By Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nation
By hosting the informal Asean foreign ministerial meeting last week, the Asean chair, Indonesia, made history that would gradually and tangibly transform the grouping into a true political and security community. It was a small step “with a giant leap of faith” as the credibility of Asean will now hinge on the outcome of bilateral talks between Thailand and Cambodia. The 90-minute meeting was brief— a rubber stamp of prior discussion and agreements the chair mapped out with both sides. It was contrary to the high-power stake games played out by the two protagonists the previous weeks.
One of the greatest weaknesses of Asean has been the inability to cope with intra-Asean conflict in a forthright manner, as in the other regional organizations such as the African Union or Mercosur.
Obviously, this stems from the shame culture of Southeast Asia traditions and the ingrained fear of failure—a truly family psyche.
Therefore, the ability to put up with inappropriate behavior and non-compliance by members is pretty high. It is no surprise that Asean countries still prefer discreet and informal ways to deal with their internal squabbling minus media fanfare. Just look back, almost all of the Asean disagreements in the past four decades—though, not as serious as the Thai-Cambodian dispute—were settled through casual and less structured meetings. In short, Asean does not want to “Aseanize” its disagreements.
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