KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin Monday applauded the commitment made by Thailand and Cambodia to resolve their border dispute peacefully.
Despite initial hiccups and in true Asean spirit, he said, both parties had agreed to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"The last few months have been rather challenging for Asean. Tensions in the Cambodian-Thai border have caused a great deal of concern in the region, and this was evident during the recent Asean Summit in Jakarta.
"In seven hours' time, Cambodian and Thai advocates will begin to argue their cases in The Hague," he said in his keynote address at the 25th Asia-Pacific Rountable here.
Also present at the three-day roundtable organised by the Asean-Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (Asean-Isis), a network of leading think-tanks in Southeast Asia, was the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.
Muhyiddin said the peaceful resolution of conflicts was the bedrock of Asean as embodied in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
"Even when it may seem expedient to use force, Asean member states have taken the laborious path to peace and upholding the TAC. We must remain vigilant and reaffirm our commitment to this tradition.
"If Asean member states don't take the TAC seriously, we shouldn't expect the other signatories to do so. We have a moral duty to lead by example, and thereby binding signatories such as China, India, the European Union, Japan and the United States to their pledges on the non-use of force in the settlement of disputes," he said.
He was also heartened that in the case of the South China Sea dispute, China had shown its willingness to work with Asean to formulate a code of conduct (COC).
"A binding and working COC will go a long way towards ensuring stability in the South China Sea. We hope that this momentum will lead to meaningful steps towards the resolution of the dispute," he said.
"There's no better affirmation of the strong ties between Asean and China than a peaceful and expeditious resolution to our overlapping claims in the South China Sea," noted Muhyiddin.
The deputy prime minister was also delighted that this year marked the 20th anniversary of Asean's dialogue relations with China, saying that the ties had grown from strength to strength as the region reaped the benefits of China's phenomenal economic growth.
"We recall with gratitude when Beijing refrained from devaluing the yuan during the turbulent years of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. A friend in need is a friend indeed, and China has proven to be a very good friend," he said.
Muhyiddin said that for some, China's rapid development had caused a certain degree of unease.
He said: "The People's Liberation Army's efforts to modernise its equipment and doctrine have generated a great deal of discussion about China's growing strengths.
"But rather than speculating on Beijing's designs and intentions in the region, we would be better served by recognising the strategic adjustments that have to be made in accommodating China's re-emergence as a major power."
Muhyiddin said he was confident that Asean's role at the centre of regional cooperation would continue to grow in importance, especially as the world's strategic centre of gravity shifts towards Asia.
He also pointed out that in about four and a half years, Asean would mark yet another milestone with the construction of the Asean highway network and Singapore-Kunming rail link under the Asean Connectivity Master Plan.
By all accounts, he said, intra-regional trade had grown and would continue to grow, with the movement of goods set to be easier than in any time in history.
"These are very important building blocks towards the realisation of the Asean Community. It's a development that I believe will significantly enhance Southeast Asia's economic growth and integration," he added.
-- BERNAMA
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