MH370 crisis shows lack of cooperation in Asean, says Singapore MP

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Asean nations need to close ranks and present a united front if they hope to counter to increasing pressure from China over territorial issues in the region, a Singaporean lawmaker said.

Lim Wee Kiak, who heads Singapore’s government parliamentary committee for defence and foreign affairs, said the disappearance of Flight MH370 was a “disturbing sign” of lack of cooperation among the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a Singapore daily reported.

“There’s been speculation that countries are hiding their military capabilities but it’s sad, this is a humanitarian case. This is the time for you to use your assets to help someone else,” he said in an interview published by Straits Times over the weekend.

“With the row with China on the South China Sea, this episode may give China a reason to say they should manage the airspace over South China Sea. That may directly or indirectly imply the sea and islands as well,” Lim was quoted saying.

The Philippines and Indonesia are currently embroiled in a diplomatic spat with China over the Chinese claim on the South China Sea — dubbed the ‘Nine Dash Line’.

Said to have been drawn up by Kuomintang cartographers in 1946, the area under the Nine Dash Line puts nearly the entire South China Sea under Chinese control, leaving naval control of just a sliver of the sea hugging the coasts of the Philippines, East Malaysia and Vietnam to the Asean member nations.

China has also been long at odds with Asean nations over control of the Spratly islands. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are all staking a claim over the area which is rich with oil and gas as well as marine biodiversity

Lim, a member of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party, stressed that Asean member countries should have set aside their differences and worked together in solidarity in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines-owned Boeing 777-200.

“What I found most appalling is this: the plane was in the heart of Asean, flying towards Vietnam in the South China Sea. Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines all nearby. How could everybody miss the plane?

“If Asean can’t even have good management of airspace, a coordinated approach in sharing information, then it shows a lot to the outside world. It doesn’t present a good image,” he said.

Lim said that Asean leaders need to go beyond just talking about how well they responded to crises such as the March 8 disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane, and actually build on their coordination and cooperation.

“We don’t want Asean to be a community existing just for economics, for free trade. We want it to be a region where people freely collaborate with one another.

“What Singapore needs to do is continue to focus on the development of Asean. Being a small country, we will not have all the resources. If we are able to co-ordinate, get everybody to come on board together, 10 Asean countries can be a formidable force especially if we are dealing with natural disasters,” he said.

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777 carrying 239 passengers and crew vanished from civilian radars under one hour after departing from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Satellite data showed the plane turned back. It was tracked it to the Indian Ocean before signal was lost altogether.


Sumber - The Malay Mail Online