I. The rationale for the ASC

1. All the while, ASEAN members shared a conviction that regional cooperation in the fields of social, cultural and economic development would translate into enhancing international understanding and maintaining inter-state peace and stability.

2. They still do.  However, in 2003, some ASEAN members put forward the idea that the prevailing inter-state peace and stability could be further guaranteed through more intensified and concrete cooperation in the fields of political and security cooperation.

3. At the same time, new forms of security threats have emerged.  These are not the traditional threats to national sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.  Many of these new threats are transnational in nature that cannot be addressed by individual countries.  They require collective or coordinated responses.

4. Moreover, (a) the end of the Cold War, (b) the relaxation of major power relations in the Asia Pacific region, and (c) ASEAN’s positive relations with its neighbors have all created a favorable environment to talk about a security community without provoking negative reactions and suspicions over the motives.

II. The nature and essence of the ASC

5. Under the Bali Concord II, the ASEAN Security Community, which the ASEAN Charter now calls the ASEAN Political Security Community or the APSC, is characterized by the following:

5.1 Commitment to the norms of a just, democratic and harmonious environment;
5.2 Rely exclusively on peaceful processes in the settlement of intra-regional differences;
5.3 Regard their security as fundamentally linked to one another;
5.4 Subscribe to the principle of comprehensive security as having broad political, economic, social and cultural aspects;
5.5 Not a defense pact, military alliance or a joint foreign policy;
5.6 Recognize the sovereign right of the member countries to pursue their individual foreign policies and defense arrangements;
5.7 Commitment to remain outward looking and to contribute to promoting peace and security in the wider Asia Pacific region.

III.  The road to achieving the ASC

6. Some of the major elements and components of the ASC as contained in the ASC Plan of Action and the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP) include the following:

6.1 Work towards an ASEAN Charter – the Charter was signed on 20 November 2007 at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore and is now open for ratification;
6.2 Promote human rights – Article 14 of the ASEAN Charter has now given a mandate for the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body;
6.3 Conclude a Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement – signed on 29 November 2004;
6.4 Conclude an ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism – signed on 13 January 2007;
6.5 Convene an annual ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) – inaugural ADMM was held in Kuala Lumpur on 9 May 2006; they adopted a 3-year work plan at their second meeting held in Singapore on 14 November 2007;
6.6 Conduct military exchanges, including Observers in exercises – included in the ADMM work plan;
6.7 Develop an ASEAN Early Warning System – need more discussion;
6.8 Publish an ASEAN Security Outlook – ADSOM started to discuss this project;
6.9 Promote ASEAN maritime security cooperation and establish an  ASEAN Maritime Forum – ASEAN Chiefs of Navy are developing cooperative activities in securing the seas, while an exploratory meeting on the establishment of the Maritime Forum was held in Batam in September 2007;
6.10 Strengthen dispute settlement mechanism – the ASEAN Charter devoted one whole chapter on settlement of disputes (Chapter 8); for instance, it provides for the establishment of good offices, conciliation and mediation role for the Chairman of ASEAN or the Secretary-General of ASEAN;
6.11 Establish an ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre – provided for under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response signed on 26 July 2005;
6.12 Establish a network amongst existing peacekeeping centers – the first meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Peace Operations Network was held in Port Dickson on 7-8 March 2007; a follow-up activity is being planned to be held in Australia;
6.13 Enhance role of the ARF Chair – the Terms of Reference for the Establishment of the Friends of the Chair was adopted by the ARF Ministers in Manila on 2 August 2007, which gives a mandate for the ARF Chair to take cognizance of issues likely to disturb regional peace and stability;
6.14 Establish an ARF Unit within ASEC – the Unit has been established since 26 June 2004 and has been assisting the ARF Chair;
6.15 Move ARF into preventive diplomacy stage – ARF has recognized the overlap between the CBM and PD stages and has replaced the ISG on CBM with the ISG on CBM and PD; it held its first meeting in Honolulu in October 2005.

IV. The future of ASC

7. In reality, political and security issues have always been on the agenda of ASEAN.  But ASEAN had no overarching political and security cooperative framework.  The ASC has provided it.  The recognition of the ASC as an equal pillar makes the ASEAN Community building truly comprehensive.  The three pillars of economic, socio-cultural and political-security should reinforce each other.

8. Political and diplomatic processes remain the primary means of promoting regional peace and stability.  On the other hand, defense dialogue and cooperation is meant to support, maintain and guarantee the prevailing peace, stability and order.  Its sustainability depends on keeping this distinction clear to everyone.

9. The ASC and the ADMM are subsets of regional security concentric circle.  But they are distinctly ASEAN in ways and content.  Nevertheless, ASEAN’s commitment to engaging the broader Asia Pacific region was never in doubt.  ASEAN will continue to contribute to making the ARF a useful process in the regional security architecture.  The ADMM has also started talking about engaging our friends through an ADMM-Plus format to be undertaken at the right moment.