Flagships and Activities of ASEAN-ISIS - ASEAN Regional Forum

Flagships and Activities of ASEAN-ISISARF Inter-Sessional Support Group on Confidence Building Measures andPreventive DiplomacyIntroductionHelsinki, 28-30 March 2007By Malayvieng SakonhninhomActing Director-General of IFAChair of ASEAN-ISISASEAN-ISIS is a short form for ASEAN Institutes for Strategic and International Studies.When ASEAN-ISIS was officially formed and registered with the ASEAN Secretariat in 1988, itwas a small group composed of only five institutes of the original ASEAN members. Later in 1995,the ASEAN-ISIS admitted the Institute of International Relations (IIR) of Vietnam as a newmember, followed by Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) in 1997, and the LaoInstitute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) in 1999. While the individuals from Brunei Darussalam, affiliatedwith the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been participating in ASEAN-ISIS for a number of years,it was officially a member of ASEAN-ISIS in 2000, following the establishment of the BruneiDarussalam Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (BDIPSS) 1 . Therefore, this expansion makesASEAN-ISIS much larger. However, ASEAN-ISIS is still facing a challenge to include MyanmarInstitute for Strategic and International Studies as a membership.ASEAN-ISIS is a key actor in the birth and development of a process that has come to beknown as Track 2 diplomacy in the region. This Track 2 diplomacy is the conduct of policydialogue among government officials, think tanks, researchers and other policy analysts andpractitioners in their private capacity on various issues of the economic, political-security, and thesocial.Over the past decade, ASEAN-ISIS has gone through and overcome many challenges andreceived a number of significant achievements. This brief paper will summarize the picture offlagships and achievements of ASEAN-ISIS and then its challenges.1 Hadi Soesastro, Clara Joewono and Carolina Hernandez (2006), Introduction, in Hadi Soestro, Clara Joewono &Carolina G. Hernandez (eds.), Twenty Two Years of ASEAN ISIS: Origin, Evolution and Challenges of Track TwoDiplomacy, ASEAN ISIS: CSIS.1

Flagships and Achievements of ASEAN-ISISThe main objectives of ASEAN-ISIS are (1) to cooperate among ASEAN think tanks tostrengthen research development on strategic and international problems of the region andASEAN’s cooperation, and (2) to cooperate and strengthen cooperation with other think tanks in theregion and research institutions outside ASEAN and the world to strengthen peace and developmentin the region and to contribute to the world order and peace as a whole.It has to be recognized that ASEAN-ISIS has played a significant role in contributing to themanagement of regional order and security challenges in Southeast Asia and beyond. The power ofideas has been the key element of ASEAN-ISIS’ contribution in this regard 2 . This can be observedthrough the development of ASEAN-ISIS from the beginning. When ASEAN-ISIS was officiallylaunched in 1988, it was conceived as a regional non-governmental association at producing policyinputs for consideration by governments and decision-makers in ASEAN countries. During almosttwo decades, ASEAN-ISIS has established itself as a very important Track 2 network recognized bythe governments of ASEAN countries. Regular meetings between ASEAN-ISIS heads and seniorofficials of ASEAN member states are a good example 3 . Acting as “Track 2”, ASEAN-ISISprovides policy inputs to their respective Track 1 by organizing regional workshops, meetings,conferences, seminars, etc. It provides venues for experts and scholars in various fields related toregional peace and security to meet and exchange views with each other as well as with theirrespective government officials, civil society groups in order to reach the aim of mutualunderstanding among various sectors in the region regarding common concerns.It is significant to recognize that among these important venues, some have become the“flagship activities” of ASEAN-ISIS namely the Asia Pacific Roundtable (APR) for ConfidenceBuilding and Conflict Resolution, the ASEAN-ISIS Colloquium on Human Rights (AICOHR), andthe ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA). These three important flagships, for example, are to carrythe basic ideals and missions of ASEAN-ISIS to promote open and inclusive exchanges to come up2 Rizal Sukma (2006), ASEAN ISIS and Political-Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific, in Hadi Soestro, ClaraJoewono & Carolina G. Hernandez (eds.), Twenty Two Years of ASEAN ISIS: Origin, Evolution and Challenges ofTrack Two Diplomacy, ASEAN ISIS: CSIS.3 Suchit Bunbongkarn (2006), The Future of ASEAN ISIS, in Hadi Soestro, Clara Joewono & Carolina G. Hernandez(eds.), Twenty Two Years of ASEAN ISIS: Origin, Evolution and Challenges of Track Two Diplomacy, ASEAN ISIS:CSIS.2

