Global Warming, Fakta atau Konspirasi?

Asean Wraps Up Big Year with Bang in Bali, Now What?

U.S. President Barack Obama, flanked by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, poses with other East Asia Summit leaders before a gala dinner.- REUTERS

Under Indonesia’s chairmanship this year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations shot from side show to center stage of East Asian diplomacy. But what happens next year when the 10-nation talk show is hosted by one of its less mighty members: Cambodia? 

  

Indonesia asked to host this year as sort of a victory lap to show it is healthy, happy and ready to start pulling the weight and respect it thinks it deserves in the world. Its economy is booming, its democracy is working and it wants its geopolitical profile to reflect that it has the world’s fourth largest population and the biggest economy in Southeast Asia. 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa want to use Asean to help put a spotlight Indonesia, bringing it out of the shadows of China and India. Under their leadership Asean – previously usually only known for its grand dinners and bland declarations — has been involved in easing tensions in the deadly border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia and it has helped push the military-backed government of Myanmar to reform. 

It hosted a superpower summit on the resort Island of Bali with US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders from Japan, Australia, Russia and elsewhere discussing their views on security and commerce in the region. 

The East Asia Summit also attracted some of the tightest security and one biggest media mobs the island has ever seen. As the annual Asean summit wound down this weekend some diplomats wondered whether the momentum can continue under Cambodia which has neither the economic punch nor political pull of Indonesia. 

“The framework, the instruments, processes and systems are in place so the momentum from this year is going to last for a few years,” said Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of Asean in an Interview with the Wall Street Journal. However Cambodia will “probably not (lead) with the same weight and not with the same connectivity around the world,” as Indonesia, he said. 

After Cambodia, the group will continue to be headed by Asian Tiger cubs as Brunei is scheduled to chair Asean in 2013 and then Myanmar the following year. It won’t be until 2015 that another big member country, Malaysia, is in charge. 

“The potential of Asean is very significant and cannot be underestimated,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said. “We are hoping to continue this momentum because it is so important for us.” It may, however, be non-Asean members, the US and China, who decide how much attention the bloc will get in the coming years. 

President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broadcast America’s new commitment to the region during their visit to Indonesia last week. The US plans to use Southeast Asia as a testing ground to find ways to interact with China on issues the two countries don’t agree upon, analysts said, specifically on China’s claims on much of the South China Sea. 

So as long as the U.S. and China continue to show up at the meetings, Asean should continue to grab headlines and hopefully some perks for its members as the world’s biggest powers compete to charm them. 

  http://blogs.wsj.com

ASEAN Leaders React to Planned US Marine Base in Australia

The leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations attend the regional bloc's summit in Bali, November 17, 2011.

The announcement by President Barack Obama that he plans to station U.S. troops in Australia is drawing mixed reactions at the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, where ongoing territorial conflicts in the South China Sea are a major issue. Philippine Secretary of Communications Ricky Carandang welcomed the news that the United States will station 2,500 military personnel in its Australia's Northern Territory over the next few years.

“If you are asking me in general how I view the increased engagement of the U.S. in Australia and the region, we view the presence of the Americans here, the renewed engagement of the U.S. here as ultimately a stabilizing force,” Carandang said. 

The Philippines has long supported an increased U.S. military presence to counterbalance China's growing military strength and increasing confrontations in disputed territory of the South China Sea. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei hold conflicting territorial claims on the region, which is strategic to world shipping and believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves. 

ASEAN Chairman and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Indonesia does not want to see Southeast Asia be subject to a damaging competition between the big countries, adding that idealism will only get them so far. Natalegawa also said he would like to develop a military code of conduct, in line with ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, or TAC, which calls for mutual respect and the non-interference in the internal affairs of other members. 

“For example it will involve the renunciation of the use of force the primacy of peaceful settlements of disputes, precisely the kind of TAC-like kind of norms that have been governing relations among ASEAN.” Hariyadi Wirawan, a professor of international relations at the University of Indonesia, says the news could lead to increased tension between the United States and China at the East Asia Summit and could hamper efforts by ASEAN leaders to craft a code of conduct with China to peacefully resolve disputes. 

“The whole idea of creating this new arrangement of security is in itself, can be seen also as a provocation to China and will expect a kind of harsh response from China, from Beijing,” Wirawan said. Chinese officials Wednesday questioned whether the troop deployments are in the best interests of the countries in the region. 

