International Relations Essay范文:ASEAN Relationships with China and the US

International Relations Essay范文-東盟與中國和美國的關系.本文是一篇留學生國際關系作業寫作范文，主要內容是講述東南亞可以說是世界上最有希望的地區，因為那里的人口數量、經濟增長前景和戰略重要性。盡管該地區已經變得越來越重要，但關于它在世界上的地位，還有一個問題需要回答，那就是該地區是否將與世界兩個超級大國之一，中國或美國結盟。             
International Relations Essay范文中提到20世紀，東南亞成為美國和蘇聯之間的眾多戰場之一，但中國從未完全脫離背景，其重要性在本世紀末有所增加。如今，這兩個國家都對該地區的國家有著強大的影響力，越來越明顯的是，誰對世界這一地區擁有最大的控制權和聯系，誰也可能成為世界上最大的超級大國。下面就一起來參考這篇留學生國際關系作業寫作范文。

Introduction 引言
Southeast Asia is the region that, arguably, has become the most promising around the world, due to the number of people living there, its prospected economic growth and its strategic importance. Although the region has become increasingly important, one question remains to be answered regarding the place it has in the world, and that is if the region is going to align with either of the two superpowers of the world, China or the United States.
In the 20th century, Southeast Asia became one of the many battlegrounds between the United States and the Soviet Union, but China was never entirely out of the background, and its prominence increased at the end of the century. Nowadays, both of these countries have a strong influence over the states of the region, and it is becoming more and more clear that whoever has the most control and ties to this part of the world, may become as well the biggest superpower of the world.
However, regardless of the outside influence on the region, Southeast Asia by itself must decide which are their most important alliances for the mid and long term, while the region continues to grow. It is not an easy task, as there is a complicated history with either of these countries, as well as new variables thrown into the mix in more recent years, and even months, that will define the standing of Southeast Asia, today and in the near future.
然而，不管外界對該地區的影響如何，在該地區繼續增長的同時，東南亞必須自行決定其中長期最重要的聯盟。這不是一項容易的任務，因為這兩個國家都有著復雜的歷史，而且在最近幾年，甚至幾個月里，新的變量都會加入到混合中，這將決定東南亞在今天和不久的將來的地位。
History 歷史
It is impossible to talk about the history of the region without discussing the influence the Cold War had on these countries. Although the influence of the Soviet Union and the United States could be seen in all of them, it was most evident in the wars fought in Cambodia and Vietnam, where both of these superpowers supported one faction and pitted them against each other. It is important to understand the history of the region and the close ties they developed among themselves later on, because they served as the killing ground for the Cold War. The status of the countries of Southeast Asia as poor and geographically far from the US and the USSR, made them apt for the war to develop, instead of other parts of the world, like Europe or the Americas. (Kissinger 1994; Lewis Gaddis 1998).
如果不討論冷戰對這些國家的影響，就不可能談論該地區的歷史。雖然蘇聯和美國的影響在所有這些國家中都可以看到，但最明顯的是在柬埔寨和越南的戰爭中，這兩個超級大國都支持一個派別，并相互對立。重要的是要了解該地區的歷史以及它們后來發展起來的密切關系，因為它們是冷戰的殺戮場。東南亞國家的貧困狀況以及地理位置遠離美國和蘇聯，使得它們更容易在戰爭中發展，而不是像歐洲或美洲這樣的世界其他地區。
One of the most important landmarks when talking about the region, is the creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), that started with five countries but that now encompasses all nations of Southeast Asia, with the exception of East Timor and Papua New Guinea. Once again, ASEAN also exemplified the Cold War dynamic, as it was created “to encourage economic and cultural cooperation among these non-Communist states”(Ricklefs 2012: 339). Even so, this organization also helped to lower the influence of both the Soviet Union and the United States in the region: “The ASEAN nations were seeking regional cooperation and stability in part as a way to counted great-power influence in the region.” (Ricklefs 2012: 339)
在談論該地區時，最重要的里程碑之一是建立東南亞國家聯盟（東盟），該聯盟從五個國家開始，但現在包括東南亞所有國家，東帝汶和巴布亞新幾內亞除外。東盟再一次證明了冷戰的動態，因為它是“為了鼓勵這些非共產主義國家之間的經濟和文化合作”。即便如此，該組織也有助于降低蘇聯和美國在該地區的影響力：“東盟國家尋求區域合作和穩定，部分是為了計算該地區的大國影響力。”
Regarding China, one of the points of contention for the historical relationship between China and the region, is their shared waters, mainly the South China Sea, precisely because “Southeast Asia lies at the intersection of two of the world’s most heavily traveled sea-lanes. The east-west route connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans, while the north-south one links Australia and New Zealand to Northeast Asia.” (Sokolsky 2001: 10) The great importance of this trade route has caused tension among the country and the region, and it still is one of the main reasons the relationship is not as good as it could be.
