Not to allow a firebrand to burn down ASEAN Community

That does not mean that ASEAN has nothing to do with the South China Sea issue. On the contrary, like China it has a high stake in keeping the vital body of water calm and placid. For that it has a ready partner in Beijing, which has pledged to work with ASEAN to safeguard South China Sea peace and security and formulate a code of conduct.

Meanwhile, Manila's recent finger-pointing over China's island reclamation in South China Sea is just thief shouting thief. It is the Philippines' illegal occupation of some of China's Nansha Islands that lies at the root of the bilateral dispute. Its calculation that the crying baby gets the milk cannot fool any sober mind.

On the other hand, building better infrastructure on Nansha Islands will enable China to better fulfill its international obligations in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, in such areas as maritime rescue, marine research and meteorological observation, not to mention that such construction falls totally within China's sovereignty.

Indeed, ASEAN and China -- economically intertwined, culturally affinitive and both committed to common development and regional prosperity -- have more important business to do. They have agreed to seize "the diamond decade" to further boost win-win cooperation.

Among the priorities are upgrading their free trade area and promoting negotiations on the broader Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The two sides need to make sustained joint efforts to achieve their goal of lifting bilateral trade to one trillion U.S. dollars by 2020.

On top of that, with ASEAN sitting on a hub of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the China-proposed 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative is infusing bilateral cooperation as well as ASEAN integration with new opportunities and fresh vigor. And the fact that all its 10 members have become the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank marks a good start.

Thus now is a time for ASEAN to set the eyes on the big picture of community-building and advance integration and development for the benefit of both the bloc itself and the broader region. It is no time to allow someone to put a stick in the wheels.