Dutch expert maps Israeli land grab

RNW, 30 September 2010 - 3:57pm | By Johan van der Tol

(Photo: Foundation for Middle East Peace)

Jewish settlers account for just one percent of the population of the West Bank, according to a Dutch map maker, but are claiming 60 percent of the land.

Palestinians have been finding it difficult to come up with exact figures detailing the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Dutch map maker Jan de Jong has come to their aid.

Dutch cartographer
Jan de Jong

Reliable maps play an essential role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The delineation of borders are of central importance, but good maps are scarce. Dutch cartographer Jan de Jong:

“The Palestinians had a real problem. They couldn’t call on the use of good maps or satellite images in talks with the Israelis. The only thing they could do was drive around the country and look at what was going on around the settlements. But it’s next to impossible for Palestinians to get near them.”

Of course, every internet user can get hold of satellite pictures via Google Maps. But these are not good enough for this kind of official use and expensive satellite images are needed.

Major land grab

While working on development projects, Mr De Jong set up a data base to be used by Palestinian farmers.

He had at his disposal the latest detailed satellite images and was able to delineate the size of Jewish settlements. They are much bigger than Israel is publicly admitting.

“They are just one percent of the whole West Bank population, but they are claiming 60 percent of the land. The settlements are actually just built-up pockets, but the settlers include huge tracts of land around them by laying down barbed wire. So in effect it’s more like estates, containing just a few houses.”

The Israeli authorities prefer not to go into details about the size of Jewish settlements. The barbed wire barriers with which the settlement land is demarcated and enlarged are not to be found on Israeli maps. “You can’t find them, even on the most detailed Israeli maps,” says Mr De Jong. “You have to map the detail you see on satellite images and that you have recorded on the ground.”

Moratorium

He says construction was going on in the settlements even during the 10-month building moratorium which has just expired. “There was building work every day, except on Jewish holidays. That’s why I call it a virtual moratorium.”

Land grab

Buildings are constantly being added to the settlements, but Mr De Jong is more worried by the amount of land surrounding them. He calls it “an unbridled land grab”.

“It looks like the settlers are intent on keeping Palestinian farmers from coming near the settlements and leaving the land to go to waste. And, under Israeli law, if land is lying waste, you can claim it as your own.”

Facts

Is Mr De Jong’s work achieving anything? Will he have any effect on changing Israeli government policy? He says he is in contact with senior Israeli civil servants.

“Lots of Israeli ministry officials are interested in a kind of unbiased Western view of this information. These talks are ongoing and intense. But, at the highest level, you’re dealing with politics and that’s to do with fundamental decisions. These have nothing to do with the facts on the ground.”

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Myanmar to free Suu Kyi days after election: officials

RNW, 30 September 2010 - 2:41pm

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will be released just days after Myanmar's first election in two decades, officials said Thursday.

Aung San Suu Kyi

The Nobel Peace laureate, who has been detained for most of the last twenty years since winning the country's last general election, will be freed when her current term of house arrest expires on November 13, the unnamed sources said.

"November will be an important and busy month for us because of the election and because of Aung San Suu Kyi's release," a Myanmar official told AFP, noting the release would come soon after the country's November 7 poll.

A second Myanmar official, who also declined to be named, confirmed the release date, adding "she will be released on that day according to the law".

Neither Suu Kyi nor her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will participate in the first poll since their 1990 victory and the vote has been dismissed as a sham aimed at hiding military power behind a civilian facade.

Suu Kyi was initially sentenced to three years in jail and hard labour last year after a bizarre incident in May in which American John Yettaw swam to her lakeside house.

At first she was held at Myanmar's feared Insein prison but was allowed to return to her crumbling family mansion in August 2009 after her sentence was commuted to one and a half years house arrest by junta leader Than Shwe.

Her lawyer Nyan Win said the period of detention started with her imprisonment on May 14 2009 -- a few days before she was due to be freed from a previous round of confinement.

He said authorities will have to release her in November because "there is no law to extend her house arrest".

"So far we have no plan in advance for her release date. We will do and follow whatever she asks for. We are waiting for that day," Nyan Win added.

RI calls on Israel, Palestine to resume direct talks

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 18:06 WIB | National

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has called on Israel and Palestine to resume their direct negotiations to "find solutions on all final status issues."

Indonesia made the call in Foreign Affairs Minister Marty M. Natalegawa`s speech at the 65th session of The United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 28.

