By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
With the U.S. announced intention of pivoting to the Asia-Pacific, tensions have since been felt by China and ARSEAN, fearing that it would interfere in the region's affairs such as the political instability in Myanmar where the Junta has overthrown the Aung San Suu Kyi administration, whose supporters are fighting back.
Furthermore, Hun Sen's records on human rights have been criticized by the Americans, whose president has just raised concerns in the administration.
Apart from these two "problematic" countries, Indonesia as a rotating chairman is raising concerns by the nation's president who has just said that outside countries are not permitted to meddle with the politics of the region, which prefers to clean its own house.
The following article is informative; it reveals the political stance of Joko and that of Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia.
Widodo: Indonesia will not let Southeast Asia to become a flash point…
Indonesia's president vowed yesterday not to let Southeast Asia become the front lines of a new Cold War amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and China, saying as his country took over the chairmanship of the influential Association of Southeast Asian Nations that it would not become "a proxy to any powers."
Joko Widodo said the 10-nation bloc with a combined population of some 700 million people "must be a dignified region" and "uphold the values of humanity and democracy" – principles that have been challenged by last year's military takeover in Myanmar and concerns about human rights in Cambodia.
"ASEAN must become a peaceful region and anchor for global stability, consistently uphold international law and not be a proxy to any powers," he said. "ASEAN should not let the current geopolitical dynamic turn into a new Cold War in our region."
As China has grown more assertive in the Asia-Pacific and pressed its claim to the self-governing democracy of Taiwan, the U.S. has pushed back, leading to increasing tensions.
The ASEAN leaders met over the weekend in Phnom Penh, and U.S. naval exercises with its partners in the so-called "Quad" group of nations – Australia, India and Japan – were underway in the Philippine Sea, east of Taiwan.
In yesterday's East Asian Summit, which ran concurrently with the ASEAN meeting and included both the U.S. and China, U.S. President Joe Biden underscored that freedom of navigation and overflight must be respected in the East China and South China seas and that all disputes must be resolved peacefully and according to international law, according to the White House.
Biden said the U.S. will compete vigorously with China while keepings lines of communication open and ensuring that competition does not veer into conflict, while reaffirming the importance of peace and stability [in the region], the White House said.
The comments came just a day before a highly anticipated meeting between Biden and Xi at the Group of 20 summit in Bali.
Hun Sen: Complains that Current Global Tensions are Disturbing the Region…
At the opening of the East Asian Summit, Cambodian leader Hun Sen called for unity, telling the gathering attended by Biden, Chinese Prime Minister LI Keqiang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that current global tensions have been taking a toll on everyone.
Without singling out any nation by name, Hun Sen said he hoped leaders would embrace a "spirit" of togetherness in upholding open and inclusive multilateralism, pragmatism and mutual respect in addressing the existential and strategic challenges we all face."
Many current challenges and tensions have been hindering our past hard-earned efforts to promote sustainable development and causing greater hardship to people's lives," he said.
The meetings also included the leaders of Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and other.
Biden also raised human rights concerns in Cambodia. In a statement after the meeting with Hun Sen, the White House said Biden urged the prime minister – an authoritarian ruler in a nominally democratic nation – to "reopen civic and political space" before its 2023 elections.
Biden, according to the White House, also pushed Hun Sen to release activists including Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American lawyer who was convicted of treason. Biden also raised concerns about activities at Ream Naval Base, whose expansion Cambodian officials have described as a collaborative effort between it and China.
Another topic Biden focused on is Myanmar, where the military junta overthrew the civilian government in February 2021 and arrested its democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. As he met with Hun Sen, Biden stressed that the U.S. was committed to the return of democracy in Myanmar, which had steadily headed toward a democratic form of governance before the coup.
Li Keqing, meantime, told a meeting of ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea that amid a "turbulent" global security situation, "unilateralism and protectionism are surging, economic and financial risks are rising, and global development is confronted with unprecedented challenges."
As major economies in East Asia, Li said the group needed to "stay committed to promoting peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and beyond, and to improving the people's wellbeing." (Source: MDT/AP)
CONCLUSION
From the stance of Joko and that of Hun Sen, the world now knows that at least Indonesia and Cambodia are spelling out an ASEAN identity which is widely shared by ten-member bloc, which has invariably stated one time or another similar preference for their choices, however hard it may be, although an official consensus will have to be officially announced.
Earlier, Singapore's prime minister has cautioned the U.S. not to adopt a policy of "everybody but China" foreign policy. Malaysia and Indonesia have also protested to Scott Morrison's administration about the Australian choice of joining the AUKUS pact, which harbor nuclear ambitions.
The Vietnam president has pledged to China that it stands by Beijing, sharing its position and policy for ASEAN.
The trend that peace should be maintained in the region is taking shape; all it needs is a manifesto.
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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