< /p" In the tribute system, neighboring countries have a serious dependence on China, while China depends on neighboring countries very little.The maintenance of this one -way dependence system depends on whether China can continue to meet the needs of neighboring countries.(Internet photo)

For a long time, the tribute system has been frequently used to explain the relationship between China and the surrounding vassal states during the feudal dynasty. Southeast Asian countries are especially.As China's rise is increasingly prominent, it is concerned that China will restore the tribute system in the surrounding areas.

Da Dawei, a well -known American expert in the United States, recently pointed out at the Easov Issa East South Asian Research Institute in Singapore that Southeast Asian countries must be more active to speak to Washington.Tribute.

It is not surprising to look at the old historical vision to look at today's internal affairs and diplomacy of China today.However, this rigid thinking of ignoring the facts and ignoring the changes of things, it is easy to cause the adverse consequences of confusing audiovisual and disturbing the peace and stability of the region.In short, China does not want to rebuild the so -called 12th century tribute system in Southeast Asia.

The tribute system is a hierarchical system, which contrary to the equal and mutually beneficial international system advocated by China.In the tribute system, China is located in the center, occupying the highest level of the system, accepting the worship of neighboring countries, and the right to interfere with its internal affairs.The neighboring countries are marginalized countries, and they are at the lower end of the system. They must be called Gunnan to China to seek the protection and gifts of China.

The feudal hierarchical system established based on etiquette and inferiority is incompatible with modern international relations.One, the rise of the concept of sovereignty in the nation and national state will cause any form of foreign interference and colonial rule of all forms to be strongly opposed by countries.Especially in Southeast Asia, which is deeply harmful to colonialism, the willingness to oppose external interference is even more intense.Any level system that trys to incorporate Southeast Asia into a certain country will be full of danger.

Second, seeking equality on the international stage is the basic demand for small and medium -sized countries.Although the reality of the weak country has no diplomatic reality, the weak countries have been oppressed in international relations practice, but the majority of small and medium -sized countries' demands for the new order of fairness and fairness in small and medium -sized countries are becoming more and more intense.No country is willing to be included in the bottom end of the level system and has been destroyed.

Because of this, China proposed the five principles of peaceful coexistence as early as the 1950s, and advocated the establishment of normal relationship between equal and mutually beneficial and peaceful coexistence.The development of China's relations with Southeast Asian countries also fully follows this core diplomatic principle.China has no willingness to set up a new type of level system to control Southeast Asia.

The tribute system is a one -way dependence system, which contrary to the system of dependence on China -Southeast Asian countries.In the tribute system, neighboring countries have a serious dependence on China, while China depends on neighboring countries very little.The maintenance of this one -way dependence system depends on whether China can continue to meet the needs of neighboring countries.Once China's national strength is weakened, it cannot effectively respond to the needs of neighboring countries, especially the demand for security protection, the tribute system will be greatly weakened or even collapsed.

In the current China -Southeast Asian relations, the two are highly dependent on each other.The first is that the economy of China and Southeast Asian countries is highly dependent on each other.At present, China is the largest trading partner of Asian'an, and Asianan also surpasses the United States to become China's second largest trading partner.China is also the main source of foreign investment in Southeast Asian countries, and Asia Danian has invested more and more in China.Compared with the faint economic dependence of the tribute system in Southeast Asian countries, today China's economic dependence on Southeast Asian countries is obviously much higher.

Second, Southeast Asian countries have limited security demand for China.In the tribute system, Southeast Asian countries hope to obtain China's security protection by coming to China.However, today's Southeast Asian countries are undoubtedly more biased to seek US security protection.Despite analysts, defense cooperation in China and Southeast Asian countries has made rapid progress in recent years.However, this security cooperation aims to improve military mutual trust, which is very different from Southeast Asian countries seeking very different protection in China.

The tribute system is a single -pole system, which contrary to the Sino -US binary competition pattern in Southeast Asia.In the tribute system, China is the only superpower in the region, and has sufficient capabilities to form an exclusive regional system.With the decline of China's national strength and the rise in the strength of Western colonial countries, the tribute system in the East Asian region has gradually disintegrated.In today's Southeast Asia, no one can deny the dominant position of the United States, especially in the field of military security, even if the United States' attention to Southeast Asia has declined.Moreover, the United States is also committed to competing and confrontation with China in Southeast Asia and a broader globe.In this case, China cannot rebuild the exclusive tribute system.

All in all, explaining the development of China -Southeast Asian countries by using the tribute system.China has no willingness, and it is unable to reconstruct the tribute system in Southeast Asia.In the future, the development of relations between China -Southeast Asian countries will still follow the basic policy of reconciliation and mutual benefit, and coexisting peace for a long time.In this process, China's influence in Southeast Asia will inevitably expand, but the mutual dependence between each other will continue to deepen, thereby forming a closer community of destiny instead of reproducing the 21st century tribute system.

(The author is an associate researcher at the South China Sea Research Institute)