May 10, 2011
The Nation
Despite the sterling efforts of Indonesia as the current chair, the regional grouping must show the world it can act in true solidarity
Thanks to the effectiveness and non-partisan outlook of the current chair, Indonesia, the 18th Asean Summit last weekend concluded on a high note. With the Thai-Cambodian conflict still simmering and overshadowing the summit, it took the calmness of the chair to steer the summit toward a successful conclusion.
If it hadn’t been for Indonesia’s cool-headed approach, the summit could have turned out differently. For the first time in the history of the regional grouping, an intra-Asean conflict featured prominently during the plenary sessions at the ministerial and summit levels, much to the chagrin of the more conservative members and delegates.
Cambodia’s unilateral decision to seek international assistance has pushed the other Asean members to support the ongoing efforts of Thailand to settle the border dispute through a bilateral mechanism, as reflected in the chairman’s statement.
The aggressive approach and the lack of consistency by the Cambodian side also helped to strengthen Indonesia’s facilitating role and the “fullest utilisation ” of the bilateral efforts. It remains to be seen how Indonesia will further engage both sides as the Asean leaders sent a clear signal to the two protagonists not to split Asean with this conflict and thus delay the realisation of an integrated Asean Community by 2015.
Apart from the hullabaloo surrounding the Hun Sen-Hor Nam Hong dramatics, Indonesia managed to push forward processes within the grouping to ensure that the prospect of achieving the Asean Community for 2015 and beyond will be a strong one.
No comments:
Post a Comment