March 7, 2024
JAKARTA – Southeast Asia must remain a peaceful region where sovereignty is respected and restraint is exercised by all, leaders of ASEAN nations and Australia said following a three-day summit overshadowed by pressing geopolitical tensions.
The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit concluded on Wednesday with a call for a respect of international law, whether it be in the South China Sea or in Gaza, for the sake of the world’s shared future.
The summit was initially slated to discuss the long-term economic cooperation between ASEAN and Australia, but the focus in Melbourne shifted following simmering tensions between the Philippines and China because of their overlapping claims in the South China Sea, a key conduit for global commerce.
“We strive for a region where differences are managed through respectful dialogue, not the threat or use of force,” ASEAN nations and Australia said in a joint statement issued during the summit.
Without mentioning China, the statement urged that all disputes be settled in line with international laws, “including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea [UNCLOS]”, a maritime code usually referred to caution Beijing against aggressive acts at sea.
In another document, dubbed the Melbourne Declaration, ASEAN and Australia said: “We encourage all countries to avoid any unilateral actions that endanger peace, security and stability in the region.”
China’s rapid rise in recent years has presented Southeast Asian countries with both economic opportunities and security challenges, with Beijing aggressively claiming vast swathes of the South China Sea.
In return, some ASEAN countries have aligned themselves closer with the United States, which is currently in a fierce competition for influence with Beijing, for security assurance.
The Philippines, for instance, has a mutual defense treaty with the US that binds them to defend each other if attacked.
Australia, both an ally to the US and a close dialogue partner of ASEAN, has also been heavily invested in the recent geopolitical development given its proximity to the contested waters.
Read also: Geopolitical tensions loom over ASEAN-Australia summit
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that he was “very concerned about any unsafe and destabilizing behaviors” in the South China Sea, explaining that they “create a risk of miscalculation which can then lead to escalation”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it has not seen the ASEAN-Australia statement in its entirety, but insisted that “the situation in the South China Sea has been generally stable” and that all of its recent activities have been “professional, restrained, justified and lawful”, Reuters reported.
Rules-based order
Indonesia, perceived as the natural leader of the Southeast Asia region and a non-claimant to the South China Sea, has for years been pushing for diplomatic means and trust-building to resolve the issue, including through negotiating for the completion of a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
“During the retreat session in which geopolitical issues were discussed, President [Joko “Jokowi” Widodo] emphasized respect toward international law,” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a press briefing.
“A rules-based order must be upheld without a double standard. The spirit and paradigm of collaboration must be strengthened to avoid a trust deficit,” she added.
The importance of further cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners, like Australia, was a point of emphasis for Jokowi, who returned to Jakarta on Wednesday.
“ASEAN and Australia share a common region,” said Jokowi ahead of his Jakarta-bound flight. “A region where stability, peace and prosperity are both our purpose and responsibility.”
The Melbourne Declaration also said that stronger maritime security cooperation was in the pipeline between ASEAN and Australia.
Talks on regional cooperation between Jakarta and Canberra in light of these developments also took place during Jokowi and Albanese’s meeting on Tuesday, according to previous official statements.
Cease-fire in Gaza
With the focus on the adherence to international law becoming a focal point of the summit, Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza inevitably became another talking point in Melbourne, with some ASEAN members like Indonesia and Malaysia adamant on using the regional forum as another avenue to address the humanitarian crisis.
Read also: ASEAN, Australia call for ‘immediate and durable’ ceasefire in Gaza
Agreement on Gaza did not come easy, several news reports said, with each of the attendants having divided opinions and vested diplomatic alliances on the matter.
Nonetheless, the summit finally agreed to produce a 258-word statement on Gaza, which “condemned attacks against all civilians and civilian infrastructure” and called for “an immediate and durable humanitarian cease-fire”.
Similarly, adherence to international law was repeatedly mentioned in the case of Gaza.