Ocean peacekeeping for safe passage

Ocean peacekeeping for safe passage

Bantarto Bandoro, Jakarta

Among the international community, with its broad range of
interdependent relationships, security has become a far-reaching
concept that includes the preservation of international peace.
Peacekeeping has long been referred to as a field operation under
the auspices of the United Nations.

The recent initiative by the three littoral states --
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- to establish a coordinated
patrol of the Strait of Malacca, is particularly significant amid
the increasing threat of piracy and possible terrorist attacks.

The coordinated patrol is also an opportunity for other
countries to consider regional cooperation at sea.

Maritime affairs, including the protection of the environment,
marine resources and piracy are, for littoral states, a priority.

The idea of ocean peacekeeping can be traced back to the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which
established a basis for the effective use of the ocean for the
future of mankind. The protection of sea lanes, for example,
requires the cooperative efforts of all countries, and the
convention clarifies the rights and obligations of contracting
parties.

Peacekeeping issues have exhaustively been debated by
countries in the region under the Asean Regional Forum (ARF)
since the mid 1990s. However, since 2001, the ARF has rarely
discussed the subject of peacekeeping. ARF member states accept a
conventional understanding of peacekeeping, namely national
militaries operating under the auspices of the UN.

The ARF has constantly repeated that peacekeeping remains an
issue for the UN. Indonesia recently proposed that ASEAN should
have at its disposal an ASEAN peacekeeping mechanism. However,
ASEAN or ARF peacekeeping ignores, to an extent, recent
developments at sea.

Lack of security at sea does, of course, have serious
repercussions for security on land. Given increasing threats at
sea, it is vital that the region of Southeast Asia in particular
initiate multilateral arrangements that specifically address
common maritime problems -- such as environmental protection,
smuggling, safety navigation, maritime piracy or even terrorism
-- in the form of ocean peacekeeping.

Ocean peacekeeping involves international cooperation between
regional navies and maritime policing organizations to conduct
surveillance activities, intended not only to protect and manage
marine resources and conserve the environment, but also to
protect the sea from becoming fertile "ground" for attacks.

The solution to long-term genuine security in Southeast Asia
may be at sea. The recent proposal that there should be regular
interregional navy cooperation is one way of keeping the navy
continually informed about developments at sea.

If ocean peacekeeping in Southeast Asia is feasible, it should
be based on the view that obstructions to the sustainable use of
the sea are a common threat.

Southeast Asian interregional navy cooperation has existed for
some time, but now, with the fusion of various threats, it is
imperative to act to keep those threats at bay.

Navies must expand upon their traditional duties -- that is to
include not just activities dealing with armed conflicts in the
sea, but also those relating to ocean governance.

The ocean peacekeeping activities of Southeast Asian countries
may be carried out based on regional arrangements, or a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) between them.

Given the spirit of Southeast Asian nations to continually
work together, and believing that they face a common threat at
sea -- albeit a long-term one, an ocean peacekeeping mechanism
seems like a logical solution. It is, however, entirely different
from peacekeeping carried out under the resolution of the UN
Security Council -- in the sense that regional ocean peacekeeping
does not require a UN mandate.

Cooperation for ocean peacekeeping should be considered part
of discussions on regional security.

Because the flow of goods to the region of Southeast Asia is
mostly via sea, it is important that ocean peacekeeping be
focused on the security of commercial sea lanes, with navies and
marine police given a special role in the operation. For this to
happen, coastal states in Southeast Asia must be granted
jurisdiction under regional agreements or MOUs.

Such an agreement would empower a littoral state to crack down
on the violation of its laws and regulations by sea vessels, even
those within the exclusive economic zone of another country. This
would seem to reflect in the decision of Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore to act together in the Strait of Malacca. Thus, the
basic foundation for ocean peacekeeping in an ASEAN context is
already in place.

While taking into consideration the ability and situation of
each country in the region, it is timely to intensify the debate
over various issues arising from the ocean-peacekeeping concept.
ASEAN should look into the possibility that ocean peacekeeping be
part of the activities of its Security Community.

The writer (bandoro@csis.or.id) is editor of The Indonesian
Quarterly of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS). He is also a lecturer at the University of Indonesia.