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o legally binding security arrangements emerged after Saturday’s ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which resembled a confidence-building session more than anything. However, it was clear that under the leadership of Indonesia, participants found an atmosphere conducive to fostering discussions on sensitive issues.

Journalists and participants at the meeting, who also attended the ASEAN summit in Jakarta in May, easily
saw the difference between the well-organized and well-supplied Bali meeting and the chaotic summit
organized by the Information and Communications Ministry. The Foreign Ministry has restored the country’s image, which was tarnished by the Jakarta summit.

At least publicly, ASEAN guests at the ARF such as China, the US, Japan, Russia, Pakistan, South and North Korea, Australia and New Zealand refrained from making harsh and blunt remarks aimed at their rivals.

The role that the Foreign Ministry played under Marty Natalegawa during the multilateral negotiations was decisive, perhaps reflecting an awareness that megaphone diplomacy often backfires against the speaker.

The ARF occurred after ASEAN foreign ministers completed their annual meeting and held discussions with their dialogue partners.

Sensitive issues dominated the Bali meeting, including security in the South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear weapon programs.

Resolving competing territorial claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea was the most explosive issue during the meeting.

China has repeatedly warned that it would not hesitate to take every step, including military action, against those who questioned its absolute sovereignty over its claim of the resource-rich territory.

Other claimants – Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Taiwan – do not want to be the target of bullying by China.

It was also a relief for host country Indonesia that this year’s meeting, unlike earlier iterations, was not haunted by the issues of the brutal treatment leveled by Myanmar’s junta on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Thai-Cambodian border conflict. The forum was better able to concentrate on regional and global issues.

Scholars and even members of the media in attendance criticized ASEAN and China’s agreement to work on
a Code of Conduct (COC) to promote the peaceful solution of disputes in the South China Sea as voluntary and non-binding.

However, the commitment of both sides was a positive preliminary step toward diplomatic solutions. China appears ready to show some flexibility at the negotiating table, whatever its true motives may be.

The agreement is praiseworthy. The situation in the South China Sea will remain fragile and even explosive
in the years to come precisely because the issue is complicated.

We all hope that a solution to the problems can be achieved through peaceful means. A military response would be too costly for everyone, including an economic superpower like China.