Italian minister calls for Asian security framework

Italian minister calls for Asian security framework

JAKARTA (JP): Visiting Italian Minister of Defense Beniamino
Andreatta suggested yesterday a formal security agreement between
Asian nations, to create a concrete multilateral security
framework in the region.

Andreatta, visiting Indonesia after last week's ASEAN-European
Union foreign minister's meeting in Singapore, said the
establishment of a formal security institution would ensure
security in Asia.

"The idea is that the security problems should be addressed by
all the major powers collectively in an inclusive multilateral
framework, rather than by exclusive institutions each
unilaterally geared to impose its interests on the other,"
Andreatta said.

Andreatta was speaking at the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies yesterday, in a lecture titled Euro-Asian
Security: A European Perspective.

Andreatta suggested a "concert of powers" system be
established in Asia, in a fashion loosely based around the
Congress System established in Europe after the Congress of
Vienna in the 19th Century.

Andreatta described the question of China as "the key to Asian
security", and argued the best course in meeting China's
unpredictability was to engage and not isolate it from the
international system.

"This means that China should be involved in regional
decisions in an institutional process which like Europe's OSCE
(Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), involves
all the countries in the region."

The existence of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was brushed
aside by Andreatta: "Organizations like Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation or the ASEAN Regional Forum are either not universal
in their regional membership or they are not concerned with
security matters."

The ARF is hosted by members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and brings together its dialog partners,
observers and consultative partners in an annual security
meeting.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Andreatta said a concert system which included China was a
more attractive option than the creation of a system of mutually
restraining alliances.

China was too powerful and only by having a coalition of all
medium-sized powers with the full and active backing of the
United States could the alliance hope to compete, Andreatta said.

The creation of such an alliance, Andreatta added, could be
perceived negatively and only serve to spur a negative reaction
from China. A security alliance could also be a destabilizing
factor and detrimental to the region's rapid economic growth, he
said.

While ASEAN members have solidified cooperation in the
economic and social sphere, they have tended to shy away from
formal military arrangements; ASEAN has instead opted for
bilateral security arrangements.

Indonesia, the largest ASEAN member, is opposed to the
formation of military pacts. (mds)