U.S. move threatens ASEAN's plan

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.