Security the priority<\/p>\n
The presence of American troops in the southern Philippines to
\nfight extremist Abu Sayyaf rebels is proof enough that regional
\nnations have to look elsewhere for help. If ASEAN took a united
\nstand on the issue of security, Asians would be able to look
\nafter their own affairs instead of seeking assistance from
\noutside powers.<\/p>\n
The biggest problem is that ASEAN lacks cohesion. Indonesia's
\npresident Soeharto was a unifying voice, but the grouping has
\nbecome unwieldy. Given the political and economic variance
\nbetween ASEAN's members, its member nations have increasingly
\nadhered to the group's founding agreement of non-interference in
\none another's internal matters.<\/p>\n
This rule may have been acceptable a decade ago, but Sept. 11
\n(has) changed the world. The new threat is terrorism and, being a
\nglobal phenomenon, global rather than localized thinking is
\nnecessary to wipe it out.<\/p>\n
ASEAN does face problems in providing its own security to
\nfight such issues. Muslim forces from Malaysia and Indonesia
\ncould not be drafted to fight the Islamic fundamentalist Abu
\nSayyaf. But soldiers from other member nations such as Thailand
\nand Singapore surely could.<\/p>\n
In this new and dangerous era, ASEAN must surely make a stand
\nto face up to the expectations and needs of its people.<\/p>\n
-- South China Morning Post, Hong Kong<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/security-the-priority-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }