12 - Challenges to Human Rights and Civil Liberties

Summary

SECURITY CONCEPTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN ASIA: PAST AND PRESENT

Within the framework of human security sketched in the introductory chapters of this book, this chapter describes and assesses security threats at the interface between the state and the individual in Asia. Post-independence Asian security policy has focused on internal security, that is, the strengthening of state capacity and nation-building has been emphasized more than the defence against an external aggressor. For example, in the 1960s Indonesia's then President Suharto popularized the concept of “national resilience” (ketahanan nasional). National resilience encapsulates the idea that only stable, prosperous states will be peaceful states and will not pose a threat to their neighbours.

Though formally independent, many Southeast Asian states were weak states and therefore not capable of dealing with political turbulence such as secessionist movements, challenges to the central government posed by Communist or Islamic movements and border disputes. Cases in point are Indonesia's konfrontasi against Malaysia and Singapore (1963–66) and the Philippine–Malaysian dispute over Sabah. These developments and Southeast Asia's precarious situation during the Cold War prompted Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines to found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization to promote cooperation in the economic, cultural and security area, in 1967 in an attempt to regionalize “national resilience”. The Bangkok Declaration, the founding document of ASEAN therefore emphasized the principles of non-interference and economic development.

With regards to human rights, the emphasis on state-building appeared most rational, given the fact that an effective promotion and protection of human rights first and foremost requires the existence of a capable state. As such, much of the current debate on state capabilities and good governance has been anticipated by the concept of national resilience, except that national resilience heavily relied on each state's own ability to manage state-building and did not build on active international financial support. In other words, regional resilience rested on the assumption that in order to achieve truly national independence, Southeast Asian governments had to guarantee themselves a considerable measure of autonomy and abstain from intervention. This included the assurance that they would not interfere in each other's affairs and that they would equally prevent great powers, such as China, the United States and the Soviet Union from interfering in the region.