The “ASEAN Way” may be a discreet form of cooperation. But it can also
mean a dogged tenacity to reach a goal it’s sunk its teeth into, bloody nose and
all.
Last week’s unprecedented failure
by the ASEAN to draft a Joint Communiqué regarding a West Philippine Sea “code
of conduct" during its 45th Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia has left
member countries dismayed albeit still determined to draft a joint statement.
On the Singaporean Foreign
Ministry’s website, Singaporean Foreign Minister K Shanmugan said that it was a
blow to ASEAN credibility that “it was unable to deal with something that is
happening in our neighborhood and not say something about it.”
Efforts at compromise to draft a
communiqué that would be agreeable to everyone came to nothing as Cambodia was,
as described by a diplomat in undiplomatic language, "the worst
chair".
There were insinuations, angrily
rejected by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, that China had "bought"
Cambodia's support over the West Philippine Sea dispute.
Determined
Be that as it may, some ASEAN
countries are still determined to create a "code of conduct" over the
disputed sea, even if it has to be created outside of a summit.
"How can ASEAN play a
central role if it doesn't have a common position?" said Indonesian
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa Monday in the Reuters report.
He then announced he would tour
ASEAN countries this week to try to salvage a joint statement.
As good as his word, the Agence
France Presse reported Wednesday that Natalegawa landed in Manila to meet with
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on the first leg of
a tour of ASEAN nations.
"ASEAN must continue to
maintain its cohesion, its unity in addressing the issue of the South China
Sea," Natalegawa told reporters.
He said both he and del Rosario
agreed ASEAN should rally around basic principles concerning the South China
Sea, including the implementation of the code of conduct to avoid conflicts in
the area.
And he said he hoped his regional
tour would result in a "common ASEAN position" on the waters, which
would dispel the perception that the group is divided.
Summit environment
Prospects for a consensus outside
of a summit environment are better than they are in one.
According to a statement by DFA
Undersecretary Erlinda F. Basilio, the Philippine position was strongly
supported by other countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand and Viet Nam.
Basilio also said that the
Philippines had been in continuous consultations with its ASEAN partners even
before the Cambodia summit. This resulted in the ASEAN Senior Officials
drafting an “ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Situation in Scarborough
Shoal” on May 24.
According to a Reuters report,
the drafting of a code of conduct in the context of a summit is unlikely
because of the slate of ASEAN chair nations for the next two years -
low-profile Brunei next year followed by China-dependant Myanmar in 2014.
Because of this, University of
the Philippines Professor and International Relations/Asia Pacific Security/
Northeast Asia-China expert Dr. Aileen Baviera told GMA News Online that the
ASEAN should preserve its credibility by having a more democratic meeting.
“Hopefully, ASEAN countries
learned that the host country or chair should not be able to hijack or dominate
the meeting. The chair should only be there to facilitate.”
And for the Philippines,
diplomatic efforts at the ASEAN are only one of the three tracks the country is
pursuing to advance its interests in the West Philippine Sea.
According to Basilio, the three
tracks are the political, diplomatic and legal tracks. ASEAN is part of the
political track.
DVM/HS, GMA News
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