Laos - Preventive diplomacy proving effective in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has adopted the use of preventive diplomacy later than other regions, but the practice has been utilised effectively, according to a Vietnamese foreign policy maker.

A researcher from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam's Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies, Nguyen Minh Ngoc, made the comment on Tuesday during a lecture at the Institute of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane.

"Preventive diplomacy policy has come to be used in Asean in recent years and has been highly effective, especially in the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) which plays an important role in supporting preventive diplomacy," she said.

The ARF was established in July 1994 under an agreement reached at the 26th Asean Ministerial Meeting and Post-Ministerial Conference held in Singapore one year earlier with the aim of fostering constructive dialogue and consultation on political and security issues of common interest and concern and of making significant contributions to efforts towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Preventive diplomacy is action to prevent disputes from arising between parties, to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts, and to limit the spread of the latter when they occur.

Nguyen said as a peace and security keeping organisation, the ARF uses an evolutionary approach which aims at building close-up relations and mutual trust among its members.

The 8th ARF held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2001 noted the progress made in strengthening measures to address the overlap between confidence building and preventive diplomacy, boost the effectiveness of the ARF process.

Nguyen noted that the ARF has not successfully dealt with the Korean Peninsula nuclear problem or the dispute in the South China Sea due to the forum's large number of members espousing their right to sovereignty while also expressing different points of view.

Regarding prospective preventive diplomacy, Nguyen recommended that all parties maintain mutual trust and not bicker over minor matters.

News Desk

Vientiane Times

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