Engaging the neighbours AUSTRALIA AND ASEAN SINCE 1974 Engaging the neighbours AUSTRALIA AND ASEAN SINCE 1974 FRANK FROST Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at press.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Creator: Frost, Frank, 1947- author. Title: Engaging the neighbours : Australia and ASEAN since 1974 / Frank Frost. ISBN: 9781760460174 (paperback) 9781760460181 (ebook) Subjects: ASEAN. Australia--Foreign relations--Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia--Foreign relations--Australia. Dewey Number: 327.94059 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU Press. This edition © 2016 ANU Press Contents Chronology . vii Preface . xi Abbreviations . xiii Introduction . 1 1 . Australia and the origins of ASEAN (1967–1975) . 7 2 . Economic disputes and the Third Indochina War (1976–1983) . 35 3 . Regional activism and the end of the Cold War (1983–1996) . 65 4 . The Asian financial crisis, multilateral relations and the East Asia Summit (1996–2007) . 107 5 . From the ‘Asia Pacific Community’ to the fortieth anniversary summit and beyond (2007‒2015) . .. 145 6 . Australia and ASEAN: Issues, themes and future prospects . 187 Bibliography . 205 Index . 241 Chronology 1945 Declaration of independent Republic of Indonesia (August); after armed struggle against Dutch forces, sovereignty is transferred formally in December 1949 1945 Declaration of independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam (September); armed struggle against French forces pursued until 1954 1946 The Philippines independent from the US (July) 1948 Burma independent from Britain (January) 1953 Cambodia and Laos independent from France (October‒November) 1954 Geneva Accords end French involvement in Vietnam (July); the Democratic Republic of Vietnam governs north of the Demilitarised Zone and the State (later Republic) of Vietnam in the south 1954 Manila Treaty establishes the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, SEATO (September) 1955 Asian–African Conference, Bandung (April) 1957 Malaya independent from Britain (August) 1959 Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaya proposes a Southeast Asian Friendship and Economic Treaty, SEAFET (February) 1961 Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) formed by Malaya, the Philippines and Thailand (July) 1963 Indonesia declares policy of Konfrontasi (Confrontation) of proposed Federation of Malaysia (January) vii ENGAGING THE NEIGHBOURS 1963 Indonesia, Malaya and the Philippines initiate dialogue under the banner of ‘Maphilindo’ (June); the effort is abandoned amid tensions over the formation of the Federation of Malaysia 1963 Federation of Malaysia incorporating Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore inaugurated (September) 1965 Singapore expelled from Malaysia and becomes independent state (August) 1966 Konfrontasi ends formally between Indonesia and Malaysia (August) 1967 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, Bangkok (August) 1971 ASEAN members issue declaration on Southeast Asian Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality, ZOPFAN (November) 1974 Australia and ASEAN initiate multilateral relations, Canberra (April) 1975 Communist forces assume control of southern Vietnam and Cambodia (April) and Laos (December) 1975 Indonesian forces invade East Timor (December) 1976 ASEAN holds first heads of government meeting, the ‘Bali Summit’; ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation signed (February) 1976 Vietnam reunified as Socialist Republic of Vietnam (July) 1977 SEATO dissolved (June) 1977 First meeting between Australian and ASEAN heads of government, Kuala Lumpur (August) 1978 Vietnam invades Cambodia; Khmer Rouge (Democratic Kampuchea) regime ejected (December) 1979 People’s Republic of Kampuchea inaugurated in Cambodia, aligned with Soviet Union and Vietnam (January) 1979 Chinese invasion of northern Vietnam (February‒March) 1980 Australia announces withdrawal of diplomatic recognition from ousted Democratic Kampuchea regime (October) 1984 Brunei independent from Britain; joins ASEAN (January) viii CHRONOLOGY 1989 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group inaugurated in Canberra (November) 1990 Australia releases proposals to facilitate a peace agreement for Cambodia, the ‘Red Book’ (February) 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia concluded (October) 1992 ASEAN commitment to develop the ASEAN Free Trade Area (January) 1992 United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, UNTAC, deployed (February) 1992 ASEAN joint declaration on the South China Sea (July) 1993 Elections in Cambodia followed by inauguration of Royal