關于中國，中國與該地區歷史關系的爭論點之一是兩國共有水域，主要是南中國海，正是因為“東南亞位于世界上兩條最繁忙的海上航線的交匯處。東西航線連接印度洋和太平洋，而南北航線連接澳大利亞和新西蘭與東北亞。”，這仍然是兩國關系沒有達到應有水平的主要原因之一。
Another sore point in the history between China and the region, was the war with Vietnam, that supposedly started as a punishment from China to the ASEAN country. But, this view has been challenged by the analysis of some historians, that now claim that “China’s decision to launch a punitive war against Vietnam was intended to display Beijing’s usefulness in countering Soviet expansionism”(Zhang 2010: 28-29). This would mean that once again Cold War politics dominated the modern history of the region, and even its relationship with China, that due to internal turmoil mostly stayed in the sidelines during this period, and did not engage with other countries as closely as it would later on.
中國與該地區歷史上的另一個痛處是與越南的戰爭，這場戰爭最初被認為是中國對東盟國家的懲罰。但是，這一觀點受到了一些歷史學家的分析的挑戰，他們現在聲稱“中國決定對越南發動懲罰性戰爭，是為了顯示北京在對抗蘇聯擴張主義方面的作用”。這將意味著，冷戰政治再次主導了該地區的現代歷史，甚至主導了其與中國的關系，而在這一時期，由于內部動亂，該地區大多處于局外狀態，與其他國家的關系沒有像后來那樣密切。
These lines are not supposed to be an extensive history of the region, but just a small sample of what has happened between the ASEAN nations, China and the United States, which has certainly shaped current relations. The history of the region helps as well to understand the current sentiment among the countries, that are striving for a closer cooperation between them, before looking into starting deeper ties with other countries, a product of the series of events in the 20th century that affected this part of the world, in a different way than others, but arguably in more harmful ways.
這些界線不應該是該地區的廣泛歷史，而只是東盟國家、中國和美國之間發生的事情的一個小樣本，這無疑塑造了當前的關系。該地區的歷史也有助于理解目前各國之間的情緒，這些國家正在努力加強彼此之間的合作，然后才開始與其他國家建立更深入的聯系，這是20世紀影響世界這一地區的一系列事件的產物，其方式與其他國家不同，但可以說是更有害的方式。       
Current relations 當前關系
Now, it is important to look at the current trends of the region in relation to both of the countries being looked at. Although it would seem that the current political climate should not matter in the grand context of things, the uncertainty of current relations between the region and these nations have to be taken into account, particularly because of the new and impossible to decipher power that has been thrown into the mix, Donald Trump.
現在，重要的是要看看該地區目前與所研究的兩個國家有關的趨勢。盡管目前的政治氣候似乎在大背景下并不重要，但必須考慮到該地區與這些國家之間當前關系的不確定性，尤其是因為唐納德·特朗普這一新的、不可能解讀的力量被拋入了混合體中。
The upset by the former Republican candidate and now sitting president of the United States, was a major surprise home and abroad, and changed the course of the relationship between Southeast Asia and his country. One of the biggest selling points for Trump when he was campaigning in his home country was his supposed opposition to globalism, that is the global influence of the world in domestic policy, and he swore he was going to put his country above everything else, with a series of policies aptly named America First.
這位前共和黨候選人、現任美國總統的不滿，在國內外都是一個重大驚喜，并改變了東南亞與他的國家之間的關系。特朗普在競選時，最大的賣點之一是他所謂的反對全球化，即世界在國內政策中的全球影響力，他發誓要把他的國家放在一切之上，并制定了一系列被恰當命名為“美國第一”的政策。
Indeed, president Trump has already shown what his foreign policy might be, by withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), that has rendered it mostly useless now. To understand the magnitude of Trump’s move, and its significance for the relationship between the US and Southeast Asia, first it is important to define what was the TPP. The TPP was a trade deal between 12 countries that have a border with the Pacific Ocean, that together represent around 40% of the world’s economies. More importantly, the pact “aimed to deepen economic ties between these nations, slashing tariffs and fostering trade to boost growth. Members had also hoped to foster a closer relationship on economic policies and regulation.” (BBC 2017)
事實上，特朗普總統通過將美國退出跨太平洋伙伴關系（TPP），已經表明了他的外交政策可能是什么，這使得現在的TPP幾乎毫無用處。為了了解特朗普此舉的規模及其對美國與東南亞關系的意義，首先必須界定什么是TPP。TPP是12個與太平洋接壤的國家之間的貿易協議，總共代表了世界經濟的40%左右。更重要的是，該協議“旨在加深這些國家之間的經濟聯系，削減關稅，促進貿易以促進增長。成員國還希望在經濟政策和監管方面建立更緊密的關系。”
On top of that, Trump is still a mystery regarding his policies, because he does not seem to have a clear position on anything, which has caused some troubles and has cast a shadow in the future of the relationship between his country and the region. In fact, today is a reality that the region as whole is now going to prioritize the creation of a trade pact that is focused in Asia, along with other big countries in the continent, like Japan, India and of course China.