"Indonesia will also work tirelessly to ensure that the United Nations continues to discharge its historic responsibilities on the question of Palestine," Marty said adding that Indonesia welcomed and supported the resumption of direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

He said the talks were "a precious opportunity for Palestine and Israel to find solutions on all final status issues."

But he also said Indonesia deplored the Israeli government`s decision not to extend the moratorium on the building of settlements in Jerusalem. "The decision does not in any way contribute to a climate conducive for the direct negotiations," he said.

"We will continue to contribute to the capacity building of Palestine and help the Palestinian people prepare for the day when they finally exercise their right to sovereignty," Marty said.

Speaking about the United Nations itself, Marty said this world body was facing a multitude of challenges, that were complex, multifaceted, and trans-national in nature and defy mere national solutions. Thus, international cooperation was needed.

"Precisely, challenges of the type the United Nations is potentially best equipped for. This central role for the United Nations derives, above all, from its near universal membership," Marty said, emphasizing that the UN needed to be representative and effective, capable of delivering peace and security worldwide.

He said the United Nations should equally serves the interest of all nations, developed and developing, large and small.

"The world needs a United Nations that provides a robust institutional support for efforts to achieve prosperity and equitable development for all. A United Nations that advocates not only political and civil rights but also economic and social rights and promotes democracy and justice." he said.

"In short, a United Nations must be able to play a central role in global governance," he added.

About the Security Council, Marty said this core body must better reflect the contemporary world, not that of 1945. A more representative Council would be a more effective Council. The General Assembly must be revitalized and an efficient Assembly was a more effective Assembly.

The central role of the United Nations in global governance owes not only to its capacity to reform, to enhance its representative character, but also to deliver in overcoming contemporary global challenges. To deliver on its Charter-provided purposes, or as he eloquently put it "to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations."

As a member state, he said, Indonesia will do its part and continue to contribute to UN peacekeeping efforts and strive to ensure that the recent positive momentum on the issue of disarmament is maintained.

Women’s roles vital in peacemaking efforts

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/30/2010 10:06 AM

Delegates from Asian countries gathered in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss how best to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

The participants from Jakarta, Poso, Kalimantan, Papua and Aceh, and other regions in Indonesia with a history of conflict joined other women from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India in agreeing that women played a pivotal role in peace and reconciliation efforts.

Adopted on Oct. 31, 2000, resolution 1325 addresses the impact of war on women, as well as women’s contributions in conflict resolution and peacemaking.

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari, said that although women and children were usually the most vulnerable groups in conflict areas, they were usually among the most active groups involved in peacemaking and rehabilitation efforts.

She cited women’s past contributions to peacemaking in armed or post-conflict areas, such as Poso in Central Sulawesi and Ambon in Maluku, saying they should neither be overlooked nor ignored.

Kamala Chandrakirana, the former chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence against Women, cited the example of roles played by women in peace and security in Maluku.

She said Muslim and Christian women there initiated peace talks with national leaders to help resolve interreligious conflict in 1999.

During the discussion, Linda highlighted the importance of resolution 1325 and how it would be integrated into national policies.

“We are in the process of drafting a national action plan as part of our national policy to implement the resolution,” she said.

Linda added that the action plan would prioritize the protection of women and children not only in armed conflict areas, but also in social settings.

“This is because we are seeing more social conflict and fewer armed conflict taking place in certain areas in the country,” she said.

Apart from the action plan, the ministry has responded to resolution 1325 by issuing a 2010 regulation on a gender-responsive budget that would require state institutions at all levels to direct budget allocations to programs supporting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Meanwhile, the current chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence against Women, Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, said women contributed to the peacemaking process in many creative ways.

“For instance, when I was working with women in Kalimantan where ethnic conflict between the Dayak and migrants from Madura broke out in 2001, women from both ethnic groups used public areas, such as traditional markets, to interact with each other, while promoting peace at the same time,” Yuniyanti said.

She added that formal negotiations, usually held behind closed doors, tended to marginalize women and their interests.

“In such public spaces, these women acted as peace agents, discussing reconciliation efforts and preventing incendiary speech from spreading,” she said.

Women also developed alternative and creative peacemaking processes in households, as they used storytelling to teach children about the atrocities of war, Yuniyanti added. (tsy)

Syrian teachers fired over Facebook beating video

BBC News, 29 September 2010

Two Syrian teachers have been fired and banned from working with children after a Facebook group posted a video of them abusing young students.

The abuse came to light in a video posted
by a Syrian Facebook group

The video shows the two female teachers beating the children on their hands and on the soles of their feet with sticks.

