U.S. move threatens ASEAN's plan

Mohd Roslan Mohd Saludin, The Star, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

The United States is considering deploying marines and special operations forces on high-speed vessels along the Straits of Malacca to flush out terrorists in one of the world's busiest waterways.

A quarter of the world's commerce and half of the world's oil supply pass through the strait each year. Ten million barrels of crude oil arrive from the Persian Gulf heading eastward daily toward China, South Korea and Japan.

The deployment of U.S. forces along the narrow strait straddling Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia would be part of Washington's new counter-terrorism initiative to help Southeast Asia, said Admiral Thomas Fargo, top U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Regional Maritime Security Initiative is being devised by the United States military with questionable intent to combat transnational threats like proliferation, terrorism, trafficking in humans and drugs, and piracy.

Meanwhile defense ministers and military chiefs from 21 Asian countries and major Western powers gathered in Singapore over the weekend where U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld outlined Washington's security strategy for the region and its plans in Iraq.

He diplomatically avoided mentioning specific U.S. deployment of forces to placate moderate Muslim countries Indonesia and Malaysia over reports that the United States would be prepared to deploy elite troops in the Malacca Straits, a key waterway in between ports in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Earlier last week, in Tokyo, speaking at an annual symposium organized by Japan's leading business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun, whose theme this year was on laying the groundwork for Asia's regional integration, Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reiterated "commitment to global friendship, calm and stability, justice and balance -- things we need for our region's fast and sustainable development."

Senior Minister Lee of Singapore told the audience of several hundred in the same forum that Asia should focus on regional integration and avoid the problems that beset the Middle East. Both leaders seem to have a committed stand on regional cooperation and regional integration, maintaining peace and security through cooperation and consultation.

To the Americans, control over the Straits of Malacca is as important as controlling locations paramount to Macdonald's fast food outlets. By analogy the U.S. government places the same importance on location and strategic control.

ASEAN, in its ministerial meeting in August 2002, announced increased co-operation against terrorism, strengthening border patrols, facilitating intelligence sharing, improving investigation methods and extradition laws. The U.S. should consider giving this initiative a chance rather than imposing or getting itself directly involved like it had in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.

Understandably, President George W. Bush came to office with the intent to strengthen U.S. involvement and engagement in Southeast Asia. He was particularly concerned over the emergence of East Asian regionalism (ASEAN+3) that excluded the United States.

Economically, ASEAN is important to the United States as its third largest overseas market for U.S. exports, absorbing three times the U.S. exports to China.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia strongly feel they are ready with greater capacity to govern their territories.

Both resisted the U.S. leadership role in the region, preferring greater autonomy and reliance on ASEAN measures to thwart any effort to delimit perceptions of the extent of the security threat and prevent terrorism from expanding in the region.

The American style of Hollywood imagination to peg the channel as a perfect site for an ambush should not be allowed to work in the region like it did to Iraq.

Malaysia and Indonesia are adamant on preserving whatever is left of their sovereignty and dignity as nations and members of ASEAN.

Certainly the deployment of foreign forces within the region is a bad alternative. The Philippines dislike the presence of American troops in the Subic Bay. The Japanese generally regard American presence in Okinawa as a pain in the neck.

It is most unlikely that Malaysians and Indonesians would react otherwise, having learnt from past experiences.

Another lesson from the history of these parts is that while the rest of the Muslim world was won by conquest, Islam's success in Southeast Asia came from traders and preachers who spread Prophet Muhammad's eternal message of tolerance and moderation.

Islam in Southeast Asia has long been viewed as tolerant and moderate. The existence and continuous growth of a strong class of moderate, democratic Muslim voices can hopefully show and prove that Islam is open, democratic and able to support economic and social development -- a key factor in maintaining peace, security and peaceful coexistence nationally, regionally and globally.

The present the government's effort to reinforce "Islamic Hadari" is an example of consistent effort by the leadership, government and people of Malaysia to nurture what is lacking in our world today -- an understanding of human behavior based on their values and surroundings.

We are committed to strengthen our own brand of democracy, build our confidence based on national pride, dignity, self- respect and sovereignty.

We say yes to assistance given to us to strengthen our own unique democracy, to sharing of intelligence information and yes to security cooperation but we say no to U.S. military presence in the Straits of Malacca that belittle our defense and security capabilities and threatens our sovereignty.

Thus the U.S. should reconsider direct interference in the strait and let us deal with it among us.