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11. ASEAN and Non-Interference
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
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52 Robin Ramcharan By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville 11. ASEAN AND NON-INTERFERENCE ROBIN RAMCHARAN ASEAN AND THE PRINCIPLE OF NON-INTERFERENCE The principle of non-interference is pervasive in ASEAN documents. The founding Bangkok Declaration of 1967 indicated a desire for regional co-operation in the spirit of equality and partnership and for regional peace and stability through respect for the principles of the U.N. Charter. The Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) Declaration of 1971 recognized the right of every state, large or small, to lead its national existence free from outside interference in its internal affairs as this interference would adversely affect its freedom, independence, and integrity, and declared that the neutralization of Southeast Asia is a desirable objective. Article 2 of the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation, adopted at ASEAN’s first Heads of Government Summit in 1976, enshrined a number of principles governing ASEAN states, among which are: mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations; the right of every state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion; and non-interference in the internal affairs of another. Article 11 stipulates further that member states shall endeavour to strengthen their respective national resilience in their political, economic, sociocultural , as well as security fields in conformity with their respective aspirations, free from external interference as well as internal subversive activities in order to preserve national identities. The strong attachment to this principle must be understood against the background of several facts: the history of colonial intervention in Southeast Asia; great power military intervention during the Cold War; and the emergence of post-colonial nationstates in Southeast Asia, whose interstate disputes (many of which are territorial in nature) were compounded by internal problems (communist subversion, secessionism and communal strife) which had no Reprinted in abridged form from Robin Ramcharan, “ASEAN and Non-Interference: A Principle Maintained”, Contemporary Southeast Asia 22, no. 1 (April 2000): 60–88, by permission of the author and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 011 AR Ch 11 22/9/03, 12:39 PM 52 ASEAN and Non-interference 53 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville regard for territorial frontiers. It served ASEAN well as it helped to establish a semblance of a security community, hailed by the late 1980s and early 1990s as the most successful to emerge from the Third World. Consensus decision-making, quiet diplomacy and confidence-building measures , and strict adherence to the principle of non-interference, have contributed to the ASEAN success story, or what Michael Leifer has called a diplomatic community.1 The aftermath of the Cambodian conflict (and the end of the threat from communist Vietnam) was a crucial impetus to ASEAN solidarity that members sought to build on the reigning peace to ensure the continued economic growth they had enjoyed for over two decades. A common security concern — perceived Chinese hegemonic ambitions in East Asia — increased the urgency of achieving and consolidating complete regionalism. This concern, the uncertainty over the emerging balance of power in the region, and a desire not to be sidelined by other regional organizations (such as a U.S.-favoured Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation , or APEC) prompted ASEAN leaders to place security explicitly on the ASEAN agenda in the Singapore Declaration of 1992. Member states championed ASEAN’s own annual PostMinisterial Conference (PMC) — which is held immediately after the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners (Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States) — as the forum for the management of an evolving security architecture in the Asia-Pacific. The resulting norm-driven ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)2 was decided upon in 1993 and held its first meeting in Bangkok in 1994. Though the ARF has been criticized as an imperfect solution to the region’s security problems, it has the merit of including all of the world’s great powers. Moreover, it has successfully engaged Vietnam, ASEAN’s former foe, in a security dialogue not only with the ASEAN states but also with Vietnam’s ancient rival, China. Vietnam became a member of ASEAN in July 1995. The expansion of ASEAN membership to encompass the ten states of geographical Southeast Asia was seen as a key means towards achieving the objective of regional peace and...