Asean, EU discuss political partnership, South China Sea row

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia–Against the backdrop of the rising tension in the South China Sea, senior officials of two regional blocs, the European Union (EU) and the Association of  Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), have agreed to “scale up strategic political partnership” in the area of maritime security.

The three-day Asean-EU high-level dialogue on maritime cooperation here came more timely for the Asean which just last week displayed unity against China’s massive reclamation projects through its strongly-worded statement.

READ: Chinese actions ‘may undermine peace’ in S. China Sea—Asean

“At the senior level, there are interests to build a more ambitious and yes, a more political relationship and scale up the partnership that we have,”  Steven Everts, EU’s adviser for the Asean, said during the forum attended by EU and ASEAN diplomats and members of the media.

The dialogue here was a follow-through of the first ever dialogue on maritime cooperation between the EU and Asean in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2013 and the EU-Asean ministerial meeting in Brussels last year.

The maritime disputes in the South China Sea of which Asean members such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei are claimants were among the hot topics discussed at the public forum on Wednesday morning here that promised to draw from the experiences of the two economic blocs on enhancing cooperation among members.

Maritime threats such as transnational crimes, human trafficking, illegal fishing, and terrorism were likewise tackled in closed-door sessions on May 4 to 5.

EU, which consists of 28 member states, is the third largest trading partner and the biggest source of foreign direct investments of the Asean, a 10-member bloc which includes the Philippines.

Everts spoke of the need for the leaders of the two blocs to meet regularly to discuss strengthening of the alliance, which can come in the form of financial support or combined efforts to achieve common goals.

“But we need time to orchestrate this. That’s the vision we have to work on,” Everts said noting that the two organizations must work on maritime environment that keeps the “state secure, the people free, and the companies willing to invest.”

After the high-level dialogue here, a road map for the strategic alliance between the EU and the Asean will be fleshed out in the Asean-EU senior officials’ meeting in Brussels in July, Everts said.

The high-level dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, although careful not to antagonize China, which claims nearly the entire South China Sea, did not end without tackling the controversial maritime disputes in the region.

“The EU position is that we favor peaceful cooperative solutions to the disputes in full compliance to the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). We don’t take position on the claims themselves. We reject the use of force and intimidation and we support the use of legal mechanisms to resolve this,” Everts said when asked about the organization’s position on the tension in the region due to China’s reclamation works.
Just last month, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven or G7,  consisting of the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, in its strongest statement so far, expressed concerns over China’s large-scale reclamation works, a unilateral action to change the status quo and increase tensions in the region.

READ: Aquino: G7 statement shows world is affected by China reclamation
The Philippines, which has been the most vocal on the issue, has been invoking UNCLOS in its legal challenge against China’s nine-dash line claim at the UN arbitral tribunal, a legal process which China refused to participate in, citing the tribunal’s lack of jurisdiction.

READ: China’s nine-dash line came ahead of Unclos, says expert

On the sidelines of the public forum, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) Chair Tan Sri Dato’ Seru Ahmad Ramli Nor said Malaysia was also concerned about the developments in the South China Sea.

“We are trying to find a way where we can be a bridge to sort this out. We have interests here as well,” the official of MIMA, a policy research institute run by the Malaysian government told the Inquirer.

“It’s a matter of approach. China has an aggressive military. The only way to resolve this is engage in dialogues,” the Malaysian official said.