Old problems plague ASEAN<\/p>\n
Raju Gopalakrishnan, Reuters, Manila<\/p>\n
When the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was being
\nexpanded in the 1990s to include communist Vietnam, army-ruled
\nMyanmar and poverty-stricken Laos and Cambodia, many wondered if
\nthe group's unity was at risk.<\/p>\n
The earlier members -- Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines,
\nIndonesia, Thailand and later Brunei -- had after all coalesced
\nover decades.<\/p>\n
The first five formed ASEAN in 1967 in response to the wave of
\ncommunism emanating from China and Vietnam; they were all
\nunabashedly capitalist and, to varying degrees, democratic.<\/p>\n
But when talk came up again this month of fresh tensions
\nwithin ASEAN, it was a hoary problem which has plagued only some
\nof the group's founder members -- territorial claims to Borneo.<\/p>\n
The talk started in the Philippines, smarting under the
\nforcible expulsion of tens of thousands of its nationals living
\nillegally in the Malaysian part of Borneo. Children have died
\nwhile being sent back and there have been allegations of minors
\nbeing raped by Malaysian policemen.<\/p>\n
"The core issue there is that the Philippines is feeling very
\nhumiliated over this, tens of thousands of Filipinos are being
\nkicked out," said Teodoro Benigno, a Manila political columnist.<\/p>\n
"It's the first time in our history that we have been kicked
\nout. We have become boat people."<\/p>\n
The Philippines does not occupy any part of Borneo, a huge
\nisland square in the middle of Southeast Asia and home to fast-
\ndwindling tropical rain forests and valuable minerals.<\/p>\n
It is mostly divided between Indonesia and Malaysia and Brunei
\noccupies a small corner.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Malaysia, both founder-members of ASEAN, were in
\na state of undeclared war in the early 1960s over territorial
\ndisputes and other differences. The Philippines, also a founder
\nmember, lays claim to the northern part of Borneo, called Sabah,
\nwhich is just a few miles from its waters.<\/p>\n
But in the last three and a half decades, these countries have
\nfound ASEAN unity, its movement toward a free-trade area and
\nincreasing clout as an economic bloc more rewarding than
\ncontentious territorial disputes.<\/p>\n
And it looks likely to remain that way.<\/p>\n
"The Sabah territorial issue will simply lead to a lot of
\nsmoke and sound and fury but it will die down," said Benigno.<\/p>\n
"They (ASEAN members) are engaged in mutually advantageous
\nprograms and projects. ASEAN is a very important international
\norganization and the Philippines certainly will see the merit of
\nkeeping (harmony)."<\/p>\n
Indonesia, which has also seen tens of thousands of its
\nworkers driven home by tough new Malaysian laws against illegals,
\nhas deliberately played down tensions. Senior government
\nministers have urged newspapers and local leaders to avoid
\nemotive talk and respect the other country's laws.<\/p>\n
What helps, diplomats say, is the non-confrontational,
\nconsensus-driven diplomacy which has become ASEAN's trademark
\nover the years.<\/p>\n
"The important thing is that in ASEAN we have learned to look
\nat regional problems and work together to deal with them," said
\nRodolfo Severino, the group's secretary-general.<\/p>\n
He spoke of other problems -- several differences between
\nMalaysia and Singapore and forest fires on Indonesia's part of
\nBorneo every now and then casting a choking haze over Malaysia
\nand Singapore.<\/p>\n
"These problems are serious but ASEAN provides a framework, a
\nregional venue, for countries to deal with them bilaterally if
\nnecessary or regionally...there is an environment which
\nencourages these things to be resolved in an orderly way."<\/p>\n
Mohamed Ariff, executive director at the Malaysian Institute
\nof Economic Research, agreed that the Sabah and workers issues
\nwould not affect ASEAN overmuch, but said Kuala Lumpur should
\nhave been more careful.<\/p>\n
"We need to handle these things tactfully," he said,
\nsuggesting more contact with neighbors before the policy on
\nillegal immigrants came into effect might have helped.<\/p>\n
On the revived talk over Sabah, he said: "It's kind of
\ntit-for-tat stuff. These are some of the unintended outcomes of
\nthese exercises."<\/p>\n
In the corridors of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital, one
\nof ASEAN's ministerial meetings was being held this week without
\na trace of worry.<\/p>\n
"It's not an issue," said Zainal Abidin Sulong, chairman of
\nthe Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and a participant
\nat the meeting, said of the illegals and the territorial
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
No one had talked about it during the deliberations, he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/old-problems-plague-asean-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }