July 22, 1999
SINGAPORE -- Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan yesterday called on the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) to go beyond being a mere talk shop and take on a more meaningful role by adopting mechanisms aimed at preventing disputes in the region.
Speaking to a foreign correspondent yesterday, Surin said a number of countries in Asean agree with Thailand that the security forum should expand its focus from ''confidence-building measures'' or CBMs to ''preventive diplomacy'' aimed at eliminating possible conflicts in the region.
Asean ministers issued a statement at last year's ARF meeting in Manila that there was still ''considerable scope to further develop and deepen cooperation on confidence-building measures'' but at the
same time noted that the distinction between
CBMs and preventive diplomacy was blurred.
The move would make the 32-year-old
regional bloc more active in managing
conflicting claims, in order to prevent possible
conflicts within the region, Surin said.
The foreign minister admitted however that
there are some sceptics. ''There are some
who feel that we are not ready enough, but
also some who feel that we should move in
that direction,'' he noted.
Nevertheless, the annual meeting remained a
good opportunity for Asean members and
their dialogue partners including China, the
US, Russia and the European Union to
explore such a possibility.
Surin's statement came just days after a
Filipino gunboat sank a Chinese fishing boat
after chasing the vessel for several hours
around the Spratlys, a cluster of
hotly-disputed, resource-rich islands and
reefs in the South China Sea.
The incident, said Surin, has affected the
''mood'' of the international community which
has a vested interest in stability in the Spratly
area's sea lanes because of commercial
shipping.
The disputed islands are claimed wholly or in
part by the Philippines, China, Taiwan,
Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. Beijing has
insisted on treating the dispute bilaterally with
the other claimants, but some Asean
members would like to see it discussed at an
international forum such as the ARF.
The Philippines and Vietnam are to propose a
code of conduct for Spratly claimants to
abide by, but Malaysian Deputy Foreign
Minister Lauro Baja said that concerned
Asean members should have a common
position when engaging China on the matter.
Disputes and clashes over the Spratlys have
long been a sour point for the regional
grouping.
Surin said the bilateral agreement between
Thailand and Malaysia on joint development
of the previously-disputed area in the Gulf of
Thailand could serve as a model for the
claimants. It took the two countries over 20
years to agree on the joint development
scheme, enforced over a 720-square
kilometre area.
Chairmanship of the ARF rotates among
member countries. Thailand is scheduled to
take over from current chair Singapore within
the next few days.
Surin also noted that the issue of social
safety nets are to be included on the agenda
for the first time during the forum.
''The spectres of underemployment, poverty
and malnutrition that grip many nations are
the seeds of instability which threaten to wipe
away much of the progress that we have
achieved over the past decades,'' he said.
Asean now covers the full complement of
Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia,
Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia,
Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma
and Laos.
BY DON PATHAN
The Nation
