The ASEAN Way

Question 1

Context behind the ASEAN way?

Answer 1

Came into being at a time when serious threats to national unity continued to plague inter-state tensions. → Malaysia and Philippines over Sabah

Question 2

How was the preference for informality and
aversion to institutionalisation of cooperation shown?

Answer 2

Took 8 years for the first summit of ASEAN leaders;
only 4 summits in first 25 years of existence
Bangkok Declaration was not legally binding; nor did it call for establishment of regional institutions to enforce it
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation was the first formal agreement completed; came 9 years post-founding

Sports Shirt Diplomacy:
Preference for discussing important issues in informal and friendly settings over golf

Bilateral Meetings/ ‘Empt Mata’ (four eyes) Format:
Preference to engage in face-to-face meetings without agendas or interpreters to resemble friendly conversation between friends, indicating attempts to build mutual trust

Dialogues: Believed that dialogues enable participants to build comfort which facilitates tackling of ambitious initiatives later on; by cultivating patience among participants, advancing as slowly as the most reluctant member allows

Significance: Culminated in ASEAN’s emphasis on cultivation of close personal relations among leaders, fostering closer relations

Question 3

How was decision-making by consensus shown?

Answer 3

‘Musyawarah’ and ‘Mufakat’ - consultations and consensus; rooted in Javanese cultural concepts, used by Maphilindo for discussions and adopted by ASEAN

Musyawarah (consultations):
Parties must not insist on their own positions and be inflexible (points not agreed upon will be left for the future) to facilitate process of consensus-making

Mufakat (consensus):
No taking of sides, veto, or voting is permitted; with participation of all in decision-making - no one emerges from negotiation a loser
‘ASEAN has been able to absorb national differences because it is a relatively informal organisation without rigid rules of procedure and elaborate structural machinery’ - Hussein Onn (M’sia PM)

Limitation: However, ASEAN Way is criticised for creating a tendency to filter out contentious issues from the formal multilateral agenda; focusing more on conflict avoidance than resolution, leading to conflicts being ‘swept under the rug’
Benefits to this approach: sensitive and complicated issues better discussed bilaterally

Question 4

How was consensus and informality shown?

Answer 4

Attributes of Consensus building and Preference for informality can be distilled into ASEAN’s strict insistence on principle of non-interference

Informality and consensus building are means to avoid perceptions of interference with national sovereignty

While not consistently abided by members, officially considered sacrosanct within ASEAN, affirmed officially by the TAC and consistently given as justification for ASEAN’s gradual pace of institutionalisation and tolerance for more repressive states like the military junta in Myanmar.

Question 5

How was the principle of non-interference shown?

Answer 5

Mutual Non-Interference
Diversity within and among SEA nations: politically, ethnically, racially, religiously, with longstanding historical animosities/tensions between states
Reassures member states that neighbours will not exploit issues related to diversity in her own country to settle disputes; and
Prevents states from imposing their own value systems on their neighbours

Non-Interference from External Forces
Historical experiences with colonialism and Western intervention
ASEAN presents a united front to the international community that its members do not appreciate any attempts to interfere in any member state’s internal affairs
Solidarity acts as deterrence to foreign intervention

Question 6

What were the Western responses to non-interference

Answer 6

Drew much criticism from Western nations, especially vis a vis admission of Myanmar

Myanmar: National League of Democracy won majority vote, while National Unity Party associated with the military won only 25% → State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) prevented NLD to form government; claiming that elections were meant to form a constituent assembly and not a parliament
Western states condemned Myanmar for her refusal to hand over the reigns to NLD

Western Responses to Myanmar’s Admission:
ASEAN-Canada cooperation came to a standstill
EU refusal to allow Myanmar to participate in Asia-Europe meeting
EU declined to lift visa ban on Myanmar officials - ASEAN responded in solidarity by refusal to show up for the 13th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting