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.