ASEAN senior officials discuss Pacific Concord

ASEAN senior officials discuss Pacific Concord

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Senior officials from the Association of
Southeast Nations (ASEAN) yesterday explored the possibility of
ensuring even greater regional security by establishing a Pacific
Concord and a Code of Conduct for the Spratlys.

The proposal for the establishment of the Concord and the Code
was presented by non-government experts at the ASEAN think tank
known as the ASEAN-ISIS. The group is often referred to as
'track-two'.

The Pacific Concord would be similar to that of the existing
Treaty of Amity of Cooperation, but wider in scope in order to
accommodate the participants of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The Pacific Concord is proposed in the expectation that it
would set in motion the establishment of principles and norms to
govern security and political cooperation in the Asia Pacific
region.

The need for the Concord comes from the continuing disputes
among ASEAN members on whether non-member states would in the
future be allowed to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

"We have now received input from the 'track-two' which
proposes this method," the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Director
General of Political Affairs Izhar Ibrahim said yesterday.

He maintained, however, that officials have yet to deliberate
on the matter and that no decision has been taken by the meeting.

The Concord includes adherence to the principles of non-
interference in domestic affairs, the right to choose political
and economic doctrines, and respect for each others' territorial
integrity.

The discussion on the issue was held during the second day of
the three-day ASEAN senior officials meeting. It featured
representatives of the Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies, including Jusuf Wanandi, Hadi Susastro and
Kusnanto Anggoro.

ASEAN, a regional grouping formed in 1967, comprises Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.

In July 1993, it established the ARF as a multilateral
security consultative forum which includes Australia, Cambodia,
Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, Laos, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

A second important proposal presented by representatives from
the think-tank yesterday was a Code of Conduct for the Spratlys.

The code is designed to help contribute to the promotion of
stable regional order in the South China Sea.

Four ASEAN states, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and
Vietnam, along with non-members China and Taiwan have overlapping
claims in the area.

The fundamental principles of the code could be based on the
existing multilateral agreements such as United Nations
conventions and other ASEAN treaties.

The experts said the code should include renunciation of the
use of force, and the need for self-restraint so that no more
expansionist attempts are made in the area. It should also
explore cooperation on peaceful uses of the South China Sea and
agreement that disputes would not affect the development of
normal bilateral relations.

Izhar said the experts' proposals "would be considered" and
acknowledged that they had not been fully deliberated on by the
government officials during the meeting.

"Generally, there's an agreement to let the 'track-two'
continue because its decisions are not binding," he said. "If
there are good ones, we can take them up." (mds)