除此之外，特朗普的政策仍然是一個謎，因為他似乎對任何事情都沒有明確的立場，這已經造成了一些麻煩，并給他的國家和地區關系的未來蒙上了陰影。事實上，今天的現實是，整個地區現在將優先制定一項以亞洲為重點的貿易協定，以及該大陸的其他大國，如日本、印度，當然還有中國。       
This trade deal has been named the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), in place of the now dead TPP, and that could strengthen the position of China in the region over the US. Even so, this does not mean that the region would not like to have a strong relationship with the country, but that is not a big priority, according to Philippine Trade Minister Ramon Lopez: “Everybody would of course like to have a greater economic relationship with the US, they are a big country, one of the biggest consumers as well, but it may not rank high in the ASEAN agenda.” (Reuters 2017)
這項貿易協議被命名為區域綜合經濟伙伴關系（RCEP），以取代目前已不復存在的TPP，這將加強中國在該地區相對于美國的地位。盡管如此，這并不意味著該地區不想與該國建立牢固的關系，但根據菲律賓貿易部長拉蒙·洛佩斯的說法，這并不是一個重要的優先事項：“當然，每個人都希望與美國建立更大的經濟關系，他們是一個大國，也是最大的消費者之一，但在東盟議程中可能排名不高。“
In contrast to Trump’s rhetoric and apparent protectionism, China has taken the opposite route and is seeking to expand its influence over Southeast Asia, both in economic terms but also in cultural ones. This is very important, because other than the RCEP, which does feature China and would boost trade with the ASEAN countries, there is also a push for more direct investment both by the government and the private sector, that are eyeing the region as a prime candidate for more involvement.
與特朗普的言辭和明顯的保護主義形成對比的是，中國采取了相反的路線，正在尋求擴大其在東南亞的影響力，無論是在經濟方面還是在文化方面。這一點非常重要，因為除了以中國為特色并將促進與東盟國家貿易的RCEP之外，政府和私營部門也在推動更多的直接投資，它們將該地區視為更多參與的主要候選地區。       
Certainly, China has already become the top trading partner for a large number of the ASEAN countries, and the number of these nations that want to deepen their bilateral ties with China is also growing, like Malaysia and the Philippines, that signaled that want to align themselves more closely with China, for example on a recent visit to Beijing, where “President Rodrigo Duterte said he wants to cut the cord with the U.S., a key military ally, and pivot to China. During a trip to Beijing in November, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak signed about $30 billion worth of deals from energy to rail infrastructure.” (Roman 2016)
當然，中國已經成為許多東盟國家的首要貿易伙伴，這些希望深化與中國雙邊關系的國家也在不斷增加，如馬來西亞和菲律賓，這表明希望與中國更緊密地結盟，例如最近訪問北京時，其中“總統羅德里戈·杜特爾特（Rodrigo Duterte）表示，他希望切斷與美國這一重要軍事盟友的聯系，并轉向中國。在11月訪問北京期間，馬來西亞總理納吉布·拉扎克（Najib Razak）簽署了價值約300億美元的協議，從能源到鐵路基礎設施。”
Another avenue that shows the tightening of the relationship between ASEAN nations and China is tourism, because every day more and more Chinese tourists are going to those countries. Along with the growth of Chinese tourism in general, the region is receiving more visitors and the impact it has on the local economies is becoming very large as well, as the estimate shows that a “30 percent increase in spending by Chinese tourists would boost Thailand’s GDP by about 1.6 percentage points, and Vietnam’s by almost 1 point.” (Roman 2016)
另一個表明東盟國家與中國關系日益密切的途徑是旅游業，因為每天都有越來越多的中國游客前往這些國家。隨著中國旅游業的總體增長，該地區接待的游客越來越多，對當地經濟的影響也越來越大，據估計，“中國游客支出增加30%，將使泰國的GDP增長約1.6個百分點，越南的GDP增長近1個百分點”
However, not everything is easy and straightforward in the bilateral relationship between ASEAN countries and China, because as it has been mentioned before, the tensions regarding the South China Sea are far from over. The importance of this commercial route makes it a vital asset for any country that wants to trade on this part of the world, and even more so for the countries that have competing claims on this sea, that are: China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
然而，在東盟國家與中國的雙邊關系中，并非所有事情都是簡單明了的，因為正如前面提到的那樣，南中國海的緊張局勢遠未結束。這條商業路線的重要性使其成為任何想要在世界這一地區進行貿易的國家的重要資產，對于在這一海域擁有競爭權利的國家來說，更是如此，這些國家包括：中國、越南、菲律賓、臺灣、馬來西亞和文萊。
As recently as 2012 and 2013, both the Philippines and Vietnam have engaged negatively with China regarding the South China Sea, that have led to further tensions among these countries. Manila even got to the point of “taking China to a UN tribunal under the auspices of the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea, to challenge its claims.” (BBC 2016) In this case, China has boycotted any proceedings of a tribunal that backed the Philippines claims, and has stated they will not be bound by the resolution.
