The Dao in China’s Growing Presence in the South Pacific

The rise of China as one of the great powers in the international politic has been the hottest topic in the 21st century. Following the economic reform led by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, China re-emerges stronger than ever with its influences covering major parts of the world. One region particularly stands out since the prior dominance of United States therein, the South Pacific. The study of this research will be limited to 10 PICs recognising China, Vanuatu, Cook Island, FSM, Fiji, Niuee, PNG, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Kiribati. Under the Western International Relations Theory (IRT) however, the rise of China is always seen in a rather malign manner. This research, therefore, contends that in order to fully understand China’s behaviour in the international community, we need to know how China perceives itself. By applying one of the most famous Chinese traditional school of thought, Daoism, this research aims to examine the strategy used in the expansion of China’s influence in the South Pacific. Daoism is symbolised with yin and yang, where the two elements are contradictory, yet they complement each other. Under the Dao dialectics, this research argues that China has been utilising a combination of two contradictory elements of power—soft and hard power—in expanding its prominence in the South Pacific region.


INTRODUCTION
"China is a sleeping lion. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world" -Napoleon Bonaparte Years after the Cold War ended, China has secured itself a place in the emerging power shelf within the international society. Often perceived as contesting the established power-the United States (U.S.), the rise of China has left everyone in the world on their edge, and it is for a good reason. Up to this date, China is still seen as trying to 'race'or at least stood at the same level-with the U.S. In fact, China's rise is so remarkable that it got involved in competition with the U.S., which results in the worsening of their relations (Arif, 2016). In 2018, Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) went as much as US$13,608 billion, a US$1,465 billion increase from the previous year (World Bank, 2019). Not only America, but China has also taken the position of other countries. China successfully replaced Japan in 2010 as the country with the biggest economy. Japan's GDP which counted for US$5,474 billion was exceeded by China, with US$5,879 billion (Ratha & Mahapatra, 2014). Moreover, China is currently leading the world's economy with the largest both inbound and outbound merchandise shipping. It is no surprise that China is now named to be the world's second largest economic power (Gough, 2018).
Along with its economic developments, China also demonstrated impressive growth in terms of its influence across the world. In 2013, Xi Jinping cultivated a policy called The Belt and Road Initiatives or One Belt One Road (OBOR). One region that stands out particularly to scholars is the South Pacific since it used to be dominated by the U.S.. China is now believed to be one of the biggest donors right after the U.S. and Australia (Yang, 2009). Some scholars pointed out how the tension between Taipei and Beijing is likely to be China's real motive in the region. Under the U.S. influences, the Pacific Islands countries supported Taiwan as a sovereign country-a rather sensitive issue for the mainland China. However, with the growing influence of China, countries within the Islands are starting to have a change of stance. In 2019, two of the Pacific Islands countries-the Solomon Islands and Kiribati-bailed on Taiwan and switched over to Beijing, leaving Taipei with only 15 diplomatic partners (Dormido & Jason, 2019).
Seeing how China is setting milestones in different aspect of its rise, the need to understand its behaviour in a different perspective would be understandable. To use theory originated in the Western world would be like trying to put the last puzzle piece to a completely different puzzle. Cox (1981) argued that theory is always for someone and for some purpose. Mainstream Western international relations theory (IRT) has largely dominated the disciplinary discourse (Yaqing, 2016;Saeputra, 2018). The domination of western IRT was-and still is-so prominent that Acharya and Buzan initiated a project which seeks to address the question of "why is there no non-Western IR theory?" Though IRT may pose itself to be universal, it can also be seen as speaking for the West and in the interest of sustaining its power, prosperity and influence (Acharya & Buzan, 2010).
Drawing from Cox's argument, Asian have an interest in IRT that speak for them and their interest (Acharya & Buzan, 2010). This needs to be done since the Global South are in nature different than western countries (Saeputra, 2018). In the realist argument, China is always perceived as a threat. This is a simple example of how the use of western IRT more often than not, represents no one but the West. The conventional Western-centred IRT is both too narrow in its source and too dominant in its influence to be good for the health of the wider project to understand the social world in which we live (Acharya & Buzan, 2010).
Against this specific background, this writing will attempt to examine Chinese growth and how it successfully positioned itself within the international structure using a perspective coming from none other than China. Specifically, Daoism as one of the most prominent philosophical traditions in China will be implemented with the hope that the way China behaves and exercises its influence throughout the world can be better understood. Based on the yin and yang dialectics derived from Daoism, this research argues that China has been implementing a combination of two contradictory element of power, hard power-as the yang-and soft power-the yin in expanding its influence to the South Pacific region. This combination is conducted simultaneously, therefore showing the complementary nature of the yin and yang.
This research will consist of four main parts. It starts by discussing constructivism-as the only IRT that takes intangible elements into account when analysing foreign policy behaviour. Furthermore, it will provide a thorough discussion on how culture is linked to decision-making in foreign policy. The second part will focus on China's traditional culture and how it shapes China's foreign policy throughout the years.
Finally, the last part of this research will attempt to analyse how China's traditional culture, specifically Daoism, influence its foreign policy behaviour in the South Pacific region.

