INSIGHT SOUTHEAST ASIA Looking Eastwards from New Delhi

Vol 4 No 6 November-December 2015 INSIGHT SOUTHEAST ASIA Looking Eastwards From New Delhi Irawaddy River, Mandalay Photo Courtesy : Sanket S Kulkarni & Dr Hippu S K Nathan Southeast Asia & Oceania Centre Bimonthly Newsletter INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE STUDIES AND ANALYSES Contents Editor: EDITOR’S NOTE Dr Sampa Kundu BOOK REVIEW Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding – UN Editorial Assistance: Engagement in Cambodia, Kadloor Savitri Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak Niranjan C Oak NEWS TRACK Adviser: Southeast Asia ASEAN Dr Udai Bhanu Singh ASEAN-India Northeast India-Act East Policy Brunei Cambodia East Timor Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Southeast Asia and Oceania Oceania Centre Australia Fiji Institute for Defence Studies New Zealand and Analyses Papua New Guinea No. 1, Development Enclave, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Delhi Cantt, New Delhi – 110 010 Tel. (91-11)2671 7983, Fax: (91-11)2615 4191 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.idsa.in 1 EDITORIAL Editor’s Note he November-December Issue of Insight Southeast Asia offers a wide range of news on Tdefence, security and political affairs as they happened in the region. The 27th ASEAN Summit, conducted in Kuala Lumpur in November, gets prioritised in this issue. Economy too takes precedence in this issue as ASEAN has finalised its integration process and hence, it has covered a couple of news on economic cooperation between ASEAN countries and extra regional powers as well as within ASEAN member nations. With that, we hope to receive your suggestion, feedback and comments on Insight Southeast Asia. Thank you, Dr. Sampa Kundu 2 BOOK REVIEW Kadloor Savitri, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding - UN Engagement in Cambodia Pentagon Press, New Delhi (2014), Pp 243, Price Rs 995 Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak is a Research Intern at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. ‘Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding – has dwelt upon the UN charter framework for UN Engagement in Cambodia’ by Kadloor conflict resolution where she has elaborately Savitri is successful in highlighting explained the charter provisions and evolution centrality of the United Nations (UN) in of procedures and practices of pacific settlement conflict resolution and peacebuilding in of disputes over time. She has attempted to Cambodia. The well structured book has convince readers that as far as possible UN tries not only chronicled important events to resolve dispute amicably and uses force only during the Cambodian crisis but also given as a last resort. She has praised UN for being insight into internal power struggle, able to control the disputes within manageable superpower rivalry, their quest for levels, but at the same time has also pointed out influence in the Indo-china region and a major limitation of the UN. “Some questions regional clash of interests. The book is a referred to the UN have remained on the agenda scholarly attempt to evaluate United for long and continue to remain…The Nation’s role in the conflict resolution and organization has become a dumping bin or peacebuilding missions. The book will depository of world’s lost causes” (p 65). particularly be helpful to the scholars and After analyzing the terms which form the title researchers interested in the study of of the book, the author has got down to explain United Nations. the Cambodian crisis (1979 onwards) in great In the beginning, the book has detail. She has captured a panoramic view of the theoretically discussed the terms ‘conflict’ crisis where her frame has picked up even the and ‘conflict resolution’ and strived to minutest detail. She has looked at the understand various attributes associated Cambodian crisis from three different but with them. In doing so, the author has interconnected angles; viz.; Cambodia as an tried to identify the source of the conflict international problem, Cambodia as a regional in Cambodia. “The Cambodian conflict issue and Cambodia as a domestic concern. This situation embodied ideology, deep class holistic approach has made the Cambodian case inequalities, and a struggle for power study comprehensive. BOOK REVIEW BOOK among various groups, as combined The author appears to repose supreme faith in sources of conflict” (p 23). Later the author the UN system. “All other avenues of collective 3 Book Review endeavor by the major powers did not the divisions of that period”1. Even regional break the intransigence of the warring initiatives by ASEAN, which according to the factions. It was then that every major author played a crucial role to resolve the crisis, player looked towards UN as the most came to fruition only after 1989. acceptable broker of the peace” (p 130) or The author writes, “…a large number of conflicts “The Cambodian conflict situation, more in the post-Cold War era are intrastate specifically, highlighted the centrality