The Asia-Pacific Security Lexicon (Upated 2nd Edition)

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION

97 CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION Following the violent disintegration of the coalition government in Cambodia in July 1997, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to play a mor e proactive role in solving the region’s security problems.1 In an article published in Newsweek, he said ASEAN should consider initiating what he called “constructive interventions” and “constr uctive involvement” before simmering regional problems erupt into full-blown crises.2 He gave as examples of constr uctive involvement “among other things, direct assistance to firm up electoral pr ocesses, an increased commitment to legal and administrative r eforms, the development of human capital and the general str engthening of civil society and the r ule of law”. He added that he thought ASEAN was already moving towards such an approach, citing its willingness to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections in Cambodia and the engagement of the State Law and Or der Restoration Council (SLORC) regime in Myanmar.3 Anwar’s comments prompted a great deal of debate and discussion in SoutheastAsia, in particular about how to r econcile constructive intervention with ASEAN’s long-held principle of non-interference or non-intervention in the internal affairs of member states.4 01 A_Pac Security Lexicon 9/24/07, 9:03 AM 97 98 While the Newsweek article fuelled considerable debate, the term constructive intervention is not a wholly new one. In an article published in the New York Times in 1983, the former U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, W illiam H. Sullivan, called for President Ronald Reagan to use a scheduled visit to Manila as “an opportunity for constructive intervention” to facilitate a peaceful and democratic transition in Philippines politics. 5 Constructive intervention also has something in common with ideas such as “humanitarian intervention”, “peacebuilding”, and “constructive engagement” that have a more established pedigree in international politics. One r eport described constr uctive intervention as a “compromise between constructive engagement and sanctions.”6 In its most recent manifestation, the term seems to have its origins with academics and policy analysts connected to the track two security and strategic studies community in Southeast Asia.7 While Anwar was instrumental in giving the termconstructive intervention prominence at the of ficial level in Southeast Asia, it was Thai For eign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and his deputy , Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who became its str ongest advocates. Speaking at the 1998 Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur , Surin said the economic crisis of fered the r egion a unique opportunity to rebuild its economic and political foundations. In particular, he suggested that the newer member states of ASEAN might find this “an opportune moment to r eassess their respective processes of economic and political development in the face of rapid and far-reaching changes in the global ar ena”. He asked “whether the time has come forASEAN to rethink its decades-old policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member States”, saying “ASEAN members can perhaps no longer afford to adopt a non-commital stance and avoid passing judgement on events in a member country, simply on the grounds of ‘non-interference’. … if domestic events in one member’s territory impact adversely on another member’s internal af fairs, not to mention peace and prosperity, much can be said in favour ofASEAN members playing a more proactive role.”8 He continued his championing of the concept in a speech at his alma mater, Thammasat University in Bangkok, on 12 June 1998, saying that when “a matter of domestic concerns poses a thr eat to regional stability, a dose of friendly advice at the right time can be helpful.” 9 Surin’s comments were a personal initiative. He inserted the sentences into the Kuala Lumpur speech without first informing the Thai Foreign Ministry officials.10 After consultations with those CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION 01 A_Pac Security Lexicon 9/24/07, 9:03 AM 98 99 officials, the meaning and use of the term began to evolve. According to the Nation, Surin told a meeting of the ministry’s director-generals on 22 June 1998 that “constr uctive intervention was needed for Thailand whose government r espects an open society, democracy and human rights. … W e must be tr ue to ourselves. Our membership in ASEAN and ASEAN’s principle of non-interference should not hamper us fr om expressing our views on what...