Constructivism and Culture in Foreign Policy
Constructivism first emerged in the IRT in early 1990. Its emergence is often associated with materialist scholars failing to provide a materialist reason behind the end of Cold War (Klotz & Audie, 1962). Gorbachev's new thinking demanded a constructivist approach to be able to fully understand the cause as to how the Cold War ended (Schultze, 2009). Alexander Wendt, a prominent figure in constructivism, in his book Social Theory of International Politics contends that the sudden and unforeseeable ending of Cold War is attributable to the growth of constructivism (Wendt, 1999). Unlike traditional IRTs such as realism, liberalism, and Marxism whose origin come from political discourse, constructivism derives from a social theory. Originally, constructivism is not an IRT, rather it is a sociological theory being applied in international relations.
Ontologically, constructivism emphasis the way norms, identity, ideology, culture and language shape identity and guide actions (Klotz & Audie, 1962). This research, however, will centre on how culture shapes state's foreign policy making. In defining culture, Weber contends that culture is what shapes our view of the world (Weber, 1949).
On the behavioural sense of culture, Sapir (1994) stressed that culture appears most apparently in a person's behaviour pattern. Attempt at linking culture and state behaviour first appeared in the "national character studies" of the 1940s and 1950s (Lantis, 2009). Uemura (2015) proposed a cultural constructivist approach to analyse China's foreign policy behaviour. Under this theory he contends that when state X and state Y interact with each other, they interpret the other's behaviour based on their own cultural rationalities. The same behaviour may produce different interpretation in accordance with their own cultural connotations (Uemura, 2015).

Daoism and Culture in China's Foreign Policy
Among major world players, China's foreign policy carries a cultural identity due to its unique cultural traditions. Post-reform Chinese leaders, from Jiang Zemin onwards, have occasionally cited a Confucian concept in foreign policy statements (Zhang F., 2015).
During the 13 th National People's Congress in March 2018, Xi Jinping incorporated his thoughts on "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" into the Chinese constitution. In the context of foreign policy, his emphasis on "Chinese Characteristics" implies that his government will conduct its international affairs according to China's traditional values instead of adopting Western models and principles (Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, 2018).
China, along with its long ancient history, produces multifaceted traditional cultures. These cultures are essentially based on three Chinese primary philosophies namely Confucianism, Taoism (Daoism), and Buddhism. Even before the modern days, Confucianism had been used as the traditional philosophy of the Chinese state (guo xue, 国学) under the ruling of Emperor Wu (Lihua, 2013). Not only that, but Daoism has also been gaining popularity in Chinese culture. Buddhism too, at times, has also been officially supported by the state. In modern days, these traditional philosophies are back in demand. This is evident in the growing popularity for classes on traditional Chinese philosophy, with emphasis on Confucianism and Daosim.
One of the core values of China's traditional culture seen in its foreign policy is the concept of harmony or in Chinese, Hexie (和谐). The Chinese concept of harmony is a comprehensive ideological system which consists of not only values, but also a philosophy. Furthermore, it offers its own perspective on the world (Lihua, 2013).
Specifically, hexie encompasses principles such as the Tai Chi or Taiji (太极) principle and the yin-yang dialectics which influence the way human and the evolution of the society are viewed (Lihua, 2013). This concept of harmony is present in the form of three main ideas:

Seek harmony not uniformity
In the world full of diversity, seeking harmony does not equal searching for uniformity, where there should not exist any differences at all. Seeking harmony means being able to unite the universe despite the diversity. Under this idea, differences will not lead to conflicts and contradictions if harmony is achieved.
Confucius says, "The gentleman aims at harmony not uniformity (junzi he er bu tong, 君 子和而不同)." (Lihua, 2013) This idea of seeking harmony rather than universality has been applied in shaping China's foreign policy evidenced by its commitment to the principle of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect amidst a mélange of differences.
Manifestation of this principle can be seen in the adaption of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (he ping gong chu wu xiang yuan ze, 和平共处五项原 则) which consists of: mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. These values were first introduced by past Chinese leaders in the 1950s and have been implemented in China's interstate relations ever since.
Former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, in his visit to America back in 2002 elaborated how seeking harmony not uniformity meant the condition of peacefully coexisting and being able to see past the differences to create a harmonious world. Differences are seen as something complementary and supportive. This view was then exemplified in China's twenty-first century directive of building a harmonious world, Asia, and China's neighbourhood (Lihua, 2013). Moreover, in May 2015 President Hu Jintao presented the concept of 'harmonious world' at a high-level UN meeting (Lihua, 2013).

Mutual respect between big and small countries
The fact that China is now one of the world's rising powers does not mean it seeks to be 'worshipped' or glorified. China's hexie upholds the belief that bigger states should respect smaller ones and vice versa. In the Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing 《 道德经) Lao Tse writes: "What makes a great state is how it is like a low-lying, down-flowing stream; the bigger state becomes the centre that tends to all the small states like the smaller streams flowing to lower streams. The larger rivers and seas are respected by all the streams because of their skill in being lower than the smaller streams. Thus, they are the king. Since the larger stream does not strive to be dominant, the smaller streams and larger rivers and seas work together." This idea is formulated into policy of fostering a benign, prosperous, and secure neighbourhood or (mu lin, fu lin, shan lin, 睦邻、富邻、善邻). Through this idea, China stresses on sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.
Moreover, China brands its diplomacy with concepts such as equality, mutual benefit, cooperation, and a positive-sum or win-win.

Proper handling of interstate conflicts
Even under the concept of harmony, conflicts are at times, unavoidable.
However, harmony posits for conflicts to be handled properly and legally. In nonconfrontational ones, conflicts should be handled by peaceful means such as negotiations and diplomacy. In the contrary, in the cases of violent conflicts, counter attacks on the basis of self-defence are justified. This view is expressed in a traditional Chinese saying: "We will not attack unless we are attacked; we will certainly counterattack if we are attacked (ren bu fan wo wo bu fan ren, ren ruo fan wo wo bi fan ren, 人不犯我我不犯人，人若犯我我必犯人)." (Lihua, 2013) Under the conception of the word he (和), China does not forbid any form of military force and justifies the use of it for self-defence reason since survival is a natural goal for every state (Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, 2018).
In line with China's conception of harmony is its traditional view of the state of the international world. The tianxia theory (天下论, tianxia lun) or tianxianism (天下主 义, tianxia zhuyi) emerged during the quest of searching for "China's International Relations Theories". Roughly translated, tianxia means "all under heaven." Deriving from ancient Chinese classic, tianxia originally points to the conception of worldliterally all under heaven-as governed by authority of the Chinese emperor as the Son of Heaven (天子, tianzi.). According to this cosmology, Heaven bestowed a mandate to the emperor to rightfully rule the Earth (Puranen, 2019).
Taken into today's context, the tianxia theory posits its own perception of the international world. Chinese scholars defined tianxiaism as an ideology that challenges the traditional-Western-international order. The current world order was installed by the Western based on their historically contingent picture and viewpoint of international politics. The Westphalian world order along with its main instruments such as national sovereignty, diplomacy, etc. was enforced, leaving the world with no other option. This world order is also operated based on the "Hobbesian law" where humans are depicted as inherently evil which in turn normalised-even supported-the ever-lasting competition for survival. Meanwhile, tianxia puts emphasis on oneness and worldness where all nations are under the same 'heaven' in a family-ship relations (Zhao, 2019) In terms of foreign policy, the relationship between tianxiaism and the Chinese government is never explicit, yet it is still recognisable. The Chinese government has never openly used the term 'tianxiaism' nor has it ever made explicit quotes from the theory. However, deeper examinations show implicit references to tianxianism. Under Hu Jintao's presidency (2002-2012) the foreign policy concepts of "harmonious world" (hexie xejie) and a "new type of great power relationship" were instituted. Both imply the need for a world order in which political units and civilisations coexist peacefully and respect each other's unique characters. States, with emphasis on great powers, ought to promote the importance of mutual trust and always seek for a "win-win" in every situation. Furthermore, the concepts also underlined the importance of setting aside the destructive, competitive Cold War mentality inherited by the West (Keith, 2012).

