Singapore FM: No Asean member wants to be proxy of US or China
MEMBERS of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have differing views on the increasing tension between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. But one thing that “unites” them is the fact that no membercountry wants to play “proxy” or “vassal” of either of the world’s superpowers China and the United States.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan made this assertion when asked for his views by reporters during a joint press conference with Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila Tuesday.
Foreign policy experts have been criticizing Asean for “being silent” whenever the China Coast Guard fires water cannon, collides with, or flashes military-grade lasers at Philippine Coast Guard and other civilian boats in the West Philippines.
The Philippines and Singapore are one of the founding members of Asean.
Balakrishnan said Asean has been “successful” in maintaining the peace and stability in the region while focusing on economic prosperity of its members.
“In our relations to both superpowers, and to the middle powers like India, Australia, Europe, if you look carefully at Asean, each of us have slightly different levels of proximity in terms of strategic alignment with one or the other.
“But I believe Asean is united in the sense that no single Asean country wants to become a proxy or a vassal state of any power,” Balakrishnan said.
This is the “external” dynamics of Asean in trying to understand why Asean seems divided on the South China Sea issue.
“Not all Asean members are claimant states.… That does not mean that Asean as a whole has no stake in what happens in South China. Sea.
“The most important thing for Asean is to maintain peace and stability. Not only because it is in our immediate backyard. It is one of the world’s busiest waterways,” Balakrishnan said.
Singapore does not claim any islands nor assert any maritime entitlements in the South China Sea. But it has been vocal whenever there are serious altercations between the Philippines and China, as its external trade is dependent on the sea-lanes in the South China Sea.
“The moment you have escalation of tension or collisions, always military action in the South China Sea, it will immediately impact and impede trade. It will immediately increase insurance premiums, it will certainly have inflationary impact on our economies, and it will dampen confidence in what in fact should be multiple decades of growth that we all expect and our people need in order for us to achieve the economic expansion and the expansion on jobs,” he said.
Balakrishnan stressed that “questions of sovereignty” may be difficult to resolve, and may take generations.
“Dispute over sovereignty does not necessarily have to lead to conflict or climactic action in the South China Sea. So we continue to advocate for peaceful resolution of the dispute,” he added.
Avoiding the use of force on outstanding territorial disputes, he acknowledged, is “difficult to achieve.”
The Singaporean top envoy stressed, though, that on the issue of maritime entitlements, Asean has been upholding the “primacy” of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (Unclos).
“The third aspect is to maintain Asean unity and centrality. That’s not just a form of words..… We represent the most diverse regional grouping around the world in terms of size, in terms of economic development, political structures, demographics.
“It is complex. It is variated,” he said. He said for decades, the Asean has been negotiating with China for a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
“The code of conduct will not resolve territorial sovereignty but we believe it is important in one way because it will reduce tension and possibility of complications if collisions or disputes occur in the ways of the South China Sea,” he said.
Manalo: Nuances in position
FOR his part, Manalo agreed with Balakrishnan that due to “nuances in positions” in the South China Sea, the Philippines “cannot have the text that we want.”
“But there has always been Asean’s statement expressing concern over developments in the South China Sea.
We know what countr y has caused most of these developments,” Manalo said.
For his part, Manalo agreed with Balakrishnan that due to “nuances in positions” in the South China Sea, the Philippines “cannot have the text that we want.”
“But there has always been Asean’s statement expressing concern over developments in the South China Sea. We know what countr y has caused most of these developments,” Manalo said.
Asean “centrality,” Manalo stressed, “is still one of the important foreign policies of the Philippines.”
“We’ll do whatever way we can to promote peace and stability in the region,” he added.