Defence Ministers Seek ASEAN Unity And Centrality – OpEd

The defence ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) need to maintain the bloc’s centrality in navigating regional security threats, particularly in the hotly contested South China Sea, the Channel News Asia (CNA) website reported. 

This comes as they gathered in Penang, Malaysia, for the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat, which began on  Feb 25 amid a changing world order.

The aim of the summit is to strengthen mutual trust and confidence among member states to better respond to security challenges.

Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in a press briefing on Feb. 25, outlined several key areas he will be discussing with his ASEAN counterparts amid the changing geopolitical landscape. 

These include understanding the impact of artificial intelligence on regional security, advancing the region’s defence supply chain, and establishing a humanitarian relief taskforce to tackle natural disasters due to climate change.

On maritime security, Khaled warned against military built up in the region, and urged countries with overlapping claims to resolve their disputes through diplomatic channels.  

“As for challenges of South China Sea (SCS), there is a need for all of us to ensure freedom of navigation, observe international law and try to not make this area as a place of contestation of superpowers,” the CNA reported quoting Khaled as saying.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Feb.26 warned the ASEAN against remaining silent in the face of violations as he rallied his counterparts to unite in addressing security challenges, such as the issue in the SCS, the Philippines Daily Inquirer newspaper reported. 

Speaking at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Penang, Malaysia, Teodoro pointed out the need for ASEAN “to remain cohesive and proactive in upholding regional stability.”

He cited that ASEAN has ensured the longest period of peace in any region since World War II.

“However, this peace is now under threat—not due to our incapacity to preserve it, but because of the absence of unanimity on key issues,” the Philippines Daily Inquirer reported quoting Teodoro as saying.

“Silence in the face of violations diminishes ASEAN,” he said, quoting President Marcos’ speech at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

According to the Truoi Tre newspaper, Vietnam’s President General Lurong Curong, in his address, acknowledged ASEAN’s continued unity and cooperation in maintaining regional peace and stability amid complex non-traditional security challenges.

He put forward several key recommendations for ADMM and ADMM+, emphasizing the importance of strengthening ASEAN unity in diversity while maintaining the bloc’s core principles in global and regional affairs.

All disputes must be resolved peacefully based on mutual respect for sovereignty and international law, without the use or threat of force in international relations.

ASEAN should keep upholding international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and ensure the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea while supporting the development of a substantive, effective, and legally binding Code of Conduct for the maritime area.

He suggested the bloc enhance trust and confidence-building measures within ADMM and ADMM+, fostering dialogue and cooperation as a neutral platform for all parties.

He underlined the need to strengthen ASEAN’s defense self-reliance, combining internal and external resources, with the internal resources playing a fundamental and decisive role.

General Curong praised Malaysia’s initiative on AI cooperation in defence, highlighting ASEAN’s proactive response to global concerns.

According to the CNA, Southeast Asia faces many challenges, especially with tensions rising between China and the United States, said observers.

Member states have found themselves pulled in different directions, complicating efforts to reach consensus on geopolitical matters.

Earlier this month, Khaled said ASEAN centrality “is very important”, especially in the South China Sea, referring to the principle that the bloc should maintain a leading role in regional cooperation and diplomacy.

This is the only way “we will be able to face whatever challenges that are coming to this region and also the rest of the world”, he added.

The world is in “a very extraordinary period of developments” with ongoing conflicts, and how some alliances are breaking down while new ones are coming up, said Sharon Seah, coordinator of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s ASEAN Studies Centre.

Southeast Asia, for instance, has to manage its relationship with the U.S. under the unpredictable Trump administration. 

“I think a very realistic and pragmatic assessment needs to be done,” the CNA reported quoting Seah as saying. 

Meanwhile, ASEAN and China have been slowly forging a path towards a peaceful resolution in the disputed waters of the SCS.

However, an early conclusion of a code of conduct to manage disputes has been elusive.

The slow progress over negotiations for a code to manage South China Sea disputes peacefully shows that “there are sticking points”, the CNA reported quoting defence analyst Zakaria Ahmad of the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College as saying. 

“(Also) when you have the code of conduct, what does it mean? Does it mean it can be enforced or not? That’s going to be tough.”

 “I think communication is really important at this point, because we want to avoid any kind of miscommunication. It could lead to accidental conflict. I think that’s the most worrying aspect coming out of the South China Sea,” the CNA reported  quoting Seah as saying.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently urged the conclusion of negotiations on the code of conduct “as soon as possible” to resolve the dispute among maritime neighbours. 

Susannah Patton, director of the Southeast Asia programme at Australia-based think tank Lowy Institute, highlighted how even reaching an agreement over the basics, such as the geographical area the code should cover and whether it would be legally binding, has proven difficult. 

“There are still some very basic contradictions in what Southeast Asian countries and China would be willing to accept when it comes to the code of conduct negotiations,” she told CNA’s Asia Now. 

“And those are not the kind of differences that can be papered over simply by a prime minister or a foreign minister or any other leader saying that they want the negotiations to be concluded as soon as possible.”

ASEAN Defence Ministers must maintain ASEAN unity and centrality to keep  the region safe and peaceful.