Drawing a new blueprint for ASEAN

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

The ninth ASEAN Summit kicked off on Tuesday, Oct. 6 to lay fresh political and strategic ground for a more prosperous, just and secure Southeast Asia region. The Bali Concord II is to act as new blueprint for ASEAN's future regional and international relations.

The Summit itself is historic for several reasons. First, it is held when ASEAN is facing tremendous political and strategic challenges from inside as well as outside the region. Second, during the Summit ASEAN is to decide new strategic and economic relations with China, India and Japan.

China and India reportedly are to sign their ascension to the Treaty and Amity of Cooperation, aimed at providing the basis of good conduct for all countries bound under the agreement.

Third, an ASEAN collective leadership is expected to appear as a new modality to execute its new program of actions. Fourth, the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit seeks to act as a forum for the ASEAN business community to seek regional opportunities.

Fifth, the summit will witness important bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit which is expected to facilitate solutions to bilateral problems.

The Summit's strategic significance lies not only in ASEAN's regional and global responsibility, but also in the commitment of external powers (India, China, Japan and, to a certain extent, Russia) to the region's peace and security. Their commitment will pave the way for greater engagements in regional and security matters.

As India, China and Russia prepare for an "alliance" with the Southeast Asian countries, the United States seems cool to the idea. America's friends in ASEAN, led by Brunei Darussalam and Singapore had, reportedly been urging Washington to sign the above treaty, an apparently crucial building block in the development of a security system in Asia.

Washington seemed to turn the offer down, probably viewing such a commitment as a restraint to U.S. freedom of action, the same argument they put forward against joining the International Court of Justice.

ASEAN has seen earlier engagements with India, Japan and China through regular dialog mechanisms. However the current move by such countries to be part of ASEAN's core security and economic activities merits special attention. Their engagement in ASEAN's "inner circle" reflects the fact that security and economic issues in the region really matter for their future policy toward the region.

For these countries, ASEAN is indeed strategic for the following reasons: (1) future regional problems in which their security and economy is at stake cannot be solved unless they maintain a cordial and long-term strategic relationship with ASEAN; (2) direct exchange of information with ASEAN will be much more secured, thus guaranteeing access to ASEAN's potential resources; and (3) a collective and more cohesive leadership of ASEAN would help those countries promote a more sound regional framework of security and economics, meaning that new approaches and initiatives they might offer to ASEAN might be accepted and executed without anyone being suspicious of the other's policies and actions.

Given that these countries will be permanently part of the ASEAN regional agenda will certainly provide the opportunity for ASEAN to continually express its approaches to new regional security and economic problems.

ASEAN must realize that strategic partnership with those countries is imperative if it is to be seen as more successful in tackling new regional security and economic issues.

A continuous long term strategic interaction between ASEAN and Japan, China and India and Russia, is not only politically desirable, but also necessary in an era of a high degree of interdependence.

Further, the Bali Concord II draws on the concepts of the ASEAN Security Community (ASC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and ASEAN Social and Cultural Community (ASCC). This will be a historical leap for ASEAN and it will be a new blueprint for the regional grouping, to be effective until 2020.

The Concord refers to agreements for a harmonious relationship. It is aimed at building peaceful and cooperative relations between states. Thus it contains a code of conduct, and serves as the basis for developing cooperation in politics, security, the economy and even social and cultural fields.

The Bali Concord I, established in the first ASEAN summit in 1976, was an attempt by ASEAN to regulate intra ASEAN relations. The Bali Concord II will be even more extensive as it reflects attempts by ASEAN to engage itself more effectively and intensively in various forms of regional cooperation.

The ninth ASEAN Summit sees ASEAN going all out to build a much more solid regional community following turbulent issues such as terrorism and nontraditional threats such as the trafficking of people, drugs and weaponry.

ASEAN now is more cognizant that security is comprehensive and encompasses the security of all fundamental needs, core values and vital interests of the individual state in every field. It also reflects the awareness that international and regional security is indivisible and mutual and can only be attained through common, cooperative and systematic efforts.

A great deal of regional investment is indeed needed for the realization of such a community. ASEAN therefore, after the Summit, has to intensify and coordinate its diplomatic efforts to secure the accomplishment of the Bali Concord II without any country in the region taking offense due to the initiatives of other countries taken in the framework of such a community. ASEAN is of course no stranger to controversy.

The Bali Concord II is set to give more diplomatic weight to ASEAN's international standing and regional diplomacy amid rapid changes in its strategic environment. ASEAN must now be prepared to go beyond its rhetoric as the world now begins to watch ASEAN's political and security performance more closely.

The regional body must press on in its commitment to fulfill its fundamental goals as stated in the 1967 Bangkok Declaration -- namely to maintain regional peace and security and develop friendly relations among countries in the region.

The starting point for these efforts must be acceptance that while ASEAN stands for ideals we must never relinquish, ASEAN and its Bali Concord II both reflect and shape new geopolitics of Southeast Asia.