of conflicts…The situation becomes more complex United Nations in conflict resolution at in situations where intrastate conflicts are both negotiation and its eventual aggravated by the external support to one or implementation stages” (p 202). But her more warring factions…Such conflicts are intra- faith in the UN as a saviour in resolving state conflicts epitomized by competing, proxy Cambodian crisis seems misplaced as inter-state interests. This change in the nature various external factors played a decisive of conflicts has posed several challenges to the role in conflict resolution. “Much of the United Nations” (p 41). However it is an open outcome has depended on the external secret that in most of the cases, some or the events, such as, Gorbachev’s efforts to other major power that enjoys veto in the improve relations with China and the Security Council lend the “external support”. United States, Tiananmen event in China, Therefore it is difficult to understand why the Indonesia’s fears of a modernized China author wants to give an impression that the and above all, the reluctance of the US to challenge to UN is coming from outside when it involve in any problem relating to is clearly emanating from within the core of UN. Indochina region” (p 117). End of the cold Even in the case of Cambodia, it was super war was the single biggest factor that power rivalry that kept the UN at bay until 1979 proved to be instrumental in resolving (p 205). China, United States and Soviet Union Cambodian crisis. It was not mere gave clandestine support to different warring coincidence that “the United Nations factions, thus aggravating the problem. In spite began to take active interest in the of this the author has refrained from criticizing Cambodian problem from September permanent five of the Security Council or the 1989” (p 125). Boutros Boutros-Ghali, structure of UNSC during the entire course of then United Nations Secretary-General, the book. mentions this fact in the report titled “An Agenda for Peace: Preventive diplomacy, United Nations Transitional Authority in peacemaking and peace-keeping” written Cambodia (UNTAC) has been presented as an for United Nations in 1992. “The United innovative concept in the book which played a Nations was rendered powerless to deal big role in the process of peacebuilding in with many of these crises because of the Cambodia. It was successful to an extent. vetoes – 279 of them – cast in the Security UNTAC was more of a conflict management Council, which were vivid expression of mission rather than a peacebuilding mission. 1 “An Agenda for Peace: Preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping”, Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to the statement adopted by the Summit Meeting of the Security Council on 31 January 1992, available at http://www.un-documents.net/a47-277.htm 4 Book Review The author has made some nuanced dynamics and, refugee crisis has worsened by observations while critically examining the day. Non-traditional security threats and UNTAC. “UNTAC’s problems arose from non state actors have added an additional the fact that Cambodia lacked a strong dimension to 21st century conflicts. The recent state” (p 206). “Democratization efforts of United Nations report of Secretary General titled UNTAC could not check the conflict “The future of United Nations peace operations: because they were not anchored in implementation of the recommendations of the Cambodia’s socio-political High-level Independent Panel on Peace traditions…UNTAC was caught between a Operations” says it all. “Labels assigned to liberal mandate and a non-liberal situation conflict, such as “internal”, “inter-State”, on ground” (p 140). It is ironical that while “regional”, “ethnic” or “sectarian”, have become UNTAC’s Human Rights Component was increasingly irrelevant as transnational forces of widely praised for promoting basic human violent extremism and organized crime build on rights and laying foundations of a civil and abet local rivalries. Environmental society, the same UN voted for genocidal degradation and resource deprivation are not Pol Pot regime confirming its seat at contained by borders. Exclusion at home is United Nations General Assembly driving tension abroad…”.2 Therefore collective (UNGA) in 1979 (p 92). efforts from international community are required to deal with this situation. Theoretically The last section of the book has dealt with UN is best placed to provide solutions to the a general overview and critical assessment problems. UN needs to come up with some of the UN role in resolving Cambodian innovative and out-of-the box solutions. The crisis. It has brought forth certain book underlines the fact that if the UN adapts shortcomings during the UN engagement according to changing times and if major powers in Cambodia which can be avoided in the of the Security Council have a will; it is not very future UN missions. difficult for the UN to face 21st century threats. Today, the world has become a turbulent place.

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