ASEAN agrees to empower regional security option

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to commence building a regional security community, and while member countries agreed to set a new benchmark for the cooperation, the road ahead may prove bumpy.

In the draft action plan for the upcoming ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), the regional grouping agreed to be more frank in discussing their domestic political issues and to make concerted efforts in addressing security problems.

"We agreed to empower regional options in dealing with various political and security issues within the region," foreign ministry spokesman and director general of ASEAN cooperation Marty Natalegawa said on Monday.

In the 37th AMM on June 30, foreign ministers of ASEAN member states are to discuss and formulate a set of concrete actions to establish a regional security mechanism.

Among its key issues, the ministers are slated to reach an agreement on peacekeeping measures should a conflict situation arise between member countries.

The draft also includes a plan for education and training in human rights as a lead-up to establishing an ASEAN human rights commission in the future.

In addition, a discussion is planned on the declaration of an ASEAN Charter, in which all member countries agreed not just to be a good neighbor, but also a partner in maintaining peace in the region.

Marty noted the action plan received cautious support, a far less enthusiastic response than that for the original proposal by Indonesia, with most member countries underlining that the security community should not trespass their sovereignty.

"The approved draft action plan contains far less than the original document we prepared, but we appreciate member countries' agreeing that the points can be exhausted in future," Marty said.

The ASEAN Security Community (ASC) concept was proposed by Indonesia last year at a ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh, when the country took over the rotating chairmanship of the regional grouping.

The concept broaches sensitive political and security issues with an aim to open ASEAN countries to discussing and solving all regional problems.

The original action plan proposed by Indonesia suggested the formation of an ASEAN peacekeeping force and human rights commission, and making a united effort against corruption.

Under the banner of political development, Indonesia also proposed open discussions among member countries on their respective political situations.

Marty said the original plan met with huge challenges from member countries, with some commenting that it was more like a solution to nonexistent problems, as so far, no serious political constellation has formed among ASEAN members.

"Some said Indonesia was trying to impose its way among ASEAN countries and was being a busybody for suggesting it," he said.

But after a year of discussions, senior officials of member countries were ready to accept that a security community -- along with an economic community and a cultural community -- were among those necessary pillars to build a stronger ASEAN by 2020.

During the coming summit, Indonesia will host dozens of other ministerial gatherings -- not just from ASEAN, but also from its dialog partners, including United States Secretary of State Colin Powell at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

"We are all aware that the ongoing situation in Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula and Iraq will be in the air at the meeting," Marty said.

ASEAN has yet to issue a unified stance on the planned handover of Iraq authority, while the regional issues of democratization in Myanmar and the nuclear crisis on Korean Peninsula have yet to see any development since the ARF meeting last year in Phnom Penh.