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ASEAN can help address the Korean crisis
There are several possible roles ASEAN could play in this situation.
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Puppets of Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump with missiles, in a pacifist parade on May 1 2017 in Turin, Italy. (Shutterstock.com/MikeDotta )
W
hile United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un indulged in a battle of incendiary rhetoric recently, ASEAN was at a crossroads. The regional grouping faced the choice between either buckling under the US pressure to further isolate North Korea and oust the country from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) or rebuffing Washington’s request by standing firmly in the promotion of dialogue and diplomacy to de-escalate these simmering tensions.
Sensibly and correctly, ASEAN chose the latter.
Discussions on settling the Korean Peninsula conflict during the ASEAN Ministers Meeting (AMM), the East Asia Summit and the ARF were much anticipated. ASEAN issued a stand-alone statement conveying its grave concern over North Korea’s continued launch of ballistic missiles and nuclear tests and called for complete denuclearization.
Apart from the UN, North Korea’s participation in global security forums is limited to the ARF. With newly imposed and potentially crippling UN sanctions, the country’s heightened global isolation amplifies tensions in an already bleak conflict.
With these considerations in mind, rather than suspending North Korea’s participation in the ARF, ASEAN instead appealed to all parties involved for self-restraint and conveyed its readiness to play a constructive role in contributing to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
Given its firm stance during the series of AMM meetings, ASEAN has stepped away from US-led efforts to isolate North Korea. The question remains, however, whether ASEAN can foster diplomacy and dialogue to reach a resolving outcome. There are several possible roles the association could play in this situation.
First, by choosing not to fully alienate North Korea, ASEAN provides a crucial window of dialogue within the ARF to build constructive engagement. Aside from the US and North Korea, this 27-member forum also includes the additional four members of the now dormant six-party talks, namely South Korea, Japan, Russia and China.
