China-ASEAN Relations, January 2012 to April 2012: Chronology of Events

JANUARY 2012
3rd	Passenger services on the Mekong River are restored after being suspended in August 2011, when a group of 14 tourists, who sailed into the Golden Triangle area from Jinghong, a port city in the south-western province of Yunnan, were robbed. Shipping services were also halted after 13 Chinese sailors on two cargo ships were killed in the area on 5 October 2011.
10th	The Xiushan Tunnel of the Yuxi-Mengzi line of the Pan-Asia Railway is successfully completed on 10 January. It is Yunnan province's longest railway tunnel. To be launched for operation this year, the Yuxi-Mengzi Railway will become the first domestic section of the Pan-Asia Railway in operation and will play a major role in facilitating land trade between China and the ASEAN.
14th	China and the ASEAN member convene at the Fourth Senior Offcials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The participants held an in-depth discussion and reached consensus on future working direction and several cooperation projects.
16th	Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister Liang Guanglie meets with Indonesian Ambassador to China Imron Cotan in Beijing. Liang says that China wants to work with Indonesia to further strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' militaries.
FEBRUARY 2012
5th	Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong visits China from 5 to 7 February at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Hor Namhong holds talks with Yang and other Chinese officials and the two sides exchange views on issues of common interest.
16th	China approves the construction of a new bridge across its border river with Vietnam, connecting Dongxing and the Vietnamese city of Mong Cai — a move to further boost the border trade of the two countries. The new bridge, Beilun River Bridge No. 2, will be located three kilometres away from the existing Beilun River Road Bridge.
20th	The Ninth China-Thailand Friendship Forum, co-hosted by the Office of Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's Projects and the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (ACFSMC) in Bangkok, attracts about 500 Chinese and Thai cooperative experts. Chinese and Thai representatives at the forum, themed "Cooperatives: Power for Sustainable Development", exchange views on topics that include ensuring the sustainable development of Chinese and Thai agricultural cooperatives, improving administration of agricultural cooperatives and protecting agricultural cooperatives against various risks. Princess Sirindhorn presides over the forum and delivers a lecture entitled "Student Cooperatives: Youth and Secure Community Building".
23rd	The ASEAN defence senior offcials' meeting plus dialogue partners, which aims to strengthen cooperation in regional peace and security, kicks off in Phnom Penh. Participants include senior defence officials of ASEAN and the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Among the items on the agenda is discussion of the draft Concept Paper on Review of Frequency of ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), which proposes meeting to convene once every two years instead of three years.
MARCH 2012
1st	The Second Conference of the ASEAN Plus Three Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI+3), which aims to boost regional media exchanges and cooperation, promote the participation and support of all social forces in the the building of a peaceful, prosperous and harmonious East Asia, is held in Kuala Lumpur. Wang Chen, Minister of the State Council Information Office of China, says East Asian countries should encourage international media to cover the region in a more objective and accurate manner.
7th	China appoints Liu Jianchao, a senior diplomat and former spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, as its new Ambassador to Indonesia to further strengthen the growing strategic ties between the two countries. Liu's appointment comes just ahead of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's state visit to China in late March.
14th	Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra receives the 10-member China Asso-ciation for International Friendly Contacts (CAIFC) delegation at the Thai Government House. She says that the Thai government is willing to cooperate with China...