ASEAN Learns Lessons From The Border Dispute

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Asean learns lessons from the border dispute

By The Nation

The regional grouping has done well to show that its long-standing policy of non-interference in members' domestic affairs is not inviolable

Asean has turned the Thai-Cambodian border crisis into an opportunity. Kudos must go to the Asean chair, Indonesia, and the country's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who has not shied away from taking up sensitive issues within the regional grouping. The informal Asean meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday was a historic one, at least in the sense that it was the first time that two conflicting members had sat together in the same room, with the chair, and discussed matters in a very civilised way.

Asean has come a long way in all spheres, but one thing the grouping does not feel comfortable doing is to mess with the long-standing principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries. With the Jakarta meeting, a small precedent was set whereby Asean members can at least talk openly about their bilateral problems. There is no longer any need to hide behind protocol and formality. Member countries now know they can talk decently in a meeting chaired by a friendly host.

As expected, the Asean chair accepted a request to dispatch observers to the Thai-Cambodian border to monitor the situation there. There is no need for a ceasefire agreement for the time being because there is no fighting raging at the moment, although that was not the case before the UN Security Council briefings last week. With all the media hype surrounding the dispute, it would be silly for either side to shoot first. So, the Indonesian representatives will likely have no difficulty in filing pleasant reports.

Given the limited experience of Asean members in dealing with internal and bilateral disputes - only East Timor and the peace monitoring in Aceh come to mind as recent examples - some valuable lessons are being drawn in the case of the Thai-Cambodian border. The Indonesian team, whatever its number, will be considered a civilian entity, there to observe on both sides of the border. That will be the only mandate. Subsequently, it will file reports to the Asean chair, who will subsequently report to the Asean foreign ministers when they meet in July. Obviously, if the situation remains calm, the report could be picked up during preparatory meetings ahead of the May summit meeting.

With a state of normalcy restored along the border, Asean can then report to the members of the United Nations Security Council that its appeals for peace have been honoured and that further conciliatory efforts will continue with ongoing "regional arrangements" - that is, the bilateral frameworks that both sides have relied upon. The memorandum of understanding on the issue, signed in 2000, would serve as the foundation for further negotiations and demarcation of the porous 789-kilometre border.

It is hoped that with Asean providing support, both sides will feel that they have something to be held responsible for: the well-being of their colleagues and the grouping as a whole. When Cambodia takes up the Asean chair next year after Indonesia, the country's prime minister Hun Sen could then be proud of his accomplishment in helping to hold Asean together. He abandoned the signing of a ceasefire agreement on the meeting day to proceed with the Thai idea of inviting the Indonesians as observers.

Obviously there will be future difficulties in Thai-Cambodian relations. But both sides have to be mindful that they are no longer standing alone, as the Asean community is watching closely. Whatever the outcome, it will affect the future of the region's 600 million citizens.

-- The Nation 2011-02-24

[khaowong1]

A step in the right direction. Kudo's to both sides.