DEVELOPMENTS IN POLITICAL AND SECURITY COOPERATION

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The year 1993 -1994 was a period of consolidation for ASEAN. Maintaining the momentum spurred by the Fourth Summit in 1992, Member Countries rallied to transform cooperation initiatives into concrete and strategic plans of action in various fields. Regional political and security cooperation has been enhanced both at the intra-ASEAN and Asia-Pacific-wide levels. External relations have acquired new dimensions and have expanded to other Asian countries and regional organizations. Economic cooperation has been intensified to take full advantage of the opportunities that the unique dynamism of the region provides.

Southeast Asia today enjoys a stable political climate which has been conducive to the social and economic development of the countries in the region. Regional security is being enhanced through bilateral and multilateral undertakings of confidence-building measures among the states concerned. At the same time, efforts are also being made to consolidate friendly ties between ASEAN and the other countries in the region and to enable Laos and Vietnam, which now have Observer Status, to eventually become members of ASEAN.

In Northeast Asia, the end of the Cold War has led to an overall improvement in inter-state relations. It has generally reduced international tension in the region and contributed to closer economic relations among Northeast Asian states and economies. However, the division of the Korean peninsula remains a major source of tension. Specifically, the nuclear issue has emerged as the most serious security concern in that region. International and regional efforts are currently underway to address the situation.

At the international level, changes in inter-state and inter-regional relations are underway in response to global shifts of strategic balances after the end of the Cold War. Conflicts in some parts of other regions linger even as political settlements are successfully concluded elsewhere.

For its part, ASEAN has launched several mutually reinforcing initiatives, both at the intra-ASEAN and extra-ASEAN levels, to promote regional political and security cooperation. At the intra-regional level, ASEAN agreed to continue the convening of the Special Meeting of ASEAN Senior Officials (Special SOM) which consists of both foreign ministry and security officials of ASEAN Member Countries. The Special SOM, which aims to promote intra-ASEAN security cooperation, was formed following the Singapore Summit Declaration urging ASEAN to seek avenues to engage member countries in new areas of cooperation in security matters. The latest Meeting of the Special SOM was held in March 1994 in Bangkok. It was first convened in June 1992 in Manila. The Special SOM discussed is- sues which included, among others, transparency and confidence-building measures, security cooperation programmes, promotion of ASEAN security concepts, emergency relief cooperation, and coordination of ASEANs position on security-related international instruments.

Through regular consultations, ASEAN is committed to engaging both regional and non-regional powers in maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asia, and in the Asia-Pacific region in general. The Fourth ASEAN Summit also agreed to intensify ASEANs external dialogues in political and security matters.

A major initiative taken by ASEAN in this direction
was the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
to serve as a vehicle for promoting political and security
cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The ARF will be composed of the six ASEAN Member Countries,seven
Dialogue Partners (Australia, Canada, the European Union,
Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States),
two Consultative Partners ( China and the Russian Federation),
as well as three Observers (Laos, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam).

The ARF, which will meet for the first time in July 1994,
will discuss the situation in the Asia-Pacific as well as
the possible development of confidence-building measures
to promote peace and stability in the region.

The Meeting of Senior Officials for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF-SOM) was also held in Bangkok in May 1994 to make preparations for the first ARF meeting in July 1994.

Efforts of the Governments to foster an enduring regional order, stability and prosperity are supplemented by various non governmental institutions on the non-official track. To establish a linkage, ASEAN held a series of meetings with the ASEAN-Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) on current regional issues. The first and second meetings of the ASEAN SOM with the ASEAN-ISIS were held in May 1993 in Singapore and April 1994 in Pattaya, respectively. ASEAN has found useful several studies and proposals put forward by the various institutions represented in the ASEAN- ISIS. For example, the ASEAN-ISIS Memorandum entitled Enhancing ASEAN Security Cooperation was presented to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers at the 26th AMM.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to the centrality of the United Nations role in the maintenance of international peace and security. In keeping with such commitment, ASEAN supported the workshop series on ASEAN-United Nations Cooperation in Peace and Preventive Diplomacy. These meetings were jointly sponsored by the International Studies Center of Thailand and the Institute of Policy Studies of Singapore. Moreover, ASEAN viewed the UN Secretary-Generals An Agenda for Peace proposals as consisting of constructive approaches towards strengthening the role of the U.N. in preventive diplomacy, peace-making, peace-keeping and peace-building. ASEAN submitted its views on the U.N. Secretary-Generals proposals in July 1993. In its report, ASEAN stated that, in enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security, the U.N. cannot ignore the urgent need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to- wards peace, development and democracy. ASEAN believes that the time has come for the United Nations to move beyond recognizing that peace and prosperity are inter-related, and adopt concrete measures and programmes of action.