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101. Overview of the Political Dimension of ASEAN's Security
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
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Overview of the Political Dimension of ASEAN’s Security 497 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville 101. OVERVIEW OF THE POLITICAL DIMENSION OF ASEAN’S SECURITY C.P.F. LUHULIMA Reprinted in abridged form from C.P.F. Luhulima, “Overview of the Political Dimension of Asean’s Security”, Indonesian Quarterly 31 (Forthcoming 2003), by permission of the author and the publisher. THE NON-CONVENTIONAL SECURITY ISSUES On November 5, 2001 ASEAN leaders in their Joint Action to Counter Terrorism unequivocally condemned the terrorist attacks of September 11 as an “attack against humanity and an assault on all of us.” They viewed terrorism as a “direct challenge to the attainment of peace, progress and prosperity of ASEAN and the realization of ASEAN Vision 2020,” while rejecting “any attempt to link terrorism with any religion or race.” ASEAN was further committed to “counter, prevent and suppress all forms of terrorist acts in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.” All joint efforts to combat terrorism at the regional level should consider “joint practical counter-terrorism measures in line with specific circumstances in the region and in each member country.” The leaders also acknowledged the ASEAN regional framework for fighting transnational crime and its ASEAN Plan of Action to prevent and control transnational crime. ASEAN’s leaders issued a nine point action plan ranging from strengthening national mechanisms, deepen cooperation among front-line law enforcement agencies, enhancing information/intelligence exchange, regional capacity building, all of them to combat terrorism in the region strictly under the U.N. umbrella. A special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) on terrorism, which was held in May 20–21, 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, was also a follow-up on the U.N. call to enhance coordination of national, sub-regional and international efforts as part of a global response to this serious challenge and threat to international security. The fight against terrorism in the region is integrated into the complex of the fight against transnational organized crime. The distinction between terrorism as a political crime and any other form of organized crime as an economic one is conveniently ignored. 101 AR Ch 101 22/9/03, 1:02 PM 497 498 C.P.F. Luhulima By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville ASEAN’s Seventh Summit in Brunei Darussalam tasks the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime comprising the Ministers of Home Affairs of the member countries to continue to focus, next to transnational crime, on “terrorism and deal effectively with the issue at all levels and endorse the convening of an Ad Hoc Experts Group Meeting and special sessions of the SOMTC and AMMTC focussing on terrorism.” Non-conventional threats seem to the ASEAN Heads of Governments a task of the AMMTC rather than that of the Foreign Ministers. However, with the introduction of terrorism in the ASEAN Regional Forum, Foreign Ministers will have to deal with that issue in that forum. It will thus be a coordination problem in fighting terrorism in ASEAN. The ASEAN Ministers of the Interior/ Home Affairs convened for the first time in Manila (18–20 December 1997) to cooperate in combating transnational organised crime, including terrorism. They decided that they would be the highest policy-making body on ASEAN cooperation in combating transnational crime (ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational CrimeAMMTC ) and convene once in every two years to coordinate activities of relevant ASEAN bodies, such as the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters, ASEAN Chiefs of National Police (ASEANOPOL), ASEAN Directors-General of Customs, and ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration and Heads of Consular Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They would also cooperate and coordinate on matters of transnational crime with other ASEAN bodies such as the ASEAN Senior Law Officials’ Meeting and the ASEAN Attorney Generals’ Meeting. They referred, however, to the 29th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Jakarta in July 1996 on the need to focus attention on such issues as narcotics, economic crimes, including money laundering, environment and illegal migration which transcend borders and affect the lives of the people in the region, and the urgent need to manage such transnational issues so that they would not affect the long term viability of ASEAN and its individual member nations; to the First Informal ASEAN Summit in November 1996 in Jakarta to request the relevant ASEAN bodies to study the possibility of regional cooperation on criminal matters, including extradition...