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Ukraine crisis: ASEAN does not stand on the right side of history
The official position by ASEAN that just calls for ending “military hostilities”, makes a mockery of the plight the citizens of Ukraine are enduring.
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Ukraine soldiers inspect the rubble of a destroyed apartment building in Kyiv on March 15, 2022, after strikes on residential areas killed at least two people. (AFP/Fadel Senna)
A
ny political crisis can be an opportunity to rise to the occasion and try to figure out the most appropriate response, measures that only few weeks ago would have been unthinkable.
This has been the case of the European Union, which for the first time decided to buy arms to supply the Ukrainian government.
Europeans have been talking about a common defense for decades but only in the last few years has the issue regained traction. In the last few days, such debate exponentially accelerated. Some senior officials were even quoted as saying that the EU’s military dimension changed more in the last 10 days than in six decades of common integration.
It is not that the EU does not have a military dimension at all, as the bloc already has a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), in jargon that has already its tools and instruments and appositely created strategic capabilities.
Now no one expects ASEAN to respond to a remote crisis with the same vigor as the EU.
Southeast Asia has its own set of challenges to deal with, including a post-COVID-19 recovery and maritime tensions around the South China Sea and possible time bomb called Taiwan.
Moreover, we should not forget that ASEAN, despite having an entire pillar called a “community”, has focused on political and security aspects, and lacks any military and defensive dimension.
