The U.S. Threats of Sanctions:Pushing Asia to Self-Reliance
International Herald Tribune
May 6, 1994
Michael Richardson 

Southeast Asian nations are developing policies to reduce dependence on the United States security umbrella.

Although many governments in the region continue to support the United States military presence, members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, are increasingly committed to a strategy of greater regional self-reliance.

This is being achieved as individual ASEAN countries use their growing economic strength to modernize their armed forces.

At the same time, ASEAN has taken the initiative to promote wider Asia-Pacific cooperation by organizing a ministerial-level meeting of 18 nations in Bangkok in July to discuss security regional problems.

The ASEAN Regional Forum will include the United States as well as countries it is threatening to penalize over human rights, trade and labor issues, like China, Japan and Indonesia.

The Clinton administration has supported the proposal for a multilateral security forum. But Washington's evident readiness to resort to unilateral trade penalties threatens to alienate many countries in Asia and reduce United States influence and is accelerating the movement toward more self-reliance.

"President Clinton appears to prefer a warlike posture," said Mohammad Sadli, a former Indonesian cabinet minister. "He seems to feel the need to win this war and that war" in Asia.

Mr. Sadli cautioned that in behaving like "an ideological crusader." the Clinton administration "risks East Asia ganging up against it in a response to the warlike stance."

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's senior minister, issued a similar warning on a recent visit to Australia. He said that if Mr. Clinton withdrew most-favored-nation trading status from China next month because of human-rights objections, it would cut China's growth by about 40 percent, causing major economic and security repercussions for Asia. As a result, the United States would "find itself all alone in the Pacific," Mr. Lee said.

Some ASEAN leaders are speaking about a new regional security order without the United States.

Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister who will meet Mr. Clinton in Washington on Friday, said he did not see a need for an American military presence to protect the region.

"I do not think we need the U.S. fleet patrolling the seas in this area," he said. "So much money is wasted."

He dismissed fears that without the United States' playing a balancing role, Japan and China would vie for regional dominance. Instead, he said, they would balance each other because there was "mutual distrust" between them.

Yeo Ning Hong, Singapore's defense minister, said in an interview with Jane's Defense Weekly earlier this year that Singapore "believes the best way to achieve and preserve peace and stability is to develop an understanding among countries with an interest in the region."

A recent review of the region by the Australian government, which looks ahead three to five years, concluded that United States would remain "strategically engaged" and make a contribution to maintaining peace and stability.

Nonetheless, in making public the review, Robert Ray, the Australian defense minister, said that "increasingly over coming years regional countries, including Australia and our Asian neighbors, will need to take responsibility themselves for the basic elements of security in the region."

ASEAN countries hold regular bilateral military exercises. Australia is also increasingly involved in regional military cooperation.

Mr. Ray said Australia wanted to expand this collaboration to include shared training, defense science and industry cooperation, and joint procurement of military equipment.

Copyright © 2006 The International Herald Tribune