ASEAN needs to show it is capable of resolving differences on sensitive
issues: Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
SINGAPORE - Disagreements over
the South China Sea will continue to test ASEAN's ability to forge consensus on
difficult political issues, said Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
yesterday.
His comments at an ASEAN and Asia
forum organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs come as
ASEAN foreign ministers failed to issue a joint communique at the recent annual
ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) last month because of disagreements over the
South China Sea.
"Whether we like it or not,
after the 45th AMM, the South China Sea will remain a test case of ASEAN's
ability to forge consensus on difficult problems and act in the region's
broader interests," said Mr Goh, speaking to some 300 business leaders at
the forum.
A goal that encompasses such
interests is the setting up of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.
Mr Goh said ASEAN's economic integration
cannot be insulated from its ability to maintain unity on important issues and
stability in the region.
ASEAN's dialogue partners and
investors are watching and re-calculating their interests and positions, he
added.
"We cannot blame them for
this. It is therefore imperative that we address their concerns and demonstrate
that we're capable of reaching consensus on even the most sensitive of
issues."
Separately, Foreign Affairs
Minister K Shanmugam also called for greater unity among ASEAN members at a
reception to mark ASEAN Day.
"ASEAN has to be bigger than
any single issue," said Mr Shanmugam, noting it is regrettable that the
grouping failed to issue a joint communique at the AMM.
Mr Shanmugam said ASEAN will be
judged by the world on its ability to manage a consensus on the issue. The
grouping has issued a statement on ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the South
China Sea.
In the lead up to the ASEAN
summit in November, Mr Shanmugam said the member states are working on how to
handle the draft joint communique, to ensure that the vision of an ASEAN
Economic Community by 2015 stays on track.
"The fact that we didn't
issue a joint communique last month has dented our credibility, it's a setback.
And if we can't agree, then it will be a further setback," said Mr
Shanmugam.
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