The 2nd ASEAN Reader

59. Evolution of the Security Dialogue Process in the Asia-Pacific Region

Evolution of the Security Dialogue Process in the Asia-Pacific Region 285 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville 59. EVOLUTION OF THE SECURITY DIALOGUE PROCESS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION DALJIT SINGH Reprinted in abridged form from Daljit Singh, “Evolution of the Security Dialogue Process in the Asia-Pacific Region”, in Southeast Asian Perspectives on Security, edited by Derek da Cunha (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2000), pp. 35–59, by permission of the author and the publisher. THE NON-OFFICIAL DIALOGUE PROCESS Official dialogue, often referred to as Track One dialogue, is confined to officials of governments. Non-official dialogue, conducted by non-governmental organizations , should in theory be independent of governments, but in reality there are often varying degrees of governmental influence, representation or support. Nonofficial security dialogue often takes place in support of or parallel to official security dialogue. Non-official dialogue has been characterized as Track Two, Track Three or Track One-and-a-Half, depending upon the degree of governmental influence or involvement. However, the distinctions between the various “tracks” are often blurred as the precise degree of government influence is not always clear. In this chapter, for the sake of convenience, non-official dialogue with some governmental involvement will loosely be described as Track Two. Track Two dialogue is usually organized by non-governmental organizations like think-tanks and involves scholars, journalists and others from the private sector who can make a contribution, as well as government officials taking part in their “personal capacity”. This format is intended to allow for more frank discussions and the involvement of non-governmental expertise. Among the earliest Track Two meetings that included political and security issues were the ASEAN-Japan Dialogue which began in the 1970s and the Quadrilateral Conferences between ASEAN, the United States, Japan and South Korea organized by the Institute of East Asian Studies of the University of California at Berkeley and CSIS, Jakarta, in the 1980s. The Kuala Lumpur Roundtable also began in 1987 (see below). Asia-Pacific Track Two security discussions then grew in response to the same anxieties about the post-Cold War world that gave rise to the ARF. Indeed, Track Two discussions contributed to the establishment of the ARF. 059 AR Ch 59 22/9/03, 12:52 PM 285 286 Daljit Singh By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville Worth mentioning in this context are the contributions to regional security of the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS),1 which was first organized as a sub-regional nongovernmental organization in Bali in September 1984. Initially, it represented four ASEAN think-tanks: Indonesia’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Singapore’s Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), and Thailand’s Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS), plus individual representatives from the Philippines. In 1988, ASEAN-ISIS was formally launched in Singapore with a charter, and the Institute of Strategic and Development Studies (ISDS) of the Philippines became its fifth institutional member in 1991. ASEAN-ISIS has convened Track Two policy dialogues with countries outside Southeast Asia, including China, South Korea, and India. It also played a significant role in the establishment of the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific (CSCAP), the body for Asia-Pacific-wide Track Two security dialogue. CSCAP originated from discussions organised in 1991–92 by ASEAN-ISIS, the Pacific Forum/ CSIS, the Japan Institute of International Affairs and the Seoul Forum for International Affairs. At the third such meeting in Seoul in November 1992 these institutes decided that it was necessary to establish an Asia-Pacific-wide Track Two security forum with a coordinating council. CSCAP was established in June 1993, and these eight institutes, together with the Joint Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, Canada, and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australia, became its founding institutes. In December of the same year, a CSCAP Charter made up of articles and by-laws of the Council was drawn up. CSCAP is meant to provide a “structured process for regional confidence-building and security cooperation among countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region”. It now has 17 members: Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The Indian Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses...