VIETNAM’S ADROITNESS ON THE INDO-ASIA-PACIFIC

Posted by AsiaViews | Mar 19, 2018 | 0 |

By Chheang Vannarith*

Khmer Times-Mar 14

Amidst rising geopolitical uncertainties and risks, small states are struggling to survive and stay relevant. Some have opted for a hedging strategy; others choose to align themselves with a major power.

Vietnam has carefully and smartly balanced its external relations with all major powers. A hedging strategy has been the core foreign policy of the country for it has effectively maintained its traditional relationship with China while expanding its strategic cooperation with Japan, the US, India, and Russia.

Vietnam has pursued a foreign policy of strategic diversification and economic pragmatism since the late 1990s and its foreign policy is highly pragmatic, outward looking, and future-oriented.

Hanoi regards ASEAN as the most important regional multilateral institution in strengthening regional peace and stability, honestly mediating the differences between regional countries, and forging a rules-based international system.

Maintaining an open and inclusive regional architecture is one of the key objectives and interests of Vietnam’s foreign policy.

Concerning the evolving concept on the Indo-Pacific being led by the US and Japan, Vietnam has taken a cautious approach by using the term “Indo-Asia-Pacific” instead of “Indo-Pacific”. This by itself reflects Vietnam’s intention of promoting an inclusive regionalism.

“The ever-closer economic, political, and cultural ties between the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean will create a new driver for growth and help transform the Asian Century into the Indo-Asia-Pacific Century,” stated Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang during his three-day state visit to India last week.

The region should be regarded as “a common space of co-existence and development”, he added. The message clearly implies that major powers should not aim to build a regional hegemonic power.

According to the remarks by Mr Tran, Vietnam has suggested several principles and elements to realize the “Indo-Asia-Pacific”. First, regional countries need to promote and respect an open and a rules-based regional architecture.

Second, the freedom of navigation has to be maintained and free flow of trade and investment needs to be facilitated. Rising protectionism and economic nationalism in the US poses significant threat to a liberal global economic order.

Since the Trump administration came into power, regional countries have been adapting to changes by fostering and deepening regional economic integration without the presence of the US.

Third, there is a need to build “effective mechanisms to maintain peace, stability, and the rule of law”, taking into consideration that there is no effective mechanism to prevent and resolve conflicts and disputes in the region.

Fourth, ASEAN’s role needs to be recognized and strengthened in the era of “Indo-Asia-Pacific”. As it is, ASEAN member countries are concerned that the US-led Indo-Pacific is not inclusive.

Any new initiative in the region will not be sustainable without the support from ASEAN. Historically, the regional grouping has played a crucial role in promoting political trust and cooperation.

It is expected that ASEAN will play a more critical role in the region by embracing preventive diplomacy and a mechanism for conflict resolution. It also must have more flexibility in establishing a High Council, as enshrined in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, to mediate in regional disputes or conflicts.

There are lessons and ASEAN needs to learn from the sovereignty disputes between its two member countries, Cambodia and Thailand, in 2008 and 2011.

Ensuring both economic and security interests of its member countries is critical to the future relevance of ASEAN.

At the sub-regional level, the Mekong region has also become a new growth center and strategic gravity in Southeast Asia.

Geographically located between the two Asian giants – China and India – the Mekong region is at the heart of the Indo-Asia-Pacific. The strategic and economic value of the Mekong region will increase in tandem with the rising influence of China and India.

Vietnam’s leadership role in the Mekong region is significant, while Thailand is facing complex domestic political constraints and the lack of political leadership. Other Mekong countries, like Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar, are focused more on domestic issues and challenges.

Robust economic and defense diplomacy are the main vehicles for Vietnam to exert its regional influence and leadership in the region.

Vietnam’s view and approach towards the Indo-Asia-Pacific reflects the ideals of an open and inclusive regional mechanism. Small states in the region need to stay united and forge a common approach towards the Indo-Asia-Pacific so that they become more resilient and remain strategically relevant amidst rivalry among the major powers.

*Chheang Vannarith is Opinion editor with Khmer Times. The views are his own.

(First published in Khmer Times – http://www.khmertimeskh.com/50113922/vietnams-adroitness-on-the-indo-asia-pacific/)

About The Author

AsiaViews

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Neigborhood Watch

Subscribe To Newsletter

POINTS TO PONDER

EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

VIETNAM’S ADROITNESS ON THE INDO-ASIA-PACIFIC