就在2012年和2013年，菲律賓和越南就南中國海問題與中國進行了負面接觸，導致兩國之間的緊張局勢進一步加劇。馬尼拉甚至達到了“將中國帶到《聯合國海洋法公約》主持下的聯合國法庭，對其主張提出質疑”的地步。（BBC 2016）在此案中，中國抵制了支持菲律賓主張的法庭的任何訴訟程序，并表示他們將不受該決議的約束。
Conclusions 結論
After having looked at the history and the more recent developments of the relationships that ASEAN countries have with both China and the United States, a conclusion must be made, who would benefit these countries more as a close ally? It is hard to say in the long term, because it is a very complex matter, but at the moment China is a better option for the region. This is not a conclusion that has been reached lightly, as it involves rethinking everything about the region and its history, but at the moment it would seem like the wisest choice.
在研究了東盟國家與中國和美國的關系的歷史和最近的發展之后，必須得出結論：作為親密盟友，誰會給這些國家帶來更多利益？從長遠來看很難說，因為這是一個非常復雜的問題，但目前中國對該地區來說是一個更好的選擇。這并不是一個輕而易舉的結論，因為它涉及到對該地區及其歷史的一切重新思考，但目前看來，這似乎是最明智的選擇。
The main reason that China is now a better option for Southeast Asia is not only for its geographical proximity to the region, but because it is showing interest in investing in these countries, both the government and the Chinese private sector. Direct investment is one of the best ways to get involved with a foreign country, as it also boosts the economy and makes it an even more attractive place for future investments. Tourism from Chinese nationals is also another important reason to have closer ties with that country, despite the tensions in the South China Sea that can dampen relations, but if solved, could mean a strategical step towards closer and stronger ties.
中國現在是東南亞更好的選擇，主要原因不僅是因為其地理位置接近該地區，還因為它對投資這些國家，包括政府和中國私營部門表現出興趣。直接投資是與外國交往的最佳方式之一，因為它還可以促進經濟發展，使其成為未來投資的更具吸引力的地方。中國公民的旅游業也是與該國建立更緊密關系的另一個重要原因，盡管南中國海的緊張局勢可能會削弱兩國關系，但如果解決了這一問題，可能意味著朝著建立更緊密和更牢固的關系邁出了戰略一步。
To reach this conclusion, Donald Trump also played a big part in why the United States might not be a great option. When the world seemed to be moving towards more open borders and increased trade, the victory of Trump in the presidential election changed the outlook of almost every part of the link between his country and ASEAN nations. Even if his protectionist rhetoric is ignored, the instability and uncertainty Trump brings to the table, is reason enough for not choosing closer ties to the US, because the terms of said ties could change at any time at the whim of the president, something no nation can afford, even less the ones in Southeast Asia that are still consolidating themselves.
為了得出這個結論，唐納德·特朗普（Donald Trump）也在解釋為什么美國可能不是一個好的選擇方面發揮了重要作用。當世界似乎正朝著更加開放的邊界和增加貿易的方向發展時，特朗普在總統選舉中的勝利改變了他的國家與東盟國家之間幾乎所有聯系的前景。即使他的保護主義言論被忽視，特朗普帶來的不穩定和不確定性也足以成為不選擇與美國建立更緊密關系的理由，因為上述關系的條款可能會在總統一時興起的任何時候發生變化，這是任何國家都無法承受的，更不用說那些仍在鞏固自身的東南亞國家了。
The analysis presented here it is not meant to be definitory, as the complexities of the subject are so large, that it could change at any time. Nonetheless, an effort has been made into trying to clarify the issue at hand for Southeast Asia, that is at a crossroads and has to decide which way to go, with the familiar but now unpredictable United States, or with the new superpower China, that historically has been more an enemy than an ally. The outcome of that decision will affect millions of lives, one can only hope it will be taken with caution.
這篇International Relations Essay的分析并不是明確的，因為主題的復雜性如此之大，以至于隨時都可能發生變化。盡管如此，東南亞正處于十字路口，必須努力澄清當前的問題，必須決定走哪條路，與熟悉但現在不可預測的美國，還是與新超級大國中國，歷史上，中國更多的是敵人而不是盟友。這一決定的結果將影響數百萬人的生命，人們只能希望謹慎對待。本站提供各國各專業essay代寫或指導服務，如有需要可咨詢本平臺。