associated with greater cooperation, understanding and the promotion of peace. But as the Great Depression reminds us, when it breaks down, the consequences can be apocalyptic. Cool heads need to prevail at moments of crisis. Resetting the relationship between Australia and China would be a good step on the road back to normality.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a series of phone calls last week to several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, appealing for their support of Australia's “independent” inquiry into “the origin and spread” of the COVID-19 outbreak, with China as the thinly veiled target.
It is true that in the last week senior members of the Australian government have called for greater transparency from China and an independent international inquiry into COVID-19's devastating spread. Given the death toll and rapidly rising unemployment here, many Australians would expect nothing less from their government.
Common interests between Beijing and Canberra cannot be measured with a Cold War mentality. Fortunately, different voices exist in all walks of life in Australia. It is hoped the Australian government can treat its ties with China from a pragmatic and sustainable perspective. This is a critical test now facing the Australian government.
The Indian government has not openly chosen sides between China and the US. Nor has it officially asked China to pay compensation for the COVID-19 or apologize to the international community.
For Japan, a most urgent task right now is to conduct more testing and effectively allocate healthcare resources. Although the overall level of education in Japan is relatively high and Japanese people are generally prone to conforming to their government's requests, given the worrying increase in COVID-19 numbers, they should not treat the pandemic lightly.
Moon has advocated greater diversity in South Korea's diplomacy. Apart from developing relations with the above four powers, South Korea will also strive to develop its diplomacy with Southeast Asia, India and Central Asia.
When it comes to the prevention, control and treatment of the COVID-19, countries around the world have adopted both similar and different measures. Different ways of containing the pandemic are determined by different countries' own political systems and governance. Europe and the US have similar political systems, yet their measures to rein in the virus are disparate. This shows their different state capacities.
Over the last two weeks, the US government has repeatedly interfered in regional affairs in the South China Sea, disturbing the situation that is stabilizing.
Asian American communities should make extra efforts to build human, financial, and legal resources. They should also unite and cooperate with one another while protecting their interests in accordance with the laws.
The cooperation between APT countries is characterized by “emergency-driven” – the tougher the situation they face, the closer and more effective the cooperation between each other.
China and India account for two-fifths of the world's population, which is of great significance to humans to overcome this pandemic. The two countries have a lot of room for cooperation in overcoming COVID-19.
The prompt support from the US will encourage the Vietnamese government and the Vietnamese fishermen engaged in IUU fishing, who will probably more audaciously infringe China's interests and rights in waters surrounding the Xisha Islands. This is likely to escalate tension between China and Vietnam.
Faced with continuous provocation from the US in the South China Sea, China should respond in a targeted way. China should not regard the South China Sea as an issue in China-US relations. Any response to US accusations must be based on the stand that sovereignty disputes must be settled through negotiations among claimants. Escalating the South China Sea issue will only serve the US, which is attempting to hype the situation.
At a critical moment when global cooperation is direly needed to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, some Australian media outlets and personnel have been fabricating facts, groundlessly accusing China of being responsible for the spread of the virus and demanding China pay for the losses the pandemic would cause to the world. One notorious example is radio shock jock Alan Jones, who has been sending wrong and misleading messages with lies and unfounded accusations about China since the global pandemic reached Australia.