Syria's education ministry opened an investigation into the case after the video caused outrage in the country.

The teachers were tracked down to a school in Aleppo, north-west of Damascus, and dismissed.

During the investigation, it emerged that the pair had already been disciplined in 2004, following similar complaints about their treatment of children.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Syria's education ministry said it was "determined to stop any future cases of child abuse".

Facebook campaign

The case came to light three weeks ago after a group posted the video on Facebook, appealing to the public to "help us expose the identity of the two teachers who abused our children".

The children can be seen crying and wincing in pain as the teachers repeatedly strike them on their hands and feet.

In one case, a child is made to hold up the legs of a fellow classmate so the teacher can beat him on the soles of his feet.

It is unclear who shot the footage, which provides a clear view of the two women.

Although the Syrian authorities block access to Facebook, residents routinely get around the restrictions by using proxy addresses, says the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus.

The use of physical punishment in schools has been banned for many years in Syria, but occasional reports of abuse emerge from the country's state schools, our correspondent says.

This year, the government introduced a new teaching system at the elementary school level, which aims to make the instruction more interactive and empowering of students, she adds.

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China says to further co-op with Indonesia

English.news.cn   2010-09-29 20:26:31  

BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese political advisor Jia Qinglin said Wednesday China is ready to enhance cooperation with Indonesia in various areas.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remark in his meeting with former Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Calling the two countries friendly neighbors, Jia said China-Indonesia relations have developed rapidly over the past 20 years. Jia said enhanced political mutual trust and win-win cooperation have boosted the bilateral relationship.

Both countries boast respective advantages and there is great potential and wide prospect for bilateral cooperation in various fields, Jia said.

With regard to China's relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Jia said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia to jointly push for new progress in the China-ASEAN strategic partnership and in cooperation in east Asia.

Indonesia highly values its relations with China, Megawati said, vowing to boost bilateral ties.

She also expressed appreciation of China's social and economic achievements over the years.

Megawati is visiting China at the invitation of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs.

Editor: An

RI the hottest destination in SE Asia, say analysts

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/29/2010 10:24 AM

With the ongoing economic reform, huge domestic market as well as a growing middle class, Indonesia has emerged as the hottest investment destination in Southeast Asia, analysts said.

Deloitte Asia Pacific CEO Chaly Mah said on Tuesday that Indonesia had all the ingredients to chieve sustainable economic growth of between 6 and 7 percent, thanks to its strong macro-economic fundamentals.

Indonesia’s strong economy is highlighted by its rising per capita GDP (nominal), which is expected to exceed US$3,600 by 2012, its richness in natural resources, and its population of almost 240 million, he said.

However, the economic reforms should be continued to ensure that in the future Indonesia would have a more efficient economy, free of red tape and corruption, he added.

“The government should focus more on improving efficiency and removing red tape in the public sector to make sure Indonesia will become a better place do businesses.

I think these are the challenges,” Mah told a press conference on the sidelines of an investment seminar entitled “Exploring the investment outlook in Indonesia 2009-2014”.

The seminar was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Deloitte Indonesia.

A significant working class population is also one of Indonesia’s key strength points, he said, adding that the country’s 58 million–strong working class was also the lure of the investors to do business in the country.

“It’s a significant amount of working people directly needed to attract more investments, Moreover, today Indonesian labor wages are among the lowest in the region,” he said, while mentioning that it was lower than in China and India.

Chatib Basri, a political economist at University Indonesia, acknowledged that Indonesia had a strong macro economy as shown by, among others, its relatively low debt to GDP ratio of about 26 percent, thanks to a strong commitment to domestic reforms.

“Overall, I’m optimistic on the Indonesian macro economy,” he said.

However, he said, the government should show its commitment to improving infrastructure where there were barriers to economic development including among others, difficulties in getting access

to land.

Giving an example, Wisnu Wardhana, PT Indika Energy Tbk vice president, said that from 1998 to 2005, there were no independent power producer (IPP) projects developed by the private sector other than the one carried out by his company.

“It’s the only IPP handled by the private sector in the last 10 years,” he said.

In the future, he said, infrastructure development could not be handled only by the government. The private sector should participate more actively in developing infrastructure but is should be supported by legal certainty and land availability, he added.

Michael Tjoajadi, PT Schroder Investment Management Indonesia director, said that infrastructure development during the last five years had been far from ideal.

