Asean hit for being ‘soft’ on security issues

JAKARTA—The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was criticized for its failure to take on the hardcore security issues that affect the member states—matters like military deployment in the South China Sea by China or country member border disputes.

Prof. Andi Widjajanto, an Indonesian security and defense expert, said the main concern of Asean is only the “very soft issues like transnational crimes, piracy, peace keeping operations, disaster relief but it never touched hardcore security issues.”

“Asean states are very reluctant in starting the discussion on hardcore traditional security issues … very reluctant in opening or staring the debate on this,” he said.

Widjajanto, a member of the Indonesia’s working group on Military Business Restructuring, said Asean’s reluctance drives its member states to act on their own, especially with the emergence of China as their “common enemy.”

The professor the Department on International Relations Studies at the Universitas Indonesia based in Depok, also had warned about China being a hegemonic power in Southeast Asia in 2050.

At a security conference initiated by the Network of Asean Defense Institutions in April last year, Widjajanto said the warning was already sounded by the Indonesian government on the rise of China.

At the meeting in Hanoi, Admiral Laksamana Agus Suhartono, commander of the Indonesian Defense Force, proposed for the formation of a synergy among Asean-member states military forces to “anticipate the rise of China.”

Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of Asean, said the issue against China and its activities in the South China Sea is something that Asean can “modulate.”

“The issue on South China Sea is an issue that Asean can also modulate. Asean can coordinate position, while it itself does not have direct issue with China or for the member states. Therefore, Asean has a common responsibility as much as China has to work out common problem,” he said.

Asean, he said, is working on the guidelines on how to implement the declaration of the code of conduct on the South China Sea, which was formulated way back in 2001.

“We are stuck in the implementation and I understand that we should aim at concluding any discussion on this piece by the end of the year… Asean provides a platform, a process, a forum, on the issues that have relevancy on issues such as security, stability and on the interest of the members can be discussed,” he said.

For Indonesia, Widjajanto said, there were four proposals that have been explored, but were later rejected on the issue of China’s emergence to a hegemonic power.

First, he said, was for the United States and Japan to assist Indonesia to develop its naval powers and become the major force in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after 2024.

The second proposal came from China itself and this involved the building of a naval force in East Kalimantan’s Island of Tarakan.

“China offered to assist Indonesia to develop Tarakan and make it its naval base. If that happens, Tarakan will control the Sulawesi Sea, the deepest sea in Southeast Asia. So the submarine of US and China, if they want to cross the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, must cross Sulawesi Sea, the only sea that can be used by the submarines to their movements across the Pacific Ocean to Indian Ocean. China already offered us to make a proposal on how to develop us,” he said.

The third proposal, he said, came from Malaysia. The proposal is for Malaysia, Singrapore and Indonesia to duplicate the successful coordinated patrol in the Malacca Strait.

“Malaysia wants the same kind of mechanism to secure South China Sea. Malaysia wants us to synergize, integrate our naval patrol so Indonesia will also become a major player in patrolling the South China Sea,” he said.

But all these, he said, were junked.

“But we refuse all of these options. What we intend to do is to pursue the military modernization plan. Indonesia will be a major player in itself. It will act unilaterally,” he said.