ASEAN joins UN eforts to resolve security challenges
25/8/15
On
August 18 at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York (USA), the
Security Council of the United Nations held an open discussion on the topic “The
regional organizations and the challenges to current global security”, which
was chaired by Nigeria as rotating president of the Security Council this
August.
Representatives
of nearly 50 countries, regional and international organizations as the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM), the African Union (AU), European Union (EU) and the United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon participated and spoke at the meeting.
Speaking
on behalf of the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Head of the Delegation of Vietnam's permanent
representative to the UN said that the international community is facing many
challenges in its efforts to maintain peace and international security since traditional
and non-traditional security issues continue more complicated.
The
ambassador stressed in this context, to achieve long-term solutions of joint
efforts to ensure global security, we must attach great importance to the role
of regional organizations.
Ambassador
Nguyen Phuong Nga affirmed in recent years, ASEAN has made joint effort to
strengthen peace and stability in the region, contributing significantly to the
formation of the ASEAN Community in 2015.
ASEAN
is also working closely with partners to develop mechanisms for conflict
prevention, peaceful settlement of disputes in the region, including the Code
of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). In addition, ASEAN has always attached great
importance to promoting cooperation with the UN, which has involved
strengthening the peacekeeping operations of the United Nations, specifying the
ASEAN-United Nations Comprehensive Partnership, promoting cooperation between
the two Secretariats.
Ambassador
Nguyen Phuong Nga shared experience in building ASEAN community, especially the
“ASEAN Way”. According to the ambassador, to better cope with new challenges, it
would be important to build consensus, listen to the views of stakeholders,
respect the basic principles of international law, including respect
sovereignty, territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes.
ASEAN
said that the report and recommendations of the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
on the direction of UN activities on the occasion of 70th anniversary of the establishment of the United
Nations should respect and make specific recommendations on strengthening
cooperation with regional organizations, as well as promote dialogues between
regional organizations with the United Nations and between these organizations
together.
All comments [ 10 ]
Building a peaceful and stable environment in the region to help member countries firmly maintain independence, sovereignty and sustainable development has been reflected in almost all of ASEAN’s documents,
Conflict prevention, management and settlement are one of the key integral components of the ASEAN Political-Security Community.
participating in resolving disputes and conflicts in the East Sea within the scope of work is both a responsibility and an ensurance of ASEAN’s common interest.
Among claimant states and parties of sovereignty in the East Sea, four ASEAN member countries including Viet Nam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are engaged in direct disputes in these waters. Other countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia which are lying on the coastal areas of the East Sea share great strategic interests in economic, free trade, security, and national defense.
once disputes in the East Sea escalate, they will not only threaten national interests of ASEAN coastal countries, but also aggravate cooperation and development environment of the whole bloc, especially ASEAN’s relations with external partners. Southeast Asian countries, particularly claimants, willy-nilly, should spend more budgets on national defense.
Another issue of no less importance is ASEAN is striving to realize ASEAN Community with three pillars, including the ASEAN Political-Security Community (ASPC) by the end of 2015. Contents and methods to build the ASEAN Political-Security Community like “developing and sharing code of conduct” and cooperation, search and establishment of mechanisms to “prevent conflicts” in ASEAN and between ASEAN and external partners are identified in the 2004 Program of Action and the 2009 ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint.
This heightens resistance of ASEAN and of each member country in face of increasing geopolitical pressure due to strategic competition among big powers in the region and at the same time raises attractiveness and efficiency of ASEAN and member countries in expanding cooperation with external partners
it is possible to say that ASEAN’s involvement in settling contradictions and preventing conflicts in the East Sea is both responsibility and strategic interests of this organization.
This is also one of the tests to the realization of ASEAN Community including the ASEAN Political-Security Community.
Nevertheless, more than ever before, ASEAN should be more politically determined and responsible to early develop a Code of Conduct, including strict and concrete legal stipulations.
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