“Without adequate infrastructure, Indonesia’s economic growth would become stagnant,” he said. (ebf)

RI disappointed by Israeli settlement extension

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/29/2010 10:58 AM

Indonesia has expressed its disappointment at Israel’s decision to end its freeze of settlement construction in Gaza, calling it “irresponsible”, while efforts to salvage the Middle East peace negotiations continued.

“[Israel’s] decision is really disappointing and really unacceptable,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Sunday as quoted by Antara after signing the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances at the UN headquarters in New York.

“Now we, along with Palestine and other countries, are drawing up our next steps.”

Marty said that by letting its moratorium on settlement building on the West Bank expire, Israel would be held responsible if direct peace talks between the long-standing foes failed.

The talks only resumed in September this year after being halted since late 2008.

Marty said Indonesia, Brazil, India and South Africa were making up efforts in favor of Palestine, to salvage the peace process that has been thrown into doubt “because of the notoriously irresponsible behavior of the Israeli government”.

The four countries are grouped in a forum set up just last week to support Palestine.

“Now we are seeking input from the Palestinian side, for example, what they need from us. There are options for us to take, whether [to provide support] through the [UN] Security Council or the Non-Aligned Movement General Assembly,” Marty said.

On Monday night, Washington dispatched special envoy George Mitchell to the region to try to bridge gaps that Palestinian, Israeli and US officials failed to close in a frenetic round of meetings in the US last week, The Associated Press reported.

The US, which brokered the peace talks, appears to have at least one week to work on its diplomatic efforts to avert what would be a major embarrassment for US President Barack Obama, with Palestinians holding back from carrying out a threat to walk away from the table.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave US mediation more time to work when he announced Monday he wouldn’t decide whether to abandon the talks before consulting senior Arab officials in Cairo next week, AP reported.

An Arab League official has told AP that Arab foreign ministers were expected to endorse whatever position Abbas took.

A senior Palestinian official said as quoted by AP that the Palestine Liberation Organization’s 18-member decision-making body would meet Wednesday or Thursday to formulate a position before Abbas meets with Arab League envoys.

He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Palestinian deliberations.

US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley praised Abbas for not immediately walking out of the talks and chided Israel for resisting international pressure to halt new construction in the West Bank — territory the Palestinians claim as part of their future state.

“We are disappointed but we remain focused on our long-term objective and will be talking to the parties about the implications of the Israeli decision,” Crowley said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and senior European officials have also criticized Israel’s decision.

In Paris on Tuesday, Abbas urged Israel to halt new West Bank settlement construction as long as the Mideast talks continued, saying he feared the two sides might miss a “historic opportunity” if Israel refuses to renew the newly expired freeze.

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RI calls for enhanced ties between UN and regional organizations

Antara News, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 13:39 WIB

New York (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has urged the United Nations to enhance cooperation with regional organizations, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to face the challenges of the 21st Century.

"Many global problems become more manageable if there are simultaneous efforts to address them at the regional level," Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said here Tuesday evening in his address during the General Assembly`s annual high-level debate.

ASEAN and other nations in the larger Asia-Pacific region were building a regional architecture that would bring about and sustain dynamic equilibrium in the region, he said.

"ASEAN will, of course, be the driving force in the building of this architecture," the minister added.

Though democracy is a global concern, Indonesia is also `vigorously` promoting democratic values in the region through ASEAN and beyond, the Minister noted.

Next November, ASEAN will hold a Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to attend the high-level meeting.

ASEAN groups ten members countries in the Southeast Asian region, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

In his address, Minister Marty Natalegawa also reiterated Indonesia`s support to Palestine and a direct peace process negotiation between Palestine and Israel, which was recently resumed after being halted for around 20 months.

"This is a precious opportunity for Palestine and Israel to find solutions on all final status issues," he said.

KPK to collaborate with G20 to eradicate corruption

Antara News, Tuesday, September 28, 2010 21:12 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s anti-graft agency KPK in collaboration with representatives from G-20 is designing a working plan on corruption eradication to be presented at the G20 Summit next month in Seoul.

KPK Office, Jakarta

KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) Deputy Chief Moch Jasin said here on Tuesday at a meeting of the G20 anti-corruption working group, Indonesia and France had been chosen to become the joint chair of the group.

He said he himself had been appointed to be the chairman of the group flanked by Gunadi, who is the deputy chairman of the Financial Transactions Analysis and Reporting Center (PPATK) and Febryan Ruddyard, the foreign ministry`s director of the KIPS.

