Old problems plague ASEAN

Old problems plague ASEAN

Raju Gopalakrishnan, Reuters, Manila

When the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was being
expanded in the 1990s to include communist Vietnam, army-ruled
Myanmar and poverty-stricken Laos and Cambodia, many wondered if
the group's unity was at risk.

The earlier members -- Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Thailand and later Brunei -- had after all coalesced
over decades.

The first five formed ASEAN in 1967 in response to the wave of
communism emanating from China and Vietnam; they were all
unabashedly capitalist and, to varying degrees, democratic.

But when talk came up again this month of fresh tensions
within ASEAN, it was a hoary problem which has plagued only some
of the group's founder members -- territorial claims to Borneo.

The talk started in the Philippines, smarting under the
forcible expulsion of tens of thousands of its nationals living
illegally in the Malaysian part of Borneo. Children have died
while being sent back and there have been allegations of minors
being raped by Malaysian policemen.

"The core issue there is that the Philippines is feeling very
humiliated over this, tens of thousands of Filipinos are being
kicked out," said Teodoro Benigno, a Manila political columnist.

"It's the first time in our history that we have been kicked
out. We have become boat people."

The Philippines does not occupy any part of Borneo, a huge
island square in the middle of Southeast Asia and home to fast-
dwindling tropical rain forests and valuable minerals.

It is mostly divided between Indonesia and Malaysia and Brunei
occupies a small corner.

Indonesia and Malaysia, both founder-members of ASEAN, were in
a state of undeclared war in the early 1960s over territorial
disputes and other differences. The Philippines, also a founder
member, lays claim to the northern part of Borneo, called Sabah,
which is just a few miles from its waters.

But in the last three and a half decades, these countries have
found ASEAN unity, its movement toward a free-trade area and
increasing clout as an economic bloc more rewarding than
contentious territorial disputes.

And it looks likely to remain that way.

"The Sabah territorial issue will simply lead to a lot of
smoke and sound and fury but it will die down," said Benigno.

"They (ASEAN members) are engaged in mutually advantageous
programs and projects. ASEAN is a very important international
organization and the Philippines certainly will see the merit of
keeping (harmony)."

Indonesia, which has also seen tens of thousands of its
workers driven home by tough new Malaysian laws against illegals,
has deliberately played down tensions. Senior government
ministers have urged newspapers and local leaders to avoid
emotive talk and respect the other country's laws.

What helps, diplomats say, is the non-confrontational,
consensus-driven diplomacy which has become ASEAN's trademark
over the years.

"The important thing is that in ASEAN we have learned to look
at regional problems and work together to deal with them," said
Rodolfo Severino, the group's secretary-general.

He spoke of other problems -- several differences between
Malaysia and Singapore and forest fires on Indonesia's part of
Borneo every now and then casting a choking haze over Malaysia
and Singapore.

"These problems are serious but ASEAN provides a framework, a
regional venue, for countries to deal with them bilaterally if
necessary or regionally...there is an environment which
encourages these things to be resolved in an orderly way."

Mohamed Ariff, executive director at the Malaysian Institute
of Economic Research, agreed that the Sabah and workers issues
would not affect ASEAN overmuch, but said Kuala Lumpur should
have been more careful.

"We need to handle these things tactfully," he said,
suggesting more contact with neighbors before the policy on
illegal immigrants came into effect might have helped.

On the revived talk over Sabah, he said: "It's kind of
tit-for-tat stuff. These are some of the unintended outcomes of
these exercises."

In the corridors of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital, one
of ASEAN's ministerial meetings was being held this week without
a trace of worry.

"It's not an issue," said Zainal Abidin Sulong, chairman of
the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and a participant
at the meeting, said of the illegals and the territorial
problems.

No one had talked about it during the deliberations, he said.