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AT THE Asean Summit in Brunei this week, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang broached a new treaty of friendship and cooperation with Asean.迷你倉Together with other proposals, Mr Li said the new treaty would take China-Asean relations from a "golden decade" to a "diamond decade". The same message was conveyed by President Xi Jinping to the Indonesian Parliament on Oct 3 during his visit to Jakarta - the first such address by a foreign leader.Charm offensive or taking Asean's bait?THE Chinese push for a new treaty of friendship is significant, coming at a time of great flux in regional politics. If realised, it could be the icing on the cake for Beijing's push for a new phase in relations.Asean's immediate response, however, was carefully calibrated. "We noted with appreciation China's proposed treaty on good-neighbourliness and friendly cooperation," the summit chairman's statement said. The group, however, also let it be known later that the treaty proposal had to be carefully studied first. Beijing is clearly serious about entering into a new strategic pact with Asean to govern the relationship. Such a treaty would underscore what China declares as its peaceful intention towards the region. These assurances are timely amid growing apprehension about China's rise and the consequent great power tussle with the United States as the latter rebalances towards Asia. The Asean states are caught in between, and most of them prefer not to take sides.China's "charm offensive" kicked off on the 10th anniversary of the formalisation of the China-Asean strategic partnership on Aug 29. It was accompanied by a slew of "sweeteners" for Asean in the form of billion-dollar development projects. The implicit message was that China has sufficiently deep pockets to back up its "diamond decade" plan with Asean at a time when the US is not really in the best of political and economic health.The contents of a new treaty of friendship and cooperation remain unclear. But the chairman's statement suggested it was a response to an earlier trial balloon by Indonesia in May this year for an Indo-Pacific-wide treaty of friendship "beyond Asean and China".China's swift response, capitalising on the momentum of the Asean and East Asia summits this week, is clearly aimed at winning over South-east Asia. Beijing's eagerness, however, is not being matched by a distracted America. US President Barack Obama himself conceded that his no-show has given China the advantage. Indeed, there is increasing regional concern about American staying power in the region - with all its ramifications for the changing regional balance.Marty's Indo-Pacific treaty of friendshipBUT what did Indonesia say that prodded China? In his speech to a think-tank in Washington, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa spoke about the need for an "Indo-Pacific-wide treaty of friendship and cooperation" spanning two oceans - the Pacific and Indian oceans. He referred to the region as "an economic power in its own right" - an engine of global economic growth containing some of the world's most strategic sea lanes. F文件倉ture arrangements, Dr Marty said, may emphasise the connectedness of these two areas - yet this connectivity was already evident in the East Asia Summit and the Asean Regional Forum.According to Dr Marty, the region faces three challenges. They are a lack of trust, or the "trust-deficit" as he called it, unresolved territorial claims and managing the impact of change. A "pacific" (peaceful) Indo-Pacific required respect for a code of behaviour, such as the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, which calls for a peaceful settlement of disputes.It also required a new paradigm of "common security" forged through what he called "dynamic equilibrium". Dr Marty defined this as a situation marked by "an absence of preponderant power" brought about by a sense of "common responsibility" to maintain regional peace and stability.The proposed treaty, he said, would not be unlike the region's existing non-aggression pact. Called the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in South-east Asia of 1976, it was signed by virtually all the major powers including the US, with China the first major power to accede in 2003. The proposed new treaty, Dr Marty said, would provide "flesh and strengthen the commitment already expressed by the East Asia Summit".Xi's responseIT IS not difficult to see why Dr Marty's concept of the "absence of preponderant power" would sit well with China. Beijing may see it as de-emphasising the US presence. But Dr Marty did not intend it to mean a US exclusion. Indeed, his dynamic equilibrium strategy would equally apply to China - meaning China may not be the preponderant regional power either.In his address to the Indonesian Parliament, President Xi described China-Asean relations as being at a "new historical starting point". He said Beijing attached "great importance to Indonesia's status and influence in Asean". Interestingly, Mr Xi even suggested a "new concept of cooperative security" that would begin with joint action on non-traditional security challenges such as disaster relief and prevention, cyber security and transnational crime.China was equally ready to engage in two key security platforms through "a dialogue of equals". These were the China-Asean defence ministers meeting mechanism and regular discussions on regional security issues over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.If a new treaty of friendship and cooperation is forged between China and Asean, would it replace the 1976 treaty? Or would TAC 1.0 coexist with TAC 2.0? Would TAC 2.0 elevate the Code of Conduct and thus confirm China's sincere desire for peace with its neighbours? Or would it nullify the COC and thus set back trust-building?These are critical questions that remain to be answered by both Asean and China as they consider their next moves. But if framed well, TAC 2.0 could be a very significant instrument to manage the region's potential flashpoints - especially the increasingly sensitive South China Sea.stopinion@sph.com.sgThe writer is Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.存倉