The main issues discussed at the meeting at the Four Season Hotel were among others efforts to create a strong and effective anti-bribery regime, prevention of coruptors` access to Global Financial System, promoting protection of whistleblowers, recouping corrupted assets, strengthening anti-corruption agencies and agenda to accelerate implementation of UNCAC with a high standard.

The meeting of the G20 anti-corruption working group, he said, is held with a hope to accelerate national and transnational corruption eradication.

Other things discussed in the discussion group are linked to efforts to prevent corruptors` access to global financial transactions including money laundering, protection of whistleblowers, the creation of a system to prevent access for corruptors to go abroad.

It has also been agreed that G20 will create a forum that will develop and implement an initiative that will make the private sector across the globe fight corruption.

The business world will be included as one of the stakeholders of the anti-corruption drive and the committment to anti-corruption is very fundamental.

G20 is a group of 19 big economies plus European Union established in 1999 as a forum that systematically mobilizes advanced and developing economic powers to discuss important world economic issues. Indonesia is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that becomes G20 member.

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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (right) shares a light moment with Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leader candidates Busyro Muqoddas (center) and Bambang Widjojanto (left), who were invited to the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Thursday. Yudhoyono has officially proposed Bambang and Busyro to the House of Representatives as candidates for the KPK chairman post, in accordance with the government-led selection result. Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf

Afghan President Hamid Karzai breaks down in tears over state of country and fears insurgency could drive his son from homeland

Daily Mail, By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE, 28th September 2010

President Hamid Karzai today broke down in tears as he called on Afghans to 'come to their senses' or risk seeing the next generation flee the country.

Speaking on national television, he identified members of a peace council that will attempt to seek a political rather than a military solution to the Taliban insurgency.

And he spoke of his fears that the problems in the country could drive his son Mirwais away from his homeland.

Plea: President Hamid Karzai weeps on television as he speaks about his fears that insurgency in Afghanistan could force his son to leave

He said: 'I do not want Mirwais, my son, to be a foreigner, I do not want this.

'I want Mirwais to be Afghan. Therefore come to your senses... you are witnessing what is happening on our soil and only through our efforts can our homeland be ours.'

Mr Karzai spent many years in exile in Pakistan while fighting against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and later during Taliban rule.

He was speaking in front of an audience at an international literacy day in a Kabul school.

This year has been the bloodiest since the conflict began in 2001 when U.S. forces overthrew the Taliban weeks after the September 11 attacks.

But with the insurgency gaining strength despite the presence of nearly 150,000 foreign troops, there is a growing sense that talks may be the only route to peace.

Plan: Mr Karzai announced some of the members of a peace council, or jirga, aimed at coaxing Taliban insurgents away from the battlefield

Involved: Afghan women listen to the speech at a school in Kabul where Mr Karzai said insurgency threatened the next generation

In June, Mr Karzai summoned a peace jirga, or traditional gathering of tribal and community leaders.

But the Taliban have rejected the idea of talks, saying all foreign forces must leave Afghanistan.

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The new council will have more than 68 members including two former presidents, at least two former Taliban officials, as well as clerics and women.

It will try to help mediate peace talks with Taliban-led insurgents.

Its members were agreed after deliberations with tribal chiefs and power brokers, some of whom sided with the U.S. in toppling the Taliban in 2001.

He said: 'The government of Afghanistan with further seriousness... should take vigorous steps for bringing peace to this soil as soon as possible.'

Future: The peace council will include Taliban figures and women

Mr Karzai's plan involves luring Taliban foot soldiers away from the battlefield with cash and job incentives while seeking reconciliation with senior militant leaders by offering them asylum in Muslim countries and striking their names off a UN blacklist.

Donor nations, most of them in Western countries, have pledged to provided tens of millions of dollars for bringing over the foot Taliban soldiers.

Mr Karzai has set an ambitious target of 2014 for Afghanistan to take over security responsibility from U.S. and NATO forces.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who will conduct a war strategy review in December, also plans to begin a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from July 2011 if conditions allow.

Washington's NATO allies are increasingly uneasy about the unpopular war and are eager to shift security responsibilities to Afghan forces.

Indonesia signs UN convention on enforced disappearance

Antara News, Tuesday, September 28, 2010 17:40 WIB

New York (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa signed the Convention for The Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances here on Monday (Sept. 27).

The Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted on 20 December 2006 by the UN General Assembly, has been signed by a total of 84 nations so far.

Minister Marty Natalegawa signed the Convention on the sidelines of the 65th General Assembly at the UN Headquarters.

