Solving problems the Asian way

Title

Creator

Alfaro, Alberto M.

Language

English

Source

The Republic (2) 31 March 1973

Year

1973

Subject

ASEAN -- Congresses

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

The World THE ASIAN FORUM problems the Asian way When the Philippines first proposed the creation of an Asian Forum, the r response it elicited from some Asian and world leaders could hardly be called enthusiastic. Not a few con sidered it foolhardy, if not an im possible task, to bring together Asian nations with conflicting ideological, political, and economic interests and expect them to find solutions to prob lems confronting the region. Unfazed by this initial reaction, President Marcos last month instructed Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo to present the proposal janew at the ministerial conference of N^/the five-nation Association of South east Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur. The conference, called to as sess the agreement ending the Vietnam war and its implications for Southeast Asia, finally became convinced of the need for a regional forum and gave its nod to the proposal. Reporting on the Kuala Lumpur meeting, Secretary Romulo said the ASEAN members “recognized the desirability of convening a conference of all Southeast Asian nations to serve as an Asian Forum at an appropriate time in the future.” He said the foreign ministers agreed that the Forum was the best venue for achiev ing Asian solutions to Asian problems. The ASEAN ministers, representing Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, are scheduled to meet again next month, in Bang kok, to finalize the details of the pro posed Forum. The Forum is envisioned to include not only the five ASEAN members, but other countries in the region as well. Already, invitations have been extended to Burma and South Viet nam, both non-ASEAN members. A big question is whether North Viet nam, the Vietcong, the Khmer rebels and the other protagonists in the In dochinese theater will accept similar invitations. Returning from the Paris peace conference recently, Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik was quoted as saying that the United States and North Vietnam did not Foreign ministers of Asean nations: unity in diversity favor an ASEAN plan, taken up in Kuala Lumpur, for a regional commit tee to coordinate aid for the rehabili tation of Indochina. Mr. Malik de clined to speculate, though, on whether Hanoi would attend the pro posed Forum, if invited. Other leaders are nevertheless op timistic that the Forum idea will suc ceed, considering the spirit of negotia tions brought on by the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam. The idea of an Asian Forum was first broached by President Marcos at a time when world leaders were des perately searching for a solution to the Vietnam war. In the early sixties, then Indonesian President Sukarno also proposed the “musjawarah” (con sultation) system of settling local dis putes. Such proposals, no doubt, stemmed from a realization that it was better to solve conflicts at the con ference table than in the battlefield. And, as the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur acknowledged, “the peace and stability of the area and their well-being are the primary respon sibility of all Southeast Asian coun tries.” Thus, the Kuala Lumpur meeting proposed that neighboring countries in the region should participate in whatever way possible toward the re habilitation and reconstruction of Vietnam and the rest of Indochina. A sub-committee met in Baguio City last month to draft the guidelines for such assistance. While the ASEAN mem bers, as Mr. Malik realistically pointed out, “cannot hope to extend material help to Indochina because of our defi ciencies and insufficient resources,” the organization as a whole appears determined to extend at least tech nical aid and similar types of assist ance to Indochina. It seems equally determined to set up the Asian Forum as soon as prac ticable. The idea is to establish closer cooperation between countries of the region in the social, economic, and cultural fields. Apart from this ob jective, the initial Forum may also dis cuss the possibility of forming a security alliance to fill the vacuum should the US decide to withdraw completely from the area. Other pos sible topics are the proposal to neu tralize the area under big-power gua rantees and an invitation to North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma to join the ASEAN. While the ASEAN ministers were deliberating in Kuala Lumpur, Aus tralia was spearheading a move to change, if not altogether scuttle, the seven-year-old Asian-Pacific Council (ASPAC), composed of Japan, Aus tralia, New Zealand, South Korea, South Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philip pines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Aus tralian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, during a recent visit to Indonesia, was reported to have sounded out Pres ident Suharto on a proposed to create a new non-political, non-military or ganization. There is a possibility that 'such organization would later be merged with the ASEAN because of a similarity in their objectives. Regardless of the final outcome, these developments strongly illustrate the fact that .Asians are now keenly aware of the need to form a more closely knit organization, both to pre serve the peace and achieve economic stability in the region. Existing alliances, which, rightly or wrongly, have been closely identified with the Western powers, have proved largely unsuccessful in attaining these goals. It is n<?w widely acknowledged, for instance, that the 18-year-old South east Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), made up of the Philippines, Thai land, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Pakistan has not lived up to ex pectations. Pakistan, in fact, has for= mally withdrawn from the alliance. France has reduced its role to that of an observer. And there are indications that Australia and New Zealand may also quit the organization. The reason for its continued existence, along with a plan to transform it into a purely economic alliance, is expected to come up for scrutiny when the SEATO ministers meet this year. The ASPAC, organized in 1966 mainly for socio-economic purposes, likewise has proved ineffective be cause the nature of its membership has created suspicion among neutral or pro-Peking countries that it is primarily an anti-communist alliance. That point was underlined when Malaysia announced its withdrawal from the council last March 12, just before the ASPAC meeting scheduled in Bangkok. “There is no point in be longing to an organization which has done nothing,” the Malaysian foreign ministry was reported to have said. An Associated Press report said Malaysian officials also believe that ASPAC “will slowly disintegrate and disappear.” For instance, they cited the fact that three members — Australia, Japan, and New Zealand — now have diplomatic relations with China and would probably be wary about at tending the ASPAC meetings together with Taiwan. Malaysia itself is expect ed to establish diplomatic ties with North Vietnam “very soon.” The lessons learned from the ex perience of the two alliances could prove invaluable to the Asian Forum. And given the prospects of a wider membership and of being truly Asian in character, the Forum might yet succeed whether the other regional or ganizations failed. ALBERTO M. ALFARO THE REPUBLIC 31 March 1973 Page 7

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7

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