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Indonesia calls for ASEAN unity in defense sector
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Philippine Coast Guard personnel survey several ships believed to be Chinese militia vessels in Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea on April 27, 2021. (Handout/Philippine Coast Guard via REUTERS)
I
ndonesia called for unity among member states at the ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting (ADMM) this week, as growing great power rivalries overshadowed the region.
Hosted by Brunei second defense minister Awang Halbi, ASEAN defense ministers met virtually on Tuesday and Wednesday for the ADMM as well as the ADMM+, which is a forum involving their counterparts from ASEAN dialogue partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Indonesia raised the need to reinforce the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific from the defense perspective in order to reaffirm the group’s position in maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
"It is very important for ASEAN to view this region as a unified whole, and not to allow a bigger power to potentially divide ASEAN," Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said in the ADMM on Tuesday, according to a statement published by his ministry.
The Indo-Pacific concept is a strategic reimagining of the Asia-Pacific region that is interpreted differently by different countries and interests, but many interpretations were directed toward the growing rivalries between China and the US.
Earlier this week, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance led by the US, adopted a tougher line against China, saying that its military ambition posed "systemic challenges" to their alliance.
In the Indo-Pacific region, the US worked with Japan, Australia and India in forming the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, where they called for “a free, open and inclusive order” in the Indo-Pacific region.
