Page 290 - Failure to Triumph - Journey of A Student

The ASEAN Way

In the 1960s, the push for decolonization promoted the sovereignty of Indonesia and Malaysia among
others. Since nation building is often messy and vulnerable to foreign intervention, the governing elite

wanted to be free to implement independent policies with the knowledge that neighbours would
refrain from interfering in their domestic affairs. Territorially small members such as Singapore and
Brunei were consciously fearful of force and coercive measures from much bigger neighbours like
Indonesia and Malaysia.

“Through political dialogue and confidence building, no tension has escalated into armed
confrontation among ASEAN member countries since its establishment more than three decades ago".

The ASEAN way can be traced back to the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in
Southeast Asia. “Fundamental principles adopted from this included:

mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national
identity of all nations;

the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference,

subversion or coercion;

non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;

renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

effective cooperation among themselves.

On the surface, the process of consultations and consensus is supposed to be a democratic
approach to decision making, but the ASEAN process has been managed through close interpersonal
contacts among the top leaders only, who often share a reluctance to institutionalise and legalise co-
operation which can undermine their regime’s control over the conduct of regional co-operation.
Thus, the organisation is chaired by the secretariat.

All of these features, namely non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalisation,

consultation and consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation have constituted what is called the
ASEAN Way. This ASEAN Way has recently proven itself relatively successful in the settlements of
disputes by peaceful manner realm, with Chinese and ASEAN officials agreeing to draft guidelines
ordered to avert tension in the South China Sea, an important milestone ending almost a decade of
deadlock.

Despite this success, some academics continue to argue that ASEAN’s non-interference principle
has worsened efforts to improve in the areas of Burma, human rights abuses and haze pollution in the
region. Meanwhile, with the consensus-based approach, every member in fact has a veto and