ASEAN Urged to Review Non-Interference Policy

Malaysia’s former foreign minister thinks it’s time to review the policy of non-interference, which has guided the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since its founding in 1967.

Dr. Syed Hamid Albar, who was foreign minister from 1999 to 2008, made this recommendation during a civil society conference in Kuala Lumpur held a few days before ASEAN’s 26th summit . Malaysia is the current chair of the ASEAN secretariat. 

“We need to seriously think about reviewing and redefining ASEAN’s non-interference policy.  We need to recognize that even in international diplomacy, there are limits on non-interference, especially when the serious impacts of a problem goes beyond national boundaries, or when it involves serious international crimes,” Syed Hamid said. 

He also added that “ASEAN needs to change in order to be more responsive and resilient to the myriad and fast-growing challenges” that the region faces today.

The former minister didn’t mention specific controversies that could have been resolved through direct action by ASEAN member nations, but other speakers at the conference hinted that some of the pressing issues in the region like the continuing persecution of the stateless Rohingya people already require an intervention. 

“Over years, ASEAN has been ridiculed as the toothless tiger. If Kuala Lumpur winds up the annual meeting, glossing over the Rohingya issue, then ASEAN will certainly have to bear the shameful stigma of ridicule for many more years to come,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian MP and chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. 

For Yab Mohamed Azmin Ali, chief minister of Selangor in Malaysia, the “conspiracy of silence” with respect to the human rights violations committed by member states should end now. 

“On this altar of neutrality we watch with folded arms the slaughter of innocent women and children. On this platform of non-interference, we turn a blind eye to the massacre of ethnic minorities or abandon them as state-less peoples,” he said during the conference which was attended by more than 1,000 activists and leaders from various civil society organizations across the region. 

Aside from the Rohingya issue, there are other pressing concerns that ASEAN can and should address as a united body. These could include the worsening problem of human trafficking, the need to protect migrant workers, the increasing number of laws that restrict media freedom, and economic inequality amid the ongoing initiative to integrate the region’s diverse economies. All of these issues were tackled during the ASEAN People’s Forum. Another major topic is the urgent need for ASEAN to react to China’s land reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea. 

Interestingly, one of the workshops in the conference called for a “Junta-Free ASEAN” and an ASEAN free of political prisoners “so that the voices and choices of the people can displace all forms of dictatorship and strengthen solidarity for democracy and social justice across the region.” This is obviously in reference to Thailand’s military-backed government. But the issue of human rights abuses is applicable not only to Thailand and Myanmar but to other ASEAN members as well. Even host nation Malaysia is accused of using archaic laws to harass and detain opposition leaders and critics of the government.

What should be done when everybody within ASEAN is unwilling or reluctant to act on sensitive issues? Again, we turn to Malaysia’s Syed Hamid who proposed to transform the regional grouping “from being a state-driven institution to an integrated people-centered community.” He advocated a greater role for civil society in ASEAN since he is confident that these groups “can come up with innovative, sustainable and cheaper solutions than just the governments working by themselves.”

But with regard to proposed reforms involving the ASEAN, AKP Mochtan of the ASEAN Community and Corporate Affairs advised civil society that “expectations should be realistic” since “change in ASEAN can only be achieved through agreement by the 10 Member States.”

However, the ASEAN leader is confident that regional integration efforts will succeed in the end, including the ambitious goal of creating a single economic bloc. “Community building is like a marathon without a finishing line: we simply must continue.”

Numerous proposals and counter-proposals are being put forward today in relation to ASEAN. It is hoped that the lively discussions inside and outside the ASEAN Summit venues will continue to focus more on empowering the marginalized and ordinary residents of Southeast Asia.