ASEAN's first joint military exercise: Preparing to respond to a crisis?
(Baonghean.vn) - According to Dr. Abdul Rahman Yaacob, an expert at the Lowy Institute, the participation of all ASEAN members in this joint exercise is important, especially since the bloc of Southeast Asian countries is not a military alliance.
All members participate
The first joint military exercise of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), called Exercise ASEAN Solidarity 2023, has just concluded. Held from September 19 to 23 under the chairmanship of Indonesia, this is the first military exercise on an ASEAN scale without the participation of outside parties.
The exercise is non-combat in nature and involves maritime and land operations related to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, search and rescue, medical evacuation and counter-piracy. All 10 member states are participating, with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore deploying warships.
It is important that all ASEAN members participate, especially given that ASEAN is not a military alliance. According to CNA, there was initial skepticism about whether the exercise would take place after Cambodia raised concerns about the proposed location in the South China Sea. Eventually, Indonesia, as host, moved the exercise to Batam and the Natuna Islands.
There are many reasons why countries participate in military exercises, including to build trust between military forces and increase interoperability.
Signal to the powers
What is the purpose of the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023?
First, the exercise could be interpreted as a signal to major powers that ASEAN has an interest in ensuring the security of the region’s seas and has the authority to ensure the security of those seas. Given the tensions between China and the US, ASEAN defense officials are concerned that any military conflict between China and the US would affect the region’s seas.
Additionally, the exercise comes at a time when China has been increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, from harassing some ASEAN members’ maritime activities in their exclusive economic zones to releasing a new map claiming almost the entire South China Sea as its own.
In fact, the initial location of the exercise in the South China Sea was Indonesia's signal to China that Beijing's claim to the entire South China Sea is contested.
Second, the exercise helps ASEAN militaries build trust with each other without the need for outside forces. Trust leads to better communication, which is crucial if ASEAN needs to tap the region’s military might to quickly resolve a major crisis.
There are currently several multilateral arrangements in the region to enhance maritime security. These include coordinated patrols between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to address security issues in the Sulu Sea and the Malacca Strait Patrol Framework involving Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to ensure the security of the Malacca and Singapore Straits.
However, these contents are limited to specific geographical areas within the region and do not relate to all ASEAN members.
Third, the exercise contributes to capacity building for ASEAN navies. Interoperability is crucial for humanitarian missions. The focus on non-traditional security, such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and medical evacuation, is practical given the frequency of natural disasters in Southeast Asia. In fact, more than 50% of global disaster deaths occurred in the region between 2004 and 2014.
Furthermore, interoperability among ASEAN military forces for humanitarian evacuation missions would be crucial in any emergency in Taiwan. Over 730,000 ASEAN nationals are working in Taiwan and evacuating them to safety would be paramount in any future military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. No individual ASEAN member has the air and sea capabilities to evacuate their nationals from Taiwan. A joint ASEAN humanitarian mission may be necessary. Therefore, the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 could be a platform for ASEAN to prepare for such joint missions.
Whether this exercise is a realistic way to prepare for a future contingency depends on two questions: Will the exercise continue over the long term, even if the ASEAN Chairmanship changes? And if so, will members agree to expand the scale and scope of future exercises to match evolving security threats?
These are the questions that ASEAN must find answers to after the “heat” of the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 gradually subsides.
