ASEAN not eager for united strategy<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): ASEAN countries have displayed a united front in
\nthe face of Chinese incursions in the South China Sea, but the
\nregional body is unlikely to create a formal regional defense
\nstrategy, analysts say.<\/p>\n
\"ASEAN heads of state are not keen about formal defense and
\nsecurity arrangements,\" Philippine Defense Secretary Renato De
\nVilla said after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\nsecurity conference here last week.<\/p>\n
Defense experts at the first conference of the ASEAN Defense
\nTechnology Exchange (ADTEX), a Philippine-based think-tank,
\nagreed that the regional group faced major security concerns
\ndespite the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n
The situation in the Korean peninsula, continuing tensions
\nbetween China and Taiwan and the conflicting claims to the
\nSpratly Islands in the South China Sea, were all identified as
\npotential \"hot spots\" affecting ASEAN members.<\/p>\n
The discovery in February of Chinese-built structures on a
\nreef in the Spratlys claimed by the Philippines set off alarm
\nbells within ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore and Thailand.<\/p>\n
In addition to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, three ASEAN members
\n-- Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines -- lay total or partial
\nclaim to the archipelago, but have pledged to resolve the issue
\npeacefully.<\/p>\n
Despite Chinese efforts to force the other claimants to
\ndiscuss the Spratlys bilaterally, ASEAN presented a united front
\nin talks with China on the issue in the Chinese city of Hangzhou
\nearlier this month.<\/p>\n
Carolina Hernandez, president of the Philippines' Institute
\nfor Strategic and Development Studies, called the unity \"an
\namazing achievement on the part of ASEAN.\"<\/p>\n
But while ASEAN members closed ranks on the Spratlys issue,
\ndefense experts at the conference said it was unlikely such unity
\ncould be translated into a formal security arrangement between
\ncountries in the grouping.<\/p>\n
\"The smaller and weaker nations may continue to face a
\npossible threat of external interference,\" Soedjati Djiwandono,
\ndirector of Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International
\nStudies (CSIS) said.<\/p>\n
But, he added: \"A common perception of threat of external
\nnature has never been, and most probably will never be developed\"
\nin ASEAN, unlike in military alliances such as the North Atlantic
\nTreaty Organization, formed to counter the threat of the Soviet
\nbloc.<\/p>\n
Djiwandono also said that security cooperation among ASEAN
\nmembers tended to be bilateral or trilateral in nature and often
\ninvolved non-ASEAN members -- such as the U.S.-Thai and U.S.-
\nPhilippine defense agreements.<\/p>\n
Djiwandono also raised the possibility of a \"multilateral
\nsecurity cooperation within the framework of ASEAN\" that would
\nnot be directed at any sole external threat.<\/p>\n
But he said this would not be a formal military pact but would
\nbe in the form of confidence-building measures, such as
\ninformation and intelligence exchanges -- as well as possible
\ncoordination in procuring and manufacturing weapons.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-not-eager-for-united-strategy-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}