{"id":32605,"date":"2017-06-28T11:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T01:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=32605"},"modified":"2017-06-27T22:58:02","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T12:58:02","slug":"debating-rules-order-peace-asia-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/debating-rules-order-peace-asia-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Debating \u2018rules\u2019, \u2018order\u2019 and \u2018peace\u2019 in the Asia\u2013Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Image<\/p>\n

Concepts such as \u2018rules\u2019, \u2018order\u2019 and \u2018peace\u2019 are often bandied<\/a> about<\/a> in dialogue among Asia\u2013Pacific countries, but the differing interpretations of those words have resulted in countries talking past each other, rather than to each other.<\/p>\n

On the Korean peninsula, for instance, North and South Korea clearly have different ideas about peace and stability in their immediate neighbourhood. For South Korea, peace and stability on the peninsula are anchored in its alliance with the US, as well as North Korea\u2019s denuclearisation. On the contrary, North Korea argues that South Korea\u2019s strategy, including its joint military exercises with the US, is responsible for instability on the peninsula. From Pyongyang\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s necessary to have a strong nuclear deterrent and powerful conventional military forces to prevent war from breaking out. Evidently, both sides want the same end-goal but have different ideas on what \u2018peace\u2019 and \u2018stability\u2019 on the Korean peninsula mean.<\/p>\n

The notion of a \u2018rules-based regional order\u2019 faces a similar challenge. During his speech at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis highlighted<\/a> the US\u2019s \u2018deep and abiding commitment to reinforcing the rules-based international order\u2019. This order, according to Mattis, is constituted by \u2018equal respect for international law\u2019 and \u2018freedom of navigation and overflight\u2019, and is rooted in institutions such as the UN, ASEAN and the World Bank. Reaffirming that the prevailing rules-based order is built upon US presence in the region, the Australian<\/a> and Japanese defence ministers<\/a> added that regional countries had all reaped the benefits of the existing regional order. In response, the Chinese delegation leader, Lieutenant General He Lei, stated <\/a>that China is, in fact, \u2018a country that abides by, supports and defends international and regional rules\u2019.<\/p>\n

Yet, given the ongoing debate<\/a> about which countries are rule-breakers or followers, this raises the question: when leaders and officials speak of a \u2018rules-based regional order\u2019, what kind of rules do they view as legitimately constituting the regional order? Do all stakeholders have the same understanding of those rules? Such discrepancy in meaning might appear to be a banal point to highlight; after all, given the different interests and circumstances of different countries, it\u2019s perhaps not surprising that they hold different perspectives on security issues. One could also argue that mere words don\u2019t hold much significance; in the bigger picture, what matters are the actions that are taken. Nevertheless, considering that this region\u2019s central institution\u2014that is, ASEAN and its associated platforms\u2014has placed so much importance on dialogue and discussion, I would suggest that rhetoric is rather important as an initial signal of intent.<\/p>\n

ASEAN\u2019s strategy has consistently involved convening and facilitating dialogue among regional countries\u2014from the major powers to the smaller nations. It has initiated and led a host of such platforms, including the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ASEAN Defence Ministers\u2019 Meeting and its Plus process, and the East Asia Summit. The region is therefore not lacking in the quantity of dialogue mechanisms; the challenge is in the content of the discussions.<\/p>\n

Given the recurring disagreements among regional countries on key terms such as \u2018peace\u2019, \u2018rules\u2019 and \u2018order\u2019\u2014which persist despite ongoing exchanges of views\u2014prospects for reaching a consensus on regional security challenges through continuing dialogue might appear bleak. Nevertheless, it\u2019s crucial that dialogue among regional states continues. It\u2019s debatable whether such exchanges feed positively into actual policy, but the alternative of an absence of dialogue isn\u2019t a viable path. In the short to medium term, dialogue might not get individual countries to all be on the same page, particularly when it involves national interests, but allowing channels of communication to remain open is likely to bring more benefits than harm to the region as a whole in the longer term.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, dialogue processes should ensure that all regional countries\u2014not just the major powers\u2014get an equal chance to voice their views on matters of concern. Dialogue might also be more productive if the relevant actors and stakeholders focus not only on trying to persuade others to see things from their respective perspectives, but on also attempting to arrive at relatively common understandings of what it means to talk about issues of \u2018peace\u2019, \u2018rules\u2019 and \u2018order\u2019. This could provide an initial step towards getting nations to talk to each other, rather than\u2014as the above examples show\u2014past each other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Concepts such as \u2018rules\u2019, \u2018order\u2019 and \u2018peace\u2019 are often bandied about in dialogue among Asia\u2013Pacific countries, but the differing interpretations of those words have resulted in countries talking past each other, rather than to each …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":669,"featured_media":32607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[189,143,1650,358],"class_list":["post-32605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-asean","tag-asia-pacific","tag-rules-based-order","tag-shangri-la-dialogue"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDebating \u2018rules\u2019, \u2018order\u2019 and \u2018peace\u2019 in the Asia\u2013Pacific | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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