The Convention has not been effective officially because 20 more countries are still expected to ratify it.

"It has been signed, and we have to wait for the ratification (by the Parliament)," Minister Marty said.

Signing the Convention on Enforced Disappearance would strengthen the role and position of Indonesia as a democratic nation, he said.

The Convention is line with Indonesia`s Human Rights Plan 2010-2014, and advocacy promoted by human right activists who have actively urged the government to sign the Convention since 1988.

Other signatories of the Convention are France, Germany, Japan, Cuba, Spain, Argentine, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Albania, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali.

The Convention on Enforced Disappearance among other things states that no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance.

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.

News Analysis: US and ASEAN: Partners rather than allies

Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, New York | Tue, 09/28/2010 9:19 AM

As the US and ASEAN forge closer ties based on growing mutual strategic interests, the meeting of their leaders in New York last week indicated that they are likely to proceed as partners rather than becoming allies.

Political and security issues, which usually underpin alliances between nations, are part of this evolving relationship, but they take a backseat to economic and soft power issues, suggesting that a partnership is in the making rather than an alliance, similar to those the US has forged with Japan and South Korea.

The rise of China as a major global power dictates that the US and ASEAN have mutual strategic interests in deepening and intensifying their relationship. The two sides however do not necessarily see eye-to-eye on how to deal with the potential threat of China, and this somehow defines the nature of their relationship.

The New York summit avoided making any direct references to disputes that China has had with some ASEAN member countries because of overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea. An earlier draft of the communique, leaked to and reported by The Associated Press, had the leaders opposing the use of force in disputed waters.

This reference was struck by the time the statement reached US President Barack Obama and his ASEAN guests. The final statement that came out of the Friday summit made a mild call for the preservation of security in international sea lanes and for peaceful resolutions of any conflicts.

“We took care of that at the senior officials meeting,” one ASEAN diplomat said with regard to the absence of a mention of the South China Sea disputes in the statement.

This is a significant shift from the position that US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took during a meeting with her ASEAN counterparts in Hanoi in July, when she virtually waded the US into the South China Sea disputes, and staked US interests in the region by offering Washington’s mediation assistance. Beijing responded by telling the US to stay away from the issue.

A joint statement critical of China would have given the impression that leaders meeting in New York were ganging up on Beijing, in which case the US-ASEAN relationship would be headed towards an alliance. Instead, the statement focused on soft power issues as the chief means of building ties.

Following the suggestion of Vice President Boediono, who represented Indonesia in New York, the leaders agreed to focus on a short list of priorities for the US and ASEAN to work on. The three areas chosen were education, trade and forestry.

More than anything else, the two-hour luncheon meeting was symbolic of the US commitment to engage ASEAN countries even more. Obama took the initiative to call for the meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after attending the first ever ASEAN-US summit in Singapore in November 2009.

The summit “institutionalizes American engagement in ASEAN on equal footing with other major partners such as China, India and others,” wrote Ernie Bower, the Southeast Asian specialist in the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Indonesia, which will chair ASEAN in 2011, is almost certain to continue this tradition and hold the third summit.

Besides the direct benefits from the economic relations that the United States gains from its ties with Southeast Asian countries, ASEAN is also helping Washington gain admission to the East Asia Summit (EAS), currently an annual event involving leaders from the 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

The EAS, which is becoming the chosen mechanism to prepare for the emergence of an Asia-Pacific community, is largely driven by ASEAN, which decides who participates and who does not. At this year’s meeting, the summit will likely decide on admitting the United States along with Russia. Clinton will return to Hanoi next month and Obama has already committed to making his debut at the EAS, to be held in Jakarta, in 2011.

ASEAN welcomes the increasing engagement of the United States in Southeast Asia and in the larger East Asian region, but it wants to make sure that Washington plays by the same rules as others. Clinton signed the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in July, which binds the US to the promotion of peace and stability as a precondition to joining the EAS.

ASEAN may not be a US ally in the way Japan and Korea are, but it is surely becoming an indispensable partner for strategic US interests in Asia.

An alliance with the US would invoke memories of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO), set up in 1955 to align the US, other Western powers, Thailand and the Philippines to counter communist influence in the region, which was then split by ideological differences.

The differences between partners and allies may not be mere semantics, for one suggests warmth and the other, more business-like relationships. When allies meet, presumably they drink beer. When partners meet, they drink coffee.

ASEAN and the US should stick to coffee. Next time their leaders meet, they can always retreat to Starbucks.