Tiarma Siboro, Yogyakarta
The Jakarta Post
The long-standing commitment of ASEAN to maintaining peace and security in the region and the world has been put to an uphill test with the fresh conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in the border area of Preah Vihear, which has so far claimed 11 lives.
Border disputes between the two neighbors have become causes for concern across the region since early in February.
It seems like a coincidence that the exchanges of fire at the Thailand-Cambodia border occurred amid rounds of ASEAN defense dialogues, which were aimed at crystalizing cooperation and coordination in regional security.
The series of defense meetings, which involve ASEAN top-level defense officials and is hosted by Indonesia, the current chair of the regional grouping, started in February of this year in Surabaya. Eight partner states — the US, China, Japan, Russia, India, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia — have also actively taken part in the talks.
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