ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the omission in the existing research by going to the genesis of ASEAN transition to the ASEAN Way and the genesis of the Chinese transition to non-interference, developmentalism and face saving. It explains the historical context where the ASEAN Way started making a lot of sense for China and for Southeast Asian states and elites. Success was generated by motivating the commitment of the East Asian elites to the ASEAN Way and by giving an indigenous sense to the ASEAN formula of conflict prevention. Thailand was one of the nations that offered its good services for the resolution of the "Malaysian Confrontation". The latter campaign also involved the Philippines that had an overlapping territorial claim with the emerging Federation of Malaysia. China's change was dominant to the change of Northeast Asia, as the rest of Northeast Asia had already been peaceful, and it affected peacefulness in Southeast Asia.
