ASEAN ~ Insight : A victory for ASEAN : Where there is a will there is a way. Cambodia and Thailand have proven the universal applicability of this old saying when, on Tuesday, they reiterated their commitment to resolve their ongoing border dispute over the area surrounding the Preah Vhear temple through peaceful means.
After weeks of diplomatic efforts and with goodwill from all members of ASEAN, Cambodia and Thailand agreed to avoid further clashes by inviting Indonesia, as ASEAN’s current chair, to send observers to both sides of the border and engage in subsequent bilateral negotiations to find a permanent solution to the dispute.
The agreement, reached at an informal meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers chaired by Indonesia in Jakarta on Tuesday, clearly deserves special and full appreciation. It should be welcomed as a historic moment for ASEAN, in the words of ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.
It represented a clear display of commitment from two ASEAN members to uphold the two most important principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, namely, settlement of disputes by peaceful means and the renunciation of the use of force. Most of all, it constitutes an unprecedented case where ASEAN countries agreed to use ASEAN’s own mechanisms to resolve conflict among members.
Indeed, ASEAN can now be proud of itself for a number of reasons. First, after years of being accused of doing too little to resolve conflicts and crises in its own backyard, ASEAN has now demonstrated that it can move beyond the rhetoric if it chooses to do so.
ASEAN now has a promising basis to put its conflict resolution mechanism into practice in the truest sense of the word. The agreement provides ASEAN with an opportunity to prove to itself and the international community that it will be able not only to manage but also resolve conflicts. It will show that ASEAN no longer sweeps problems under the carpet, but will utilize agreed-upon conflict resolution methods, including mediation.
Second, the Jakarta informal meeting also shows growing recognition and trust from the international community that ASEAN can manage its own problems. The decision by the UN Security Council to encourage ASEAN to address the Cambodian-Thai tensions clearly suggests that there will always be “the ASEAN Option” for ASEAN member states to use when they need. What transpired in the informal meeting was a vindication of the view that that ASEAN can work if its member states want it to work.
Third, the prospects for ASEAN to become a security community as envisaged in the Bali Concord II might not be as remote as it was before. One difficult obstacle to the realization of such aspirations has now been removed — namely, the view that ASEAN’s involvement in bilateral disputes among member states constitutes a breach of its non-interference principle.
When conflicts and differences can be resolved through peaceful means and with the help of ASEAN or other member states, we can expect a degree of certainty and predictability in interstate relations — an important prerequisite for a security community.
Fourth, for Indonesia itself, the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting serves as a source of confidence that its commitment to make ASEAN more credible and stronger is in fact equally shared by fellow members. However, it should be noted that not all ASEAN foreign ministers were present at the Jakarta informal meeting.
While Indonesia and particularly Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa contributed in no small measure to the meeting’s positive outcome,
Indonesia could not have done much without support from other ASEAN countries, especially Cambodia and Thailand.
Yet, as Marty has stated, the outcome of the Jakarta meeting is just the beginning of a long process. While Indonesia is preparing its border monitoring mission, a number of more challenging tasks await.
First, Indonesia needs to do its best to fulfill its mandate not only as a party that will ensure that the cease-fire is observed but as a party that will mediate in the subsequent border talks between Cambodia and Thailand. Indonesia needs to put together a good team as quickly as possible to undertake this historic mission.
Second, for Cambodia and Thailand, finding a permanent solution to the border dispute will take more time and require patient negotiation from both sides. A conducive environment for talks, however, is already in place and that certainly provides a favorable context for negotiations.
Third, despite the positive outcomes of Tuesday’s meeting, ASEAN still needs to improve and institutionalize its conflict management mechanism. By doing so, “the ASEAN option” for conflict resolution will in the future automatically prevail, regardless who is the chair of ASEAN.
Fourth, as the case of the Cambodia-Thailand dispute has demonstrated, there is an urgent need for ASEAN to devote more attention and resources to strengthen its mediation capacity and intensify cooperation in peace monitoring activities.
The outcome of Tuesday’s meeting has given us new confidence that Indonesia and ASEAN are indeed well-placed to answer those challenges. ASEAN should not neither miss nor waste this opportunity. Where there is a will there is a way.
The writer is the executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta.
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