New concepts needed for regional security<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The emergence of new economic powers in Asia and
\nthe Pacific and the growth the region has enjoyed over the past
\nyears have generated not only good cooperation but have also
\ncreated tensions in international relations, a seminar heard
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Indonesian and Australian political scientists and observers
\nagreed that there need to be new concepts of security to ensure
\npolitical and economic cooperation in the region, which
\nrepresents nearly two-thirds of the world's population.<\/p>\n
\"Security is not only a question of military forces but also a
\npolitical and economic issue,\" Russel Trood, director of the
\nAustralia-based Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations,
\ntold participants of a seminar titled \"Potential Linkages between
\nEconomic and Regional Security Fora\".<\/p>\n
The two-day seminar, jointly organized by the Centre for
\nStrategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Australian
\nDefence Studies Centre, was opened yesterday and attended by
\nscores of government officials and political researchers from the
\ntwo countries.<\/p>\n
Noting that many threats to domestic stability stem from
\ndisruptions to established patterns of economic activity which
\nproduce social dislocations, Trood said that \"the working of one
\nmarket may pose threats and create instability\" to others.<\/p>\n
To overcome the problems he proposed, among other things, that
\ncountries in the region adopt the concept of \"cooperative and
\ncomprehensive security\" which imply \"a more cautious and gradual
\napproach to the development of new security structures\".<\/p>\n
Soedjati Djiwandono, a member of CSIS' board of directors,
\nsaid, however, that there was nothing new in the proposed concept
\nand that it had been adopted by Indonesia years ago, albeit not
\nby that name.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and other members of the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations have preferred to use the term \"national and
\nregional resilience\" rather than \"comprehensive security\",
\nSoedjati said.<\/p>\n
But other speakers at yesterday's meeting agreed that there is
\na need for the countries in the Asia-Pacific to adopt new
\nstrategies and concepts to cope with global changes and
\nchallenges.<\/p>\n
Speakers from Australia stressed the need for the United
\nStates to remain engaged as a stabilizing force and the inclusion
\nof China in ensuring wider security and prosperity in the region.<\/p>\n
Model<\/p>\n
Rear Admiral Sunardi from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense
\nsaid that, if only the security cooperation established in ASEAN
\ncould be accepted as a model by the 18 members of the Asia
\nPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, there would be no
\nsuspicion from outside the region as the forum proceeds with its
\nundertakings.<\/p>\n
\"Such regional security would not create suspicion from
\noutside the region because it will not pose as enemy of any
\nkind,\" Sunardi added.<\/p>\n
ASEAN is a regional economic and political grouping whose
\nmembers are Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines,
\nSingapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, ASEAN set up a forum for security cooperation,
\ncalled the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), to discuss security issues
\nwith the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia,
\nand New Zealand.<\/p>\n
APEC includes all but one member of ASEAN.<\/p>\n
Jusuf Wanandi, the chairman of CSIS supervisory board, said
\nthat APEC should move only on the economic front and not involve
\nitself in security issues. Instead, he suggested the need for
\ngreater participation of non-governmental organizations as \"an
\ninformal networking\" for creating better regional relations and
\ncooperation. (ego)<\/p>\n
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