ASEAN struggles for stability as Indonesia simmers<\/p>\n
HANOI (Reuters): Southeast Asian foreign ministers stressed
\nthe need for stability on Monday as political turmoil in
\nIndonesia cast a shadow over their annual gathering and raised
\nthe specter of fresh regional upheaval.<\/p>\n
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) had hoped
\nto use a week-long series of meetings in Hanoi to rebuild
\ncredibility and confidence amid a fresh economic downturn, but
\nthis ambition was scuppered by dramatic developments in its
\nlargest and most populous member.<\/p>\n
A majority of legislators of Indonesia's top assembly voted to
\nsack President Abdurrahman Wahid for misrule on Monday and
\nreplaced him with Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.<\/p>\n
ASEAN big guns Singapore and Thailand quickly congratulated
\nMegawati, but the whole region was waiting anxiously to see
\nwhether a violent showdown could be avoided.<\/p>\n
Wahid, who has tens of thousands of fanatical Muslim
\nsupporters, earlier made clear he would not go without a fight.
\nHe compared his struggle to a holy war, or jihad, raising the
\nspecter of chaos that could destabilize the entire region.<\/p>\n
"It is a concern for all of us because Indonesia is an
\nimportant member of ASEAN. Anything that happens in Indonesia can
\naffect the stability of other countries in the region," Malaysian
\nForeign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters in Hanoi.<\/p>\n
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said Indonesia's
\nproblems had been informally discussed at the Hanoi meeting, but
\nASEAN's code of non-interference in the affairs of other members
\nmeant there would be no formal statement or intervention.<\/p>\n
"But I think it is a very positive development for ASEAN that
\nwe discussed internal problems...because the situation has an
\nimpact on other countries also," he said.<\/p>\n
Transition<\/p>\n
"We give all our support to the people of Indonesia and we
\nhope that whatever transition should be peaceful. We still hope
\nthe problems can be resolved peacefully and democratically."<\/p>\n
Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab canceled his
\nattendance at the Hanoi meetings, another blow to host Vietnam
\nafter North Korea said last week its foreign minister would not
\nattend, dashing hopes of a resumption of high-level talks with
\nthe United States and South Korea.<\/p>\n
The discussions will be joined on Tuesday by regional big-
\nhitters China, Japan and South Korea, and then on Wednesday by
\ndialogue partners in the 23-member ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF),
\nAsia's key security grouping.<\/p>\n
The latter meeting will be attended by U.S. Secretary of State
\nColin Powell, who arrives on Tuesday for his first trip to the
\ncountry since he served in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
In an opening address to the ministers' meeting, Vietnam's
\nPrime Minister Phan Van Khai made no mention of Indonesia but
\nsaid the 1997-1998 Asian economic collapse showed the costs of
\npolitical and macroeconomic instability.<\/p>\n
"We should proactively settle remaining disputes and
\ndifferences and prevent heightened tensions in the region, and at
\nthe same time help to restore and maintain socio-political and
\nmacro-economic stability in each country," he said.<\/p>\n
But the upheavals in Indonesia illustrated precisely why so
\nmany foreign investors still shun the region, and dealt a fresh
\nblow to ASEAN as it struggles to build unity and purpose while
\nhobbled by disagreements and declining economic clout and
\nincreasingly overshadowed by giant neighbor China.<\/p>\n
Pushed into the background at Monday's meeting was the
\nministers' endorsement of a declaration Vietnam has pushed
\npledging to narrow the gap between richer members and poorer
\nnations like communist Vietnam and Laos, Cambodia and military-
\nruled Myanmar.<\/p>\n
With even ASEAN's richer nations facing renewed economic
\nmalaise and most of the region facing sharply slower growth,
\nanalysts question whether the bloc is in any position to help
\npoorer members catch up.<\/p>\n
Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar warned ASEAN must
\nwork to remain relevant in an increasingly globalised economy and
\nrisked losing investment with so much instability.<\/p>\n
"If ASEAN is inward looking, then I am afraid that the world
\nwill pass us by," he told reporters<\/p>\n
Surakiart said the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting on Wednesday
\nwould discuss "preventive diplomacy" to defuse regional
\nconflicts. But the list of divisions and disagreements is a long
\none.<\/p>\n
China is in dispute with several ASEAN states over islands in
\nthe South China Sea, and with Tokyo over trade, while a Japanese
\nhistory textbook has incensed China and South Korea who say it
\ndistorts wartime atrocities.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-struggles-for-stability-as-indonesia-simmers-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}