How serious is ASEAN about security?

How serious is ASEAN about security?

Kavi Chongkittavorn, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok

Whenever there is a conflict within the region, ASEAN member
countries immediately refer to the "ASEAN way" as a possible
solution. In the grouping's language, this means only one thing:
Non-interference. The conventional wisdom goes like this: Let the
situation run its course and do not force a solution on it.
Everything will be fine in the end. This cardinal principle, so
ASEAN boasts, has prevented wars among its members since 1967.

At the end of last month Indonesia, the current chair of
ASEAN, circulated a concept paper that will, if approved, lead to
the establishment of a regional peace-keeping force. Such a move
will shake the non-interference principle. The proposal is part
of the Draft Plan of Action for an ASEAN Security Community.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda was serious when
he said there was a "crying need" for ASEAN countries to
strengthen their shared conflict-resolution mechanism. He pointed
out that internal conflicts within the individual member
countries sometimes spilt over, affecting the rest of the region.

Sad but true. Throughout the grouping's 37-year history, the
members of ASEAN have tended to view any attempt at conflict
resolution as an act of interference rather than a collective
endeavor to bring peace. If ASEAN is serious about establishing a
regional peace-keeping force, a change of mind set among members
is necessary.

Indonesia is in a good position to push for the creation of
regional peacekeeping forces. Jakarta learned valuable lessons
from the struggle for independence by East Timor and continues to
do so from the current strife in Aceh. Both situations required
intervention from the international community.

Confronted with mounting international pressure to end the
violence in East Timor and accept international peace-keeping
forces, former Indonesian president BJ Habibie opted to save face
by turning to his neighbors, asking ASEAN members to send peace-
keepers. However, there was no consensus on deployment within the
grouping, only Thailand and the Philippines taking up the
challenge.

According to former Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan, who
was the ASEAN chairman at the time, Indonesia wanted to see its
ASEAN colleagues dispatch a large number of peace-keepers to East
Timor, preferring its neighbors' troops to international ones.
ASEAN, as a grouping, was reluctant to send troops, leaving
Bangkok and Manila to join the Australian-led international
forces that ended up being deployed.

Similarly, the two ASEAN countries formed the peace-keeping
contingent in Aceh last January when the Cessation of Hostility
Agreement between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement came into
effect. However, after a stint of just five months, the two
countries pulled their forces out of the troubled province last
May following the breakdown of the cease-fire.

Indonesia was extremely grateful for the Thai and Philippine
contributions to the country's security and stability. It is no
secret that Jakarta would like to use this tangible example of
cooperation as a building block for any future ASEAN regional
peace-keeping arrangement.

The experience of Thailand and the Philippines, coupled with
the skills Malaysia picked up during its peace-keeping operations
in Africa and Bosnia-Herzegovina, would serve as a foundation for
the training of a regional force. Malaysia has the most
experienced peace-keeping forces in the region and could play a
leading role in the future.

Although Indonesia is moving towards a transitional period
with presidential and national elections set to take place in
coming months, its foreign ministry has decided to move ahead
with its proposed plan of action, with an eye to making a
regional peace-keeping force a part of the broader framework of
the ASEAN Security Community by 2020.

Such a force will give ASEAN an option of its own when it
comes to matters of security. In a way, time is short as the
international political atmosphere in the wake of the September
11 attacks in the U.S. and the Iraq War demands that the region
come up with its own strategies to deal with new uncertainties.
To this day ASEAN lacks a conflict-resolution policy of its own.

Clearly the security process in ASEAN will be accelerated if
the international situation becomes tense and pressure continues.
It is characteristic of ASEAN to close ranks to ward off attempts
at outside interference when they arise. A regional-force
arrangement would insulate the region from such interference. The
Korean Peninsula, Indonesia's civil war, Burma's political
turmoil and countless other trans-national issues provide enough
reasons for ASEAN to get serious.

The Indonesian proposal calls for an incremental approach to
creating a regional peace-keeping force. At the upcoming foreign
ministerial meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia hopes that ASEAN
members will agree to a step-by-step effort to network and
exchange knowledge and know-how on peace-keeping operations.

When the comfort level among the member countries reaches the
point where a more institutional step can be taken, the grouping
can proceed to the second level by setting up a regional peace-
keeping institute.

Although such guidelines appear congenial to ASEAN's modus
operandi, somehow the member countries are not enthusiastic. Last
Thursday, during the ASEAN retreat at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, the
idea only received only cautious support. Most of ASEAN foreign
ministers said they were concerned that a peace-keeping force
would dilute the non-interference principle. They recommended
their senior officials to study the proposal and come up with
recommendations in July.

Also worth noting is that during the summit meeting in Bali,
ASEAN leaders reiterated forcefully, as articulated in the Bali
Concord II statement, that they would adhere to the non-
interference principle and that ASEAN would never become a
military bloc.

The UN is ready to provide any ASEAN peace-keeping force with
training on conflict prevention and resolution and post-conflict
peace-building. Some members have signed stand-by agreements with
the UN, under which UN peace-keeping forces can be drawn from
signatories' reserves in cases of emergency.

ASEAN cooperates best under pressure, whether from the process
of globalization or from shifting strategic configurations. That
seems to be the way to go for the creation of any ASEAN regional
peace-keeping arrangement.