Don Emmerson’s diatribe, published in The Jakarta Post’s Feb. 25 edition, against the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is typical of a scholar who has forgotten what ASEAN is all about.
As an expert on the subject, Emmerson should understand that ASEAN consists of individual state members that strongly uphold the principle of sovereignty. ASEAN state members take collective action on issues of international or regional interest only if they can come to an agreement as a group. That is why ASEAN is not a supra-national entity.
External powers, including the US, consider ASEAN the center of the region. Nonetheless, ASEAN+1 meetings, such as the recent ASEAN-US summit in Sunnylands, should not try to make ASEAN a united front against any other country — in this case against China on the South China Sea issue.
It is not up to external powers to decide how the countries in Southeast Asia should manage their relations with China. I, for one, believe that Indonesia can manage its foreign relations well as a sovereign country, as it has done so for decades since independence.
Other members of ASEAN may take a different approach to their foreign policy, and that is their choice, in accordance with their sovereign rights.
On the South China Sea, ASEAN should remain a united front by holding regular dialogue through which each member state can convey its stance and policies, while at the same time maintaining understanding and cooperation with China. ASEAN states fully realize the difficulty of maintaining a united front, as only four are claimant states. In this regard, ASEAN states recognize that their efforts may have limited outcomes.
Although facing difficulties, it is in the interests of all ASEAN member states to establish a regional order in the South China Sea for peace and development in Southeast Asia in general. In accordance with the ASEAN “way”, some countries may consider ASEAN actions too slow, but that is part of the ASEAN character. Remember, it took ASEAN nine years to host its first summit, in Bali in 1976.
I strongly advocate the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). ASEAN and China are also currently engaged in dialogue to discuss the formulation of a code of conduct (COC), with some commonalities or principles of approach already agreed. We can use these accomplishments as a base for further efforts. I believe that both China and most ASEAN members can get their act together to quicken the process. It is time for all stakeholders and interested parties to trust ASEAN.
Back to Emmerson’s article, some of the points made were dangerously divisive against ASEAN’s unity. I thought that Emmerson would understand ASEAN better than suggested by his article. Encouragements to “stand up” against China are not helping the ongoing process. Cynically and sarcastically blaming ASEAN is the wrong approach.
Furthermore, the US “pivot” or “rebalancing” to Asia does not mean a return to US Cold War-era dominance. The US has never left Asia, and its presence is welcomed, but not its overbearing attitudes, such as its approach to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which may well prove divisive for ASEAN, and fail to achieve its goal of boosting the wellbeing of the East Asian region.
_________________________
The writer is vice chair of the Board of Trustees, CSIS Foundation.
Paper Edition | Page: 2
