Beyond search-and-rescue cooperation and crisis management, creating hotlines between China and the 10 ASEAN countries would carry a no less important symbolism: the consensus that the South China Sea issue is not an issue between them as a whole.

In its eagerness to reassert its supremacy in the Asia Pacific, Washington risks losing its balance amid competing strategic goals, by forcing a position that is neither fair nor legally supportable in a region far from its shores.

The maritime issue casts a dark shadow on the cooperation between the two countries in the wake of tenser contests in the South China Sea. It is time to prevent this difference from dominating the bilateral relationship.

The Philippines is seeing a year of impressive economic growth (at 6.3%) despite the lacking foreign direct investment due to woeful infrastructure constraints. The AIIB can be an additional source of funding for local infrastructure projects. Political disputes surrounding the China Sea disputes were not enough to trump the economic importance of this cooperation.

China’s growing involvement in Sri Lanka and South Asia, drew Prime Minister Narendha Modi to visit Sri Lanka, the first for an Indian PM in 27 years. India’s utmost concern is security with China’s so-called “string of pearls” strategy, which though coined by a U.S. defense contractor, suspects China of building naval bases in the Indian Ocean. To ease tension, the two countries must accommodate each other’s maritime interests.

China's rig HYSY 981 can be considered part of China’s Maritime Silk Road strategy – an attempt to strengthen relationships with ASEAN nations through economic opportunity. But as HYSY 981’s deployment drew controversy in the past, it should instead focus on resource development in less controversial waters for the time being.

In 2015, ASEAN will continue to pursue its priority objective of creating an ASEAN community. As China sees it, the creation of a China-ASEAN community with a shared destiny now stands at a new historical starting point. China will advance and be proactive in its diplomacy. What will ASEAN choose?

How can Beijing manage relations with both the United States and its regional neighbors in the Asia-Pacific? Shi Yinhong examines China’s foreign policy and offers insight into both US-China relations and China’s relationship with other Asian nations.

The proposed Asian infrastructure bank could galvanize growth in emerging Asia and boost lingering global recovery.

In response to U.S. suspicions over China’s establishment of an Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, Wu Jianmin lays out three reasons why the project would be a win-win for the Asia-Pacific region and the United States’ regional allies.