Political outcomes

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):

Article 1: <Japan pushes own ASEAN trade plan>
From 2002

Summary:
Recently, China has been so committed in achieving the 10-year free trade zone in Southeast Asian countries, which will begin in 2015. Being pressured by China's quick movements toward the achieving the free trade agreement in Southeast Asian nations, Japan takes the first step to join in obtaining the free trade agreement as the world's second-largest economy. The prime minister Junichiro Koizumi signed a joint declaration with the 10 members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).


Link: http://asia.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/asia/11/05/china.japanfta.biz/index.html


Article 2: <Japan-ASEAN Meeting With China As A Looming Spectre>

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          Due to the territorial disputes, China is under serious diplomatic and political tensions with Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and some ASEAN nations. As China has imposed a new air defense zone along with the Senkaku Islands (Japan), military tensions have further increased.


Link: http://www.asiabriefing.com/news/2013/12/japan-asean-meeting-china-looming-spectre/


Article 3: 

Summary:
Japanese and ASEAN countries called on the freedom of the are and sea while urging the territorial disputes of China to be resolved peacefully. The gathered countries expressed the concerns over the military assertiveness of China and raised tensions in disputed the regions.Therefore, the prime minister Abe worked hard to keep the hospitable relationships with the ASEAN countries.


Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/14/us-japan-asean-idUSBRE9BD01F20131214


My thoughts:
These three articles are discussing about the same topic, the discord between ASEAN and China due to the territorial claims where Japanese works to conduct the active trade with ASEAN nations. However, I was able to learn about both the history and present doings of the ASEAN, China, and Japan. The first article was written about 10 years ago where the rests were written recently. The issue was directly connected to the disputes over Spratly Islands. Looking at the Article 1 and 2, the attitudes of China was different. In Article 1, China tried hard to keep hospitable relationship with the ASEAN nations where Japan was busy initiating to establish the projects. In contrast, in Article 2, China was more independent and under territorial disputes with other nations, including the ASEAN nations. I thought that this different attitudes of China represent the changes that occurred to the empowerment of China in global economical market. Throughout the past decade, China underwent exponential growth that the country can be comparatively free from the relationships and trading with the ASEAN nations.