EDITORIAL
China should be mindful: global support made it strong
War or aggressive pursuit of territorial disputes with neighbouring states will severely erode its standing and economy
It was supposed to commemorate the past, the so-called victory against the invading Japanese army, 70 years ago.
But the message of the massive parade that passed through Beijing just a few days ago was somewhat disturbing, as it was mainly about the future of this superpower.
The Chinese government said the parade marked the 70th anniversary of the "victory in the war of Japanese aggression".
History is important for countries like China where modern interpretations of the recent past shape the nation-state construct of a country that is ruled by a single party.
Judging from the nationalist sentiment of successive generations, one can say that China's making of a nation-state has move along accordingly.
But like anywhere, too much nationalism has its dark side and the consequence could be disastrous, especially when the state is unable to put a break on certain social phenomena, as well as demands from the public.
In Thailand, nationalism has been employed by all sides, often to fulfil political and sometimes economic goals. Virulent nationalism almost got Thailand into war with Cambodia over a small piece of land. Fortunately, sense and sensibility prevails and a war was avoided.
Like everywhere, modern communication technology is changing how citizens of countries view their government's nation-state narrative. In this respect, it's not clear how long Beijing's interpretation of history - or specifically, how the Chinese people perceive it - will hold.
Judging from the Chinese's anti-Japanese sentiment in response to Japan's interpretation of World War II, Beijing still has something to work with - at least for the time being.
Internationally, many countries have told themselves that it's time to move on and close the book on WWII.
It's fine when historical event are used to commemorate the past. But it is another thing to use history to justify aggression based on unfounded fear.
Today, China's military modernisation and diplomatic aggression is a major concern for many countries in the Asia-Pacific. Beijing has unresolved overlapping claims with a number of Asean countries and the regional bloc has expressed its uneasiness over China's incursions in the diplomatic arena. Often, military force is used to back up these incursions.
This past year, China's land reclamation in the South China Sea created a new island to build a base that has military facilities and airstrips - all to reinforce the country's military might and its claims of territorial waters thousands of miles from the mainland.
The basis on which China has made these territorial claims appears very shallow. From the look of how Beijing imagines its "territorial water" and supposedly exclusive zones, China wants to be both an archipelago and a mainland nation.
China understands that there are disputes over its territorial claims but insists on settling these individually with each claimant. Asean, on the other hand, thinks it has a better chance of success if it deals with China collectively.
China should realise that too much military aggression could destroy the international order that help paved the way for its economic transformation, success and modernisation. Beijing's leaders should not lose sight of this - that their success rests on this very order and to engage in bitter disputes with neighbours, be it Japan and/or Asean, is not wise for a country that has come so far, in a short amount of time.
Chinese defence planners should know that military aggression would be a grave mistake at this point in time, or any other, for that matter, if one was to look at it from a purely humanitarian point of view.
There is the real danger of miscalculation by China and its neighbours and the end result could be a military modernisation that is already leading to another arms race.
There is no mechanism in place that to adequately address this situation if it becomes a crisis. There is the Asean Regional Forum, a gathering of security leaders from the region and surrounding powers, but it is more of a talk shop, not a mechanism to resolve conflict.
As China's leaders and its people pride themselves over their resurgence as a military power, as may have been evident at the recent parade, let's hope that they don't lose sight of how the superpower became prosperous in the first place.
But the message of the massive parade that passed through Beijing just a few days ago was somewhat disturbing, as it was mainly about the future of this superpower.
The Chinese government said the parade marked the 70th anniversary of the "victory in the war of Japanese aggression".
History is important for countries like China where modern interpretations of the recent past shape the nation-state construct of a country that is ruled by a single party.
Judging from the nationalist sentiment of successive generations, one can say that China's making of a nation-state has move along accordingly.
But like anywhere, too much nationalism has its dark side and the consequence could be disastrous, especially when the state is unable to put a break on certain social phenomena, as well as demands from the public.
In Thailand, nationalism has been employed by all sides, often to fulfil political and sometimes economic goals. Virulent nationalism almost got Thailand into war with Cambodia over a small piece of land. Fortunately, sense and sensibility prevails and a war was avoided.
Like everywhere, modern communication technology is changing how citizens of countries view their government's nation-state narrative. In this respect, it's not clear how long Beijing's interpretation of history - or specifically, how the Chinese people perceive it - will hold.
Judging from the Chinese's anti-Japanese sentiment in response to Japan's interpretation of World War II, Beijing still has something to work with - at least for the time being.
Internationally, many countries have told themselves that it's time to move on and close the book on WWII.
It's fine when historical event are used to commemorate the past. But it is another thing to use history to justify aggression based on unfounded fear.
Today, China's military modernisation and diplomatic aggression is a major concern for many countries in the Asia-Pacific. Beijing has unresolved overlapping claims with a number of Asean countries and the regional bloc has expressed its uneasiness over China's incursions in the diplomatic arena. Often, military force is used to back up these incursions.
This past year, China's land reclamation in the South China Sea created a new island to build a base that has military facilities and airstrips - all to reinforce the country's military might and its claims of territorial waters thousands of miles from the mainland.
The basis on which China has made these territorial claims appears very shallow. From the look of how Beijing imagines its "territorial water" and supposedly exclusive zones, China wants to be both an archipelago and a mainland nation.
China understands that there are disputes over its territorial claims but insists on settling these individually with each claimant. Asean, on the other hand, thinks it has a better chance of success if it deals with China collectively.
China should realise that too much military aggression could destroy the international order that help paved the way for its economic transformation, success and modernisation. Beijing's leaders should not lose sight of this - that their success rests on this very order and to engage in bitter disputes with neighbours, be it Japan and/or Asean, is not wise for a country that has come so far, in a short amount of time.
Chinese defence planners should know that military aggression would be a grave mistake at this point in time, or any other, for that matter, if one was to look at it from a purely humanitarian point of view.
There is the real danger of miscalculation by China and its neighbours and the end result could be a military modernisation that is already leading to another arms race.
There is no mechanism in place that to adequately address this situation if it becomes a crisis. There is the Asean Regional Forum, a gathering of security leaders from the region and surrounding powers, but it is more of a talk shop, not a mechanism to resolve conflict.
As China's leaders and its people pride themselves over their resurgence as a military power, as may have been evident at the recent parade, let's hope that they don't lose sight of how the superpower became prosperous in the first place.
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