Government of Cambodia (May) 1994 ASEAN Regional Forum established (July) 1995 Vietnam joins ASEAN (July) 1997 Laos and Myanmar join ASEAN (July) 1997 Asian financial crisis adversely affects a number of regional economies (from July) 1997 ASEAN Plus Three cooperation inaugurated by ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea (December) 1999 Cambodia joins ASEAN (April) 1999 Ballot in East Timor results in vote for independence from Indonesia (August) 1999 International Force for East Timor, INTERFET, deployed after substantial violence in the territory (September) 2002 East Timor independent (May) 2002 ASEAN and China sign Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (November) 2003 ASEAN Summit in Bali issues commitment to establish an ASEAN Community (October) 2004 Heads of government meeting between ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand, Vientiane (November) 2005 Australia accedes to ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (December) 2005 East Asia Summit inaugurated in Kuala Lumpur with Australia as a member (December) ix ENGAGING THE NEIGHBOURS 2007 ASEAN adopts a Charter that provides a legal identity and reaffirms the Association’s values and goals (November) 2008 Agreement reached on ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, AANZFTA (August) 2008 Australia appoints non-resident ambassador to ASEAN (September) 2010 ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus process initiated, Hanoi (October) 2010 ASEAN–Australia heads of government summit, Hanoi (October) 2011 Russia and the US join the East Asia Summit (November) 2012 ASEAN foreign ministers unable to agree to a communiqué because of divisions over South China Sea issues, Phnom Penh (July) 2012 ASEAN commences negotiations with six major trading partners to develop the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, RCEP (November) 2013 Australia appoints resident ambassador to ASEAN, based in Jakarta (September) 2014 ASEAN–Australia fortieth anniversary Commemorative Summit, Nay Pyi Taw (November) x Preface In Australia’s foreign relations with Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been of significant interest since its inauguration in 1967. Australia was the first country to establish a formal multilateral relationship with ASEAN (in 1974) and interactions have since expanded to include a wide range of dialogues and cooperation. This monograph has arisen from interests I developed in ASEAN and Australian policies towards it in the aftermath of the wars in Indochina and my work as a PhD student on Australia’s involvement in the war in Vietnam. I first wrote about ASEAN and its significance for Australia in the late 1970s. The work that follows seeks to contribute to the subject by providing a concise history of the origins and evolution of Australia’s multilateral relations with ASEAN since 1974. In preparing this work, I was fortunate to have been a Visiting Fellow in the Department of International Relations in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs in the College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University. I want to express my great appreciation to Bill Tow for supporting me as a Visiting Fellow and for welcoming me as a guest in the department. I would like to thank a number of people who have helped me greatly in my work on ASEAN and Australia and in the preparation of this manuscript. Anthony Milner and Graeme Dobell provided advice on the project overall and gave me most valuable comments on the full draft manuscript. I also benefited greatly from comments on the draft by Stephen Henningham and from Allan Gyngell, Stephen Sherlock and Carlyle Thayer on specific sections. For their help and advice during my work on this project, I would also like to express my appreciation xi ENGAGING THE NEIGHBOURS to Kavi Chongkittavorn, Ralf Emmers, Tim Huxley, Paul Kelly, Andrew MacIntyre, Christopher B. Roberts, Daljit Singh, Tan See Seng, Tang Siew Mun, the late Barry Wain and Sally Percival Wood. I want to express my special thanks to Mary-Louise Hickey in the Department of International Relations for her extensive advice and outstanding editorial contribution to the preparation and completion of the manuscript. I also want to express my deep gratitude to my brother-in-law Peter van der Vlies and to my friends for their support and encouragement while I was preparing the project. I would especially like to thank Andrew Chin, Minh Davis, Gayle Deel, Peter and Umi Freeman, Susan Geason, Averil Ginn, Carol Kempner, Eleanor Lawson, Cathy Madden, John Mandryk, Stephen O’Neill, Michael Ong and Effi Tomaras. I would like to dedicate this book to my late parents,