Officials attending the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) and related meetings in suburban Pasay city, southeast of Manila, the Philippines --(left to right) Laotian Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Swiss Assistant State Secretary for Asia-Pacific Johannes Stephan Matyassy, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn-- link arms during a gala dinner on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – On its 50th anniversary, ASEAN faces a major challenge regarding its sovereignty. The pragmatism of some member countries, as shown during the tough talks on the joint communiqué, indicated the potential threat against the unity of the organization.
The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila on Aug. 4-8 almost failed to produce a joint communiqué. China’s hegemony and the pragmatism of some ASEAN members have hindered the association from reaching agreement, mainly in relation to the South China Sea issue.
China claims almost the entire area of the South China Sea. The claim overlaps the claims of four ASEAN members: Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Pelita Harapan University’s social and political sciences dean Alexius Jemadu on Monday (7/8) said under President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines appears to want to see an immediate out come of its foreign policy. “That makes the Philippines want to get closer to China,” Jemadu said.
Since Duterte has been in power, Manila has had close relations with Beijing. This position was different compared to the era of President Benigno Aquino III. During the Aquino era, the Philippines filed complaints for international arbitration over China’s historic claim of the South China Sea.
However, after ruling in favor of the Philippines, Manila under Duterte seems to ignore the ruling. The Philippines, according to Jemadu, does not care about the international arbitration’s ruling on the South China Sea dispute.
Such stance could potentially weaken the position of ASEAN and tends to ignore the ASEAN ideal of centralism. Meanwhile, other ASEAN members like Vietnam have decided to maintain their distance from China.
Such differences are normal. But within an association as old and as big as ASEAN, this could affect the legitimacy and credibility of the organization among the global community. Aside from the Philippines, Jemadu said, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia also had the same tendency, taking a softer stance on China.
The criticism of western countries over the transfer of power in Thailand, which they view as undemocratic, makes the country tend to be more open to China. “This is a challenge for ASEAN sovereignty regarding China’s hegemony,” Jemadu said.
Indonesia’s Role
Amid the situation challenging ASEAN sovereignty and unity, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi appeared to be trying to push for the consolidation of ASEAN members during the AMM. She invited foreign ministers to informal meetings before the formal ones.
“This new tradition will be very useful to calm down and to create common consensus on certain issues,” Retno said on Monday night, adding that the tradition would be continued.
Retno said Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano, as ASEAN chairman, twice publicly appreciated Indonesia’s leadership for the new tradition. “The ASEAN statement on North Korea is the result of consolidation,” she said.
Her point explains what has been mentioned several times, that the consolidation of ASEAN is important to maintain the unity and centrality of ASEAN. As a longtime leader of ASEAN and a non-claimant in the South China Sea dispute, Indonesia is expected to be able to view ASEAN from the same distance as with all of the association’s partners, such as the United States and China.
Jemadu said this was important to ensure the sovereignty of theASEAN joint platform. Besides, Indonesia, as the biggest country in the region, needed to emphasize the importance of the regional platform when compared to each country working alone.
Further talk on the Code of Conduct (CoC) –after the framework is approved by China– will be a test for the solidity and centrality of ASEAN. The CoC will also be a strategic point for ASEAN to ensure that agreement’s reference.
“Before or after China did the reclamation and developed infrastructure on the manmade islands, or after the status quo?” Jemadu said.
Partner countries
The ASEAN partner countries –Australia, Japan and US– urged ASEAN and China to ensure that the CoC would be legally binding and oppose unilateral action. In their joint statement, the foreign ministers of those three countries said ASEAN and China must decide on a set of binding and effective regulations that are consistent with international laws. They also expressed their opposition against unilateral and coercive actions that could potentially increase regional tensions.
Last week, ASEAN and China agreed to adopt the CoC framework for negotiations. On the one hand, the agreement was progress in discussions on the South China Sea issue. But on the other hand, for its critics, the agreement was a Chinese strategy to buy time and to consolidate its maritime power.
It is not surprising that several parties like Australia, Japan and the US made demands. Although they are not claimants, the three countries have interests in the freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea.
They also urged China and the Philippines to stick to the international arbitration ruling, which annuls China’s claim over almost all territories in the South China Sea. The demand is similar to a point in the ASEAN joint communiqué: the importance of managing and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea.
There is a big hope that the CoC would become the mechanism for ensuring that international law is followed in the region. However, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated, Beijing sees the CoC as a mechanism for consultation.
Several ASEAN members, including the Philippines and Vietnam, wants the CoC to be binding and applicable and offer a mechanism for conflict resolution. But experts had said that China would never let this happen.