The implications of tianxiaism values in China's foreign policy is also visible in
Xi Jinping's tenure. China's foreign policy during his administration adapted the concept of "community of common future for mankind" or in Chinese, 人类命运共同体, renlei mingyun gongtongti (CCFM). Influenced by this concept, Xi sees that along with globalisation, the international community will only grow closer and that we should let go of antagonism and focus instead on economic and political cooperation. Even though no explicit recognition were made, manifestation of the harmonious tianxia can be spotted easily. Moreover, Xi himself has used the tianxiaism concept of "all-under-heaven-asone-family" to describe the CCFM policy (CCTV, 2017). In details, Xi Jinping's statement implied further the presence of the harmonious tianxia concept: "We believe that despite the differences and contradictions of various countries in the world, there will inevitably be bumps and collisions, but the people of all countries all live under the same blue sky and have the same home, and they should be a family. The people of all countries in the world should uphold the concept of "one family in the world", open their arms, understand each other, seek common ground while reserving differences, and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind." (CCTV, 2017) China's long ancient history offers traditional values that are applicable to modern days. Values such as harmony (hexie) and tianxia are being rebranded by Chinese government and used as a basis of its foreign policy. Through these principles and values, China is offering the world other point of view, as an alternative to the Western-dominated one. For example, under its current leader, Xi Jinping, China launched the policy of community of common future for mankind, which upholds the principle that the international community live together "allunder-heaven-as family," therefore China is always there to promote win-win cooperation, seek common ground, and set aside differences.
The tianxia value stems from Confucian traditions, which accentuate the importance of peace and harmony. On the other hand, Daoism provides a relational basis, as an alternative to the West's dialectics. Confucianism's nature of inclusivity goes along with Daoism since both promote the inclusion of all elements in international relations to reach harmony and peace.
Daoism which dated back as far as 600 BCE, is one of the most prominent Chinese traditional school of thoughts. Dao literally means "the Way", "path" and is symbolised with yin and yang. Yin and yang are both complimentary and competitive.
On the one hand, the two are competing forces or completely opposite of energy which constantly work against each other, however, yin and yang complement each other since the world basically consists of these two elements (Liu, 2006). The concept of yin and yang does not mean a simplification of the world as a mere binary, as something good and evil, or light and dark.
Under the Western philosophical traditions, we are familiar with the Hegel's dialectics way of thinking. According to this "master-slave" dialectics, one pole could not exist with the opposite, even with the aims to overthrow or defeat the other.
The contradictions between the two polar opposites simply could never reach synthesis (Ling, 2014). Meanwhile, under the Daoist dialectics, one pole exists with the aim to complement the other contradicting pole which in turn produce transformation both internally and externally. In other words, yin operates within yang and yang within yin (Ling, 2014). For example, conflict and cooperation are polar opposite, but they both correct each other's weaknesses (Rosyidin, 2019).
Yin refers to qualities associated with the feminine such as cold, weak, accommodating, passive, gentle and soft meanwhile yang represents hot, hard, strong, vigorous, firm, aggressive, active and strong. However, this does not imply that yang supersede yin in terms of value. Each of those traits bears value depending on the context and circumstances (Ling, 2014). One would not be desiring to be hot, hard, strong in every situation neither to be cold, weak, and soft all the time. Looking from this dialectic, we can always see that this world is always the combination of both elements of yin and yang. Figure 1 represents how the flow of this study.

RESEARCH METHOD
This research is a qualitative research which according to Creswell (2008)  These data were collected, summarised, and analysed in order to increase the credibility of this research. Schensul & LeCompte (1999) defined data analysis as the process conducted by a researcher to reduce data to a story and its interpretation. The data analysis used in this study is the illustrative-case clarification method, which is an illustration of theoretical concepts with empirical evidence (Sulaiman, 2020).
Furthermore, this method applies theory to concrete historical situations or social conditions and organised data according to the theory. The empirical data found in the study then filled the empty boxes in theory either by confirming, modifying, or even rejecting the theory (Sulaiman, 2020). This method was chosen due to its ability to confirm empirical evidence to existing theory.

