China's Good Neighbor Policy Towards Southeast Asia(from 2012 To 2017)

China,beingthe third largest country in the world in area size,has the largest number of neighbors(14),sharing its 22,000 km land borders.This renders the task of been a good neighbor to all extremely difficult.Also,various territorial and maritime disputes with its neighbors has also negatively impacted on relations with them.The South China Sea and Spratly Islands are major causes of dispute in South East Asia which opposes China to most of its neighbors that border the said sea and Islands.In a bid to addressing some of these issues that affect relations with its neighbors,China has tried to develop a good neighbor policy which it propagates and implements towards its neighbors of Southeast Asia.Under the policy,it has championed several initiatives through bilateral agreements with Southeast Asian countries and under the multilateral platform of the ASEAN Plus fora which has largely addressed some of these challenges.The Research sought to ask two principal questions,these were;why was China still committed to maintaining good relations with its neighbors in Southeast Asia even though territorial disputes between them are difficult to overcome? And what were the challenges faced by China in its quest to maintaining and ensuring good relations with its neighbors in Southeast Asia? In responding to the afore-mentioned principal questions,the study maintains that,China employs its good neighbor policy in its relations with countries in Southeast Asia as a means to achieve its national interest which could be political and economic.Politically,China seeks to maintain its influence in the region by playing a leadership role among its neighbors.Economically,it intends to promote and intensify trade with its Southeast Asian neighbors.The good neighbor policy which evolved during the period of Hu Jintao's Presidency has been strongly pursued under the current leadership of President Xi Jinping.The basic principles of this policy are to ensure mutual non-interference in the domestic affairs of neighboring states,promote equality and mutual respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity,ensure mutual non-aggression among parties and lastly,encourage peaceful coexistence among neighboring states.Through the religious implementation of the policy,politically,China has been able to resolve most of its border disputes with neighboring countries either by bilateral agreements or through multilateral strategies under the platform of ASEAN.Even though,a few territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the Spratly Islands continue to linger,lots of progress have been made in this regard.Promoting stable security relations with its neighbors and ensuring a peaceful regional environment is a key aspect and a basic starting point of the policy.Through mutual trust,reciprocity and cooperation,China and ASEAN continue to engage in politicalsecurity dialogue cooperation through various ASEAN Plus One mechanisms and other broader platforms to ensure a stable and secured neighborhood.Lastly,since Southeast Asia harbors a rich supply of the natural resources needed to fuel China's rapid industrial growth and can also boast of a market of about 600 million people for Chinese goods,exports and investments,China has continued to maintain closer trade and economic cooperation with ASEAN and its Southeast Asian neighbors in order to promote and ensure its economic advancement.Even though the implementation of the Good Neighbor Policy has accounted for and contributed to a number of successes in largely resolving border and territorial disputes,ensuring a stable and peaceful neighborhood periphery,as well as promoting China's economic,technological and industrial advancement,it is also fraught with a number of challenges and obstacles that continue to hinder its smooth implementation and operation.These obstacles according to this study,include among others;lingering territorial and maritime disputes between China and a few of its neighbors,the rising influence of major and great powers in the region,the continuous perception and suspicion of a 'China threat' among its neighbors and trade and economic challenges encountered by China in its economic cooperation with ASEAN member countries.A number of recommendations have therefore been proposed to address some of these challenges.The study is based on the theory of Regionalism.