ASEAN's noninterference principle to be tested

ASEAN's noninterference principle to be tested

Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, 'The Indonesian Quarterly',
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta,
bandoro@csis.or.id

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) are convening for their annual meeting in Phnom
Penh. The meeting takes place at the height of political problems
occurring in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi, the prodemocracy leader,
has been detained following violent clashes between her
supporters and a progovernment mob.

Her detention has thrown further doubt on the process of
democracy in Myanmar. Its junta government is under pressure to
release the opposition leader. The United Nations has sent its
envoy to Myanmar, while the U.S. is threatening to impose new
sanctions against Myanmar should Yangon not release Suu Kyi.

The issue of Myanmar has been on the regional agenda even
before its admittance into ASEAN. Now that Myanmar is a part of
ASEAN's activities, its internal problems will be more exposed.
ASEAN has always hoped for a peaceful change and reconciliation
to break the political stalemate.

ASEAN, too, perhaps has to be more alert as the political
developments in Myanmar should not destabilize the region or
ASEAN's regional cooperation. The question now is whether ASEAN,
which has been together more than three decades, is willing to
speak out louder against Suu Kyi's arrest, thus making the
Myanmar problem one of ASEAN's.

During his visit to Myanmar, UN special envoy to Myanmar
Razali Ismail said that various approaches had not worked so far,
and neither had the western government's direct pressure nor the
"softly, softly" engagement line pursued by Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad. It is for these reasons that the envoy
called for action from Myanmar's nine partners in ASEAN in
particular, as well as India, Japan and China.

The concerns of some of the members of the international
community over the detention of Myanmar's opposition leader
reflects the belief that progress toward democratic development
in the region as a whole cannot be halted. ASEAN's regional
cooperation and its cooperation with other extraregional entities
should not be held hostage to Myanmar's domestic problems. It is
the hope of ASEAN that the political situation in Myanmar will
not hamper the coming Phnom Penh ministerial meeting.

Should the situation in Myanmar worsen, no one can guarantee
that the issue of Myanmar will not destabilize the region. As
ASEAN concentrates on maintaining security and stability in the
region, its view on the Myanmar problem is that the generals in
Yangon have to relax political control and start reforms or
things will deteriorate.

The problem with Myanmar is that the regime is incapable of
initiating a change from within, nor has external pressure forced
the junta to drop its repressive policies. But this is not to say
that ASEAN has no room to exert pressure on the regime in Yangon
to bring the issue to a closed-door meeting among ASEAN member
countries.

Being the pillar of regional stability, ASEAN is definitely
not in a position to sacrifice its regional security just by
letting developments in Myanmar undermine the basic fundamentals
of Southeast Asian regional cooperation and collaboration.

What used to be regarded as unthinkable from the bloc, that is
outspoken statements by ASEAN, now have to be made thinkable if
ASEAN is to be seen as more mature and credible in solving their
internal political problems.

It is in a way understandable why ASEAN has so far been of
little significance to the solution for Myanmar's domestic
problems. ASEAN, hamstrung by its noninterference principle, has
been largely silent. It has been even more silent with regard to
the current developments in Myanmar. ASEAN Secretary-General Ong
Keng Yong made its stance clear during his visit to Kuala Lumpur
last week when he said "you cannot go in and tell your family
member you cannot do this, you cannot do that". This kind of
observation is a manifestation of ASEAN's unchanged commitment
toward its sacred noninterference principle.

ASEAN has to be aware of the fact that it is living in a more
transparent and challenging world, meaning there will be room for
certain international issues to intrude, undetectedly, into their
domestic setting. Therefore, regional political collaboration is
imperative if ASEAN is to avoid serious repercussions from this
intrusion. A more challenging world is also sending out the
message that a policy of inaction does no good for regional
cooperation.

Perhaps, because of the current developments in Myanmar and
other international issues, such as terrorism, it is about time
that ASEAN abandoned its principle of noninterference, so that
ASEAN's ability in the future to solve its internal problems can
be improved.

It might not be appropriate for ASEAN to drop the principle
from ASEAN's protocol of solving regional problems, but with
rapid regional and global development and their implications,
ASEAN cannot just let itself become a spectator in these
developments. Myanmar is only one example where ASEAN has been
quite silent. ASEAN has to explore ways in which to break the
stalemate in Yangon.

It is against this background that our Minister of Foreign
Affairs Hassan Wirayuda was reported as saying that Indonesia
plans to propose an ASEAN security community to discuss internal
problems as an advanced political cooperation among ASEAN member
countries. The principles in the current ASEAN cooperation have
provided the basis for this security community, but these
principles would have to be adjusted to the reality of regional
politics.

How should ASEAN treat its principle of noninterference in the
framework of a security community? Its members would have to
decide whether this principle was still relevant, or whether the
principle should continue to be the main feature of ASEAN's
security community.