ASEAN: Moving on the right track (1)
ASEAN: Moving on the right track (1)
By Vitit Muntarbhorn
This is the first of two articles examining the path the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations has taken thus far. The
1995 ASEAN Summit will take place at the end of this month.
BANGKOK: The roots of regionalism in the Post-World War II
period can be traced back to the United Nations Charter which
provided for the possibility of regional approaches and
arrangements.
However, the components of regionalism were left undefined,
indicating much leeway for evolution after 1945. History has proved
since then that regionalism can take many forms for a variety of
purposes, varying between political and security pacts to economic,
social and cultural cooperation. Regional mechanisms range from
integrated and closely knit entities verging on a union of the
member states to looser conglomerations, such as an association
based upon a specific set of objectives subject to gradual
cooperation.
A recent publication of the United Nations identifies the
following ingredients of regionalism, evident at this point in time.
" -- three or more geographically proximate states
-- mutual dependence arising from common interests
-- defined by an ad hoc problem
-- and interrelated units whose activities are significant
determinants of each other's policies."
The path towards regionalism in Southeast Asia has
oscillated between a variety of regional approaches. In the post
World War II period, the rise of the Cold War and conflictual
undercurrents between the Western bloc and the
communist/socialist bloc were deeply felt in the region, and the
early alliances in Southeast Asia were of a political and
security kind. This was exemplified by the formation of the South
East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) which was a security pact
involving not only the countries of Southeast Asia but also their
"guarantors" from the West who saw it innately as a defense
organization against communist threats in the region.
Various politico-economic alliances, with less of a focus on
security matters, were experimented with before 1967, for
example, Maphilindo (between Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia)
and the Association of Southeast Asia (between the non-communist
countries of the region). However, these failed to materialize,
and it was only in 1967 that there emerged the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Initially, there were five
member countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
and the Philippines. Much later, Brunei joined, and in 1995
Vietnam is set to become the seventh member country.
Interestingly, at the outset ASEAN did not set out expressly
to be a regional organization of a political mold. The 1967
founding instrument -- the Bangkok Declaration -- did not even
use the term "political" in its objectives. The seven specific
aims of ASEAN were as follows:
-- acceleration of economic growth, social progress and
cultural development in the region;
-- promotion of regional peace and stability through abiding
respect for justice and the rule of law in the region and
adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
-- collaboration and assistance on matters of common interest
in the economic, social cultural, technical, scientific and
administrative fields;
-- mutual assistance in the education, professional, technical
and administrative fields;
-- collaboration in regard to agriculture, industries,
trade, services and improved standards of living;
-- promotion with other international and regional
organizations of a similar nature.
Throughout the years, ASEAN has placed great emphasis on
consensus-building (Mushyawarah/Mufakat). There is no
supranational ASEAN institution with powers to override national
sovereignty. However, there are various annual ministerial
meetings and sporadic Heads of Government Summits to propel
activities, assisted by the ASEAN Secretariat situated in
Jakarta. The administrative structure is replete with committees
covering an array of issues.
It is in the political field that the weight of ASEAN has
been felt most strongly in recent decades. While the political
impact of ASEAN has been significant, its other initiatives in
the economic, social and cultural areas have lagged behind.
In this light, its "successes" have often been in its
"extra-regional" interaction with outsiders rather than its
"intra-regional" interaction between the ASEAN member countries
themselves, with the political domain benefiting most from this
interaction. A continual question is whether it can broaden the
benefits of cooperation beyond the political field.
As ASEAN approaches the next century, it is intriguing to
prospect whether it will innovate and reinvent itself in a more
comprehensive manner or be relegated to a degree of obsolescence
when faced with other emerging regional systems in its proximity.
At this juncture, the roots of cooperation in the political
and security field deserve closer attention.
At its inception in 1967, there were already present many
bilateral disputes between the member countries of ASEAN, for
example a territorial dispute between the Philippines and
Malaysia over Sabah. The advent of ASEAN helped to accommodate
these disputes and to reduce bilateral conflicts by means of
regional cooperation.
During the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, the pre-
occupation of Southeast Asia was the war in Indochina, seen by many
as a war between communism and capitalism in the region. Outside
powers were involved directly and indirectly, witnessed by the
presence of U.S. and other western forces supporting one polarity
in Indochina, on the one hand, and the policy of the Soviet Union
and China supporting the other polarity, on the other hand. ASEAN
countries were part and parcel of the former and spent most of
their energy countering what they perceived to be a communist
threat in the region. In 1971 the foreign Ministers of ASEAN met
to adopt the notion of Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality as a
means of neutralizing Southeast Asia in the midst of this
conflict. Cooperation between ASEAN countries at the regional
level, beyond the area of politics and security, was almost non-
existent.
The ASEAN heads of government did not meet at a Summit until
1975 in Bali. Significantly, this was the year when the U.S.
withdrew its troops from Indochina, and the governments of
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia changed hands; communism prevailed in
these countries. The withdrawal of the U.S. from the region must
have created nervous jitters in the ASEAN regional which felt
that the security umbrella previously accorded by the U.S. could
no longer be relied upon. It was this crisis that led to a closer
alignment between ASEAN countries as a political umbrella for
themselves with implications for their security, even though they
did wish to go as far as to convert ASEAN into a military bloc.
The instrument for closer cooperation was a series of
initiatives taken at the Bali Summit. The Declaration of ASEAN
Concord was adopted outlining new areas of cooperation,
especially in the economic and commercial field, paving the way
to programs for cooperation. ASEAN also concertized its first
treaty -- the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation which highlighted
various yardsticks for peace and security derived from the United
Nations Charter, with a clear message for ASEAN and its neighbors
as follows:
* mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty,
equality, territorial integrity and national identify of all
nations;
* the right of every State to lead its national existence
free from external interference, subversion or coercion;
* non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;
* renunciation of the threat of use of force.
The treaty also provided for the possibility of a dispute
settlement mechanism in the form of a High Council. However, the
latter has never been established.
Window A: Interestingly, at the outset ASEAN did not set out
expressly to be a regional organization of a political mould.
Window B: It is in the political field that the weight of ASEAN
has been felt most strongly in recent decades.