with innovative ideas that will help to enhance peace, security, prosperity and the well being of thepeoples in the region.APR is known as the largest security forum for the Asia-Pacific region of Track 2 and it isarguably the most important venue which brings together experts, think tanks, policy studyinstitutes, and policy makers from Asia-Pacific and beyond in the informal, friendly and frankenvironment annually in Malaysia to discuss the major security issues and challenges confrontingthe region and produce new ideas and proposals for cooperation on security issue. This year,ASEAN-ISIS will convene its 21 st APR.APA has also been organized with the engagement of a wide range of civil societyorganizations, non-governmental organizations and people’s organizations. It is shown that APA issignificant because it is possible for a Track 2 initiative to get the endorsement of NGOs and civilsociety organizations in the region or what is called “Track 3” actors into the discussion. It isannually organized in the Philippines and this year will be the 6 th APA meeting.AICOHR has been one of the three important activities of ASEAN-ISIS. It is a testimony tothe role played by ASEAN-ISIS in identifying issues of policy concerned to ASEAN, and theintellectual contributions it provides to the political discussion on security and development inSoutheast Asia. It is organized to illustrate the difficulties confronting Track 2 mechanisms inaffecting change in the region, especially on issues of great sensitivities such as human rights 4 . Theyear 2007 will be the 14 th meeting of AICOHR.In addition, ASEAN-ISIS heads have regular exchange views and opinions on issues ofconcerns and initiatives raised in the region. ASEAN-ISIS has also actively contributed to thegeneration of an ASEAN Charter which in principle the leaders have agreed to consider for theregion. ASEAN-ISIS also promotes regular meeting of ASEAN. Moreover, some ASEAN-ISISmembers have also actively cooperated with other East Asian institutes and universities and beyondin conducting joint researches, and organizing meetings and conferences to exchange and discuss ondifferent issues of the region.Challenges4 Herman Joseph S. Kraft (2006), ASEAN-ISIS and Human Rights Adocacy: The Colloquium on Human Rights(AICOHR), in Hadi Soestro, Clara Joewono & Carolina G. Hernandez (eds.), Twenty Two Years of ASEAN ISIS:Origin, Evolution and Challenges of Track Two Diplomacy, ASEAN ISIS: CSIS.3

ASEAN-ISIS has been organized as a fundamental institution in decision making ofASEAN. It has contributed its ideas, time and efforts in promoting dialogues, consultations,networking and coordination and cooperation, as well as promoting the ASEAN way of thinking tosolve common areas of concerns. ASEAN-ISIS has played an important and active role in providingpolicy inputs not only into the ASEAN process, but also into the process of security cooperation inthe region and beyond. However, as ASEAN-ISIS is a think tanks, it is unavoidable facing a seriesof challenges, particularly on funding and the capacity of new ASEAN-ISIS think tanks.Undoubtedly, financial constraint is one of the most important issues concerning thedevelopment of ASEAN-ISIS. It is significant to recognize that while some institutes of ASEAN-ISIS received governmental funding, the vast majority of funding, particularly for conferences,publication and advocacy activities is from agencies and foundations outside the region. Therefore,without financial supports from international organizations and agencies, the development ofASEAN-ISIS activities can be affected. Consequently, this can lead to the dependency of theinstitutions.Capacity of the institutes is also concerned challenge. The component units of the ASEAN-ISIS are very dramatically in their composition, size, capacity, resources, political and socialcontext, as well as their domestic and regional impacts. While some ASEAN-ISIS members,particularly the original members, are independent think tanks with their own financial supports andable to express themselves freer, other members, especially the new members still affiliate withtheir governments. Particularly, BDIPSS of Brunei, IFA Laos, and IIR Vietnam, are one of thedepartments and agency in their ministries. There are thus often rotations of key staff in theirinstitutes. Some of them have limited staffing and competence qualification. Moreover, theseinstitutions still depend mainly on the governmental financial supports.ConclusionsIt is important that ASEAN-ISIS is considered as the think tank for ASEAN in producinginnovative ideas for policy makers. Since ASEAN-ISIS launched, it has convened a series ofmeetings and conferences which have created opportunities as forum for discussion, exchange ofideas not only with the government officials, but also with other Track 2. It is also successful inbringing Track 3 actors to join in the discussion. However, although ASEAN-ISIS has reachedtremendous achievements, it has gone through several problems and difficulties and of course it isunavoidable remaining of future challenges to accomplish its activities as Track 2. Yet, ASEAN-ISIS seeks to undertake the following missions in the near future:4

1. to conduct activities that would build on what it has accomplished in the past in the decisionmaking process of ASEAN, in community building and the building of social capital in thethink tank community.2. to enhance the quality of its policy recommendations to official decision makers throughrigorous policy researchers as much as feasible.3. to institute value-added components to its existing conference programs by organizing themaround individuals or joint researches.4. to facilitate the admission of Myanmar ISIS to have a full Southeast Asian house of thinktanks in ASEAN-ISIS.5. To deepen and widen the habit of cooperation established among them and their existingcircles through activities such as timely and relevant joint researches, other and relatedactivities involving various sectors, including other non-governmental sectors not yet part oftheir networks.6. to enhance its institutional relationship with ASEAN through closer cooperation with theASEAN Secretary General and the ASEAN Secretariat by conducting policy dialogues withthem, as well as undertaking research and other activities in relevant and priority areas 5 .5 Adapted from Hernandez, ‘ASEAN ISIS at the Turn of the Century: A Mission Statement”, in Hernandez “Track twoand Regional Policy: The ASEAN-ISIS in ASEAN Decision Making, in in Hadi Soestro, Clara Joewono & Carolina G.Hernandez (eds.), Twenty Two Years of ASEAN ISIS: Origin, Evolution and Challenges of Track Two Diplomacy,ASEAN ISIS: CSIS.5