China's yang in South Pacific
As described by Nye, hard power is exemplified by the use of tangible material such as economy and military. China is seen to be using the former element by enforcing a cheque-book diplomacy in the region. Cheque-book diplomacy, like its name, means earning diplomatic relations with the help of cheque book or to put it bluntly, money. It  (Dornan & Brant, 2014). Ever since then, China's total aid spending to the region amounts to US$1.78 billion, where it is mainly disbursed through three main instruments: grants, interest-free loans, and concessional loans (Bozzato, 2017). In November 2013, the 2 nd China-Pacific Island Forum was held in Guangzhou. The most significant outcome of this forum was the announcement of up to US$1 billion concessional loans by Vice Premier Wang Yang to be provided over four years (Jingxi & Zhao, 2013). In addition, China also announced a commercial loan facility of US$1 billion, financed under the China Development Bank (CDB). However, in terms of the exact number of China's aid to Pacific, the Chinese government has never officially disclosed the amount given neither it provides detail of aid spent each year and recipient country. Therefore, the data provided are obtained by combing through government announcement, and financial documents dating back to almost 10 years.
On one side, grants-accounted for 20% of China's aid to the region are used mostly to finance government buildings, schools, and prestige projects. One notable example is the prestigious convention centre in the Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Aside from granting state-to-state loans to the PICs, China is also giving out loans through a well-funded financial institution with China as the largest shareholder, holding approximately 30% of the share. The Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB) is said to be paralleling the Asian Development Bank (ADB), not as a rival but as a complementary (Hannan & Firth, 2016). AAIB is operating based on the value of southto-south cooperation which upholds common prosperity. Unlike the West's IMF, AIIB is very open, inclusive and requires no necessity to be met when issuing financial assistance.
As of today, five of PICs-Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, and Samoa-are members of AIIB, with Papua New Guinea as prospective member (AIIB, 2021). The membership of AIIB will lead to greater provisions and routinisation of Chinese loans to PICs (Hannan & Firth, 2016). In the face of the global pandemic, Cook Islands and Fiji, whose economies strongly rely on international tourism, turn to AIIB for loans as they face a huge economic sink. The Cook Islands issued a US$20 million while Fiji US$50 million (Barrett & Menon, 2021  . Between 2006 to 2009, the representative of PLA paid 24 visits to the region, with more than 60% involved their naval ships  million. In addition, a training of 83 PNGDF officer was also provided . "The Confucius Institute is providing a platform for building friendship and cooperation between China and Fiji, and the Pacific region. We hope that this will further pave the way for deeper cooperation based on mutual trust, which is necessary for the delivery of the social and economic benefits that we all desire," (Yongxing, 2017).
Apart from language learning, the Confucius Institute is also actively promoting  (Zhang & Watson, 2020). Figure 6 shows that more than a quarter of the articles published were about China's foreign policy or aid.
Coming right after is Chinese aid with regard to COVID-19 control in the region (Zhang & Watson, 2020). Chinese embassies (Zhang & Watson, 2020

Last but not least, China expresses its yin or soft power inside its Belt and Road
Initiative framework. While its main objective is to create an inter-regional market, the BRI is also used as a platform to allow cultural exchanges between China and member countries.   (Yang, 2011). In the same year when first Confucius Institute was opened in Fiji, China was also providing assistance for the construction of the Kiuva Sea Wall (Guxia, 2015).  (Doviverata, 2018). In that year too, China had just invested a total of US$9 million for the redevelopment of the Suva Civic Centre, which gained huge favour from Fijian (Xinhua, 2018).
In the case of Cook Islands, a simultaneous combination of yin and yang was also seen, especially in the year of 2008. During that year, official number of Chinese aids to Cook Islands was published with details as follows: -US$2.9 million economic and technical cooperation grants -US$1.1 million soft loan for the construction of education administration building (Hanson, 2010) At the same time, China's media activity was also seen by the fact that the Cook Islands daily newspaper in that year had more letters and commentaries on Chinese aid projects and the country's relations with China than on any other subject (Crocombe, 2010 Lastly, at the opening of Confucius Institute at the National University of Samoa in 2018, China was also seen issuing a funding for the upgrading of a port in Samoa called Asau (Firth, 2019). Samoan Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailee said that his government had "secured funding to widen and deepen the channel" (Firth, 2019 On the other hand, Xi Jinping underlined the importance of cooperative approach. China is willing to commit on the establishment of cooperation with claimant states and major power in any form of inter-states cooperation. China never opts to close the possibility of negotiation in order to achieve mutual progress (Feng, 2007). One of the most notable progress is when in September 2016 China and Vietnam agreed on a joint communiqué related to the peaceful settlement of the dispute (Rosyidin, 2019). In the multilateral context, China showed its willingness to agree on a COC single text negotiation proposed in ASEAN-China ministerial meeting in Singapore August 2, 2018.
The example above is one of the many instances where Daoism is apparent. In