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#06-159
November 3, 2006
Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia
APCSS partners with Singapore’s IDSS
for conference on Southeast Asia
In September, the
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies co-hosted a three-day
conference on “Security Cooperation and Governance in Southeast Asia:
Responding to Terrorism, Insurgency, and Separatist Violence in
Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines” in Singapore. More than 80
attended the events which was co-hosted with the Institute for Defence
and Strategic Studies.
This conference provided a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of
the current status and prospects for resolution of the three primary
security threats facing Southeast Asia today: separatism, insurgency,
and terrorism. It also helped identify the relationships and dynamics
linking these three threats; looked at lessons learned from security
responses to date; and identified regional needs and opportunities for
regional and extra-regional engagement to address current and potential
threats.
Examples of the Conference discussions:
Aceh
The December 26, 2004, earthquake and tsunami was critical in: i)
opening the way for international involvement in the region and
providing the Indonesian military (TNI) an occasion to be rewarded for
reform and openness; ii) focusing attention on achieving peace if long
term aid was to continue to flow; iii) consolidating the political will
of the Government of Indonesia (GOI) to push for a comprehensive
settlement and; iv) in convincing the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that the
time had come for a negotiated conclusion to hostilities.
The second key factor was the presence of the newly elected president,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had a clear public mandate as a result of
Indonesia’s first direct presidential elections, a good working
relationship with his former colleagues in the TNI, and considerable
prior experience in the Wahid and Megawati administrations as
coordinating minister for political and security affairs in working
toward a settlement in Aceh.
Southern Thailand
The underlying issue is essentially an ethno-nationalist one – it is
bound up with Malay identity and the failure of the government in
Bangkok to accommodate Malay aspirations. Religion is very much a
secondary issue. This is about Malayness not about Islam, and linkages
with ulama (Islamic scholars), mosque and madrasah (Islamic schools) are
secondary and essentially coincidental as sites for traditional Malay
community consultation and leadership.
Mindanao
Islam plays a much greater role in the southern Philippines than it does
in southern Thailand but even there it is important to understand that
Islam is but one factor in a very complicated mix.
This is true even within the MILF which is so highly factionalized as to
no longer represent a single, coherent, organization. Some factions are
strongly motivated by Islamist, and even jihadi Islamist, political
aspirations whereas others are willing to negotiate with the Government
of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and accept secular government
and social pluralism. The role of personal charisma and personal
networks cannot be underestimated.
There is a great multiplicity of key actors and most are very fluid in
their orientation. This needs to be kept in mind in analyzing current
and future JI links with MILF factions.
APCSS hosts 8-12
outreach events each year in Hawaii and throughout the Asia-Pacific
Region. In the past APCSS has hosted more than 100 conferences
with more than 6,500 attendees from 66 countries
- end -
The
APCSS addresses regional and global security issues, inviting military and
civilian representatives of the United States and 45 Asia-Pacific nations to
its comprehensive program of courses and conferences, both in Hawaii and
throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The Center supports the U.S. Pacific
Command’s objective of developing professional and personal ties among
national security establishments throughout the region. APCSS focuses on
a multilateral and multi-dimensional approach to defining and addressing
regional security issues and concerns. The most beneficial result is
building relationships of trust and confidence among future leaders and
decision-makers within the region.
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