With China, India growing next door, ASEAN should unite as a community

Abdul Khalik and Sita Winiawati Dewi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Tue, 05/10/2011

Beside Philippine President Benigno Aquino and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is the youngest leader in ASEAN, and many believe he will be around for a long time to help shape ASEAN’s future. The Thai Prime Minister gave The Jakarta Post’s Abdul Khalik and Sita Winiawati Dewi an exclusive interview after the closing of 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Sunday. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

How do you assess the Indonesian chairmanship of ASEAN so far?

I think I speak for other countries as well that we have been impressed by the leadership demonstrated by Indonesia since it chaired ASEAN, as it has been proactive in issues that affect ASEAN as a whole, Thai-Cambodian border dispute included, but also in other areas, for instance the response to the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, also its vision to focus on a wider context of international and global cooperation and how ASEAN fits into that architecture and being part of the community of nations as we build our community.

Indonesia has reaffirmed some of the direction that we had undertaken since the Charter, for instance involving representatives from parliament, youth, civil society organizations, and even has a forum for civil society organization and youth to participate. So we are pleased with the chairmanship of Indonesia, the country’s demonstration of leadership, being proactive over the last few months.

The meeting over the last couple of days has gone well, again with the ability of the chair to handle the discussion. And Indonesia, I should add, being a G20 member also added to the advantage of it representing ASEAN in what people now see as a premier forum for economic cooperation on the global stage.

How do you see the goal of ASEAN integration, that we will have a community by 2015? Do you think it is still achievable?

Yes, I do. I think first of all, because the new charter has a stronger secretariat, so at the very least, we are reminded by the secretary general about the progress or the lack of progress in keeping the commitment that we make.

We have also a sense of urgency, given the emergence of China and India as huge economic powers right next to the region. And with the expansion of EAS, the United States and Russia are coming in. I think our 10 members are well aware that our credibility depends on our ability to deliver, and therefore we know that all the big places in the world are not just watching but want to be part of the process, and therefore that helps speed up and adds to the political will of the ASEAN people becoming a community.

Concerning the Thai-Cambodia conflict, many said that this border dispute was also influenced by domestic politics, especially in Thailand. What’s your response to this?

Well, I can’t speak for Cambodia, but you know in all countries, Thailand included, there is always an element or group of nationalists, and they can have a very strong nationalistic feelings, and they’re part of society. But my government has demonstrated clearly that we listen to them but we would do what is best and what is necessary in the interest of the country, and we protect our sovereignty and we protect our territory but we want to do so in a manner that would not affect the livelihoods of our people and the Cambodian people who live along the border, because they are the very thing, even more direct stakeholders, and we should be accountable to them as much as to any interest groups or any organizations that might want to see other means of solving problems.

So we listen to them. We don’t always agree with them; we don’t respond to them because we are accountable to all the people in Thailand. ...Some of the things might make it more difficult politically, but the government is always determined to do what is right.

What do you think about Indonesia’s proposal to draft an ASEAN common platform for global issues?

We all believe in the principle that we call ASEAN centrality as we build the architecture for cooperation in the region, and it keeps expanding.

I think to preserve that centrality we need to demonstrate unity. Wherever possible we should try to adopt the common stance on the key issues that would make the core of whatever architecture evolves in the region.

So I think it’s something we always hope for but perhaps we have not yet been able to set out clearly how we might achieve that. But I think the goal is a good one, and we should try to achieve it.