July 22, 2024
JAKARTA – The Indonesian diplomatic corps is readying itself for a week of ministerial-level meetings on ASEAN in Vientiane next week, amid simmering tensions in the region and several unresolved negotiations critical to Southeast Asia’s security.
In-depth talks on the Myanmar crisis, the Code of Conduct (COC) on the disputed South China Sea, and keeping the region free from nuclear weapons are expected during the 57th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM).
The event, which is being held some three months before the end of Laos’ ASEAN chairmanship, will begin on Wednesday and put the talks regarding the Leaders’ Summit in October at the forefront of discussions.
Foreign Ministry director-general for ASEAN cooperation Sidharto Suryodipuro said on Friday that Minister Retno LP Marsudi would fly to Vientiane on Tuesday and engage in 19 meetings throughout the week.
The string of meetings includes a Wednesday talk with the troika alliance dedicated to advancing a peaceful resolution in Myanmar, with Laos and Malaysia’s presence this year, as well as a series of bilateral talks with ASEAN’s major partners like the United States and China.
“Among [Retno’s] primary messages will be pushing and reminding major powers of their interests in ASEAN and the region,” Sidharto said.
“[This includes] stressing the importance of regional security, the strengthening of ASEAN institutions, obeying international rules and regional norms […] to prevent incidents and conflicts,” he continued.
Regional stability
Tensions in Southeast Asia have spiked in recent years amid the rise of security alliances triggered by the Washington-Beijing rivalry, a major power feud that has also shaped the dynamics of the South China Sea controversy.
Beijing’s sweeping claim over the South China Sea has for decades caused diplomatic disputes with several ASEAN member states, which have only intensified in recent years. Most notably, the Philippines has joined hands with the US and Japan to protect its waters, an alliance widely perceived as potentially inflammatory to the tensions in the sea.
With increased confrontation between the Philippines and China in the disputed waters, Beijing has partnered up with Moscow; earlier this week they kick-started a live-fire naval exercise in the South China Sea in what has been widely perceived as an effort to get even with the Philippines’ US alliance.
Sidharto noted that the bloc was aware about the “urgency” of intensifying negotiations for the COC, a much-awaited document that will serve as a guideline for activities in the South China Sea but has been set back by unending negotiations for over two decades.
Discussions on the South China Sea will take place on Thursday, he added, with ASEAN’s focus set on maritime rights, regional stability and COC negotiations. To increase the chances of concluding the negotiations by 2026, the “aspirational deadline” previously set by ASEAN and China, the bloc will intensify its diplomacy and has scheduled another meeting with Chinese representatives in early September.
Still on the note of regional stability, the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Committee will also dedicate the week to convincing nuclear weapon states (NWS) to keep the region sterile of such weapons, a diplomatic undertaking that has seen little luck despite heightening military tensions in recent years.
Retno has been scheduled to co-chair the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) with the US, one of the five internationally recognized NWS that has yet to accede to the SEANWFZ treaty.
Internal issues
In another regional security threat, discussions of the Myanmar crisis, which has for the past three years tested ASEAN’s integrity and reputation, will also be among the most anticipated topics at next week’s ministerial talks.
Myanmar will send a non-political member of its foreign ministry to the talks, Sidharto confirmed.
While ASEAN’s progress in advancing the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and improving access to humanitarian aid has been “going slowly”, Sidharto said that there had been efforts by specific member states to facilitate diplomatic efforts with Myanmar, especially Thailand.
Bangkok’s efforts so far, Sidharto said, have been received well by ASEAN and thoroughly discussed within the bloc.
“There was talk that there was division within ASEAN due to Thailand’s actions, but it is not true,” he asserted.
Despite the assurance of unity on the Myanmar crisis, a United Nations report from last June revealed that Thai banks and companies have been playing a key role in facilitating the Myanmar junta in securing weapons.
The Foreign Ministry on Friday declined to comment on the report, while noting that Thailand, as Myanmar’s direct neighbor, has much at stake in the Myanmar crisis.
Against this backdrop, Sidharto said there had been informal talks among ASEAN member states to expand the troika formation to include other countries with high domestic stakes in the crisis, including Thailand, but these discussions have yet to be formalized.
The 57th AMM, which will conclude on 27 July, will produce at least six documents including a joint communique, three joint statements with China, Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as a chairman’s statement.