In Beijing Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin gave a more measured response when asked about the U.S.-Australia military ties. In regards to the relationships developed between other nations, China does not interfere, he said. But he added China hopes that other countries in developing relations between each other take into consideration other countries, regional interests and the region's peace and stability.

voanews.com | ABC News |

Military Plan Causes Tension at ASEAN

optuszoo.com.au

US President Barack Obama's plan to deepen the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region is already creating tension among ASEAN nations.Mr Obama will arrive in Bali on Thursday evening where the East Asia Summit and ASEAN meetings are being held, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard will arrive on Friday.But both leaders will fly into Bali amid already rising tensions following the announcement on Wednesday of an expanded US-Australian military partnership.

The announcement caused an immediate reaction on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, already underway in Bali, with China and Indonesia criticising the plan. The head of International Relations at the University of Indonesia, Professor Hariyadi Wirawan, said the move would be counterproductive in terms of efforts to foster peace in the Asia-Pacific region. 

He said it would create further tension among ASEAN nations. A number of ASEAN members are already engaged in disputes over the South China Sea. "ASEAN countries that have problems with China, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, will welcome the move, possibly tearing ASEAN apart," Prof Wirawan said. 

Outspoken Indonesian politician T.B Hasanuddin criticised the announcement and called on the US president to explain the decision to ASEAN countries. He also said it would create new tensions among the 10-member bloc. The plan allows for increased US air presence in the region and will eventually see up to 2500 US marines stationed in the Northern Territory. 

antarajateng.com

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters at ASEAN on Wednesday night that the build-up of US forces in Australia could "provoke a reaction and counter-reaction that would create a vicious cycle of tensions and mistrust". Darwin is about 800km from Indonesia. 

The announcement was a prominent feature in Indonesian newspapers on Thursday. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Liu Weimin, said China was actively promoting peaceful international development and called on other nations to adopt the same attitude. "Whether it suits the common interests of countries around the region and the whole international community remains under question," he said. 

smh.com.au|PBS

India, US ink accord on cyber security

With terrorists increasingly resorting to hacking and using internet for communications, India and the US Tuesday inked an agreement to promote increased collaboration in cyber security.

The memorandum of understanding on cyber security was signed by R. Chandrashekhar, secretary, India Department of Information Technology, and Jane Holl Lute, deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agreement entails closer cooperation and the timely exchange of information on cyber security.

The pact was signed on a day US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister held the second India-US strategic dialogue that focused on expanding counter-terror cooperation.

"The agreement helps fulfill the joint commitment of both nations to advancing global security and countering terrorism, one of the pillars of the US-India Strategic Dialogue launched on July 20, 2009," a statement from the US embassy said. The accord sets out best practices for the exchange of critical cyber security information and expertise between the two governments through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and DHS' United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

The agreement will allow both the US and India governments and broader cyber security communities in the two countries to coordinate on a broad range of technical and operational cyber issues. The cyber security agreement flowed from the first comprehensive bilateral dialogue on homeland security issues between the US and India that was held in May.

deccanherald.com

South Korea army, university to start cyberdefense major

© REUTERS/ Kim Jae-Hwan
South Korean troops in Paju, a town bordering North Korea

The South Korean military and Korea University have signed an agreement to set up a cyberdefense program aimed specifically at training students in cyber warfare to combat virtual threats from North Korea.

The four-year cyberdefense major will be offered at Korea University's Graduate School of Information Security starting next year and will accept 30 undergraduates, according to a report by the country's English daily Korea Herald.

The army will provide four-year scholarships to students under the program who, upon graduation, will join the armed forces as military officers specializing in various cyber warfare units for seven years.

Training related to cyber warfare tactics, strategies, deciphering enemy codes, cryptography and cyber psychology will be part of the course curriculum to prepare students as "cyber warriors that we need in the military", said General Kim Sang-ki, who is army chief of staff, in the report.

Korea University's president, Kim Byung-chul, added: "We are very happy that with the support from the army, we can educate students who can contribute to strengthening our national security."

A separate report by news agency AFP said South Korea's plans to build up a cyber army is a response to growing virtual threats from its Northern neighbor.

South Korean authorities claimed North Korea was behind the system crash that brought down the former's biggest banking network, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation or Nonghyup, and rendered various customer services unavailable for several days. North Korea had denied the allegations.

"We seek to nurture warriors to fight in cyber warfare amid growing cyberterror threats from North Korea and to secure a stable supply of specialists," an army spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

Security experts told ZDNet Asia earlier this month that cyber threats post a "real danger" to countries, and advised governments to take action to safeguard their infrastructure and information systems.


zdnetasia.com

NATO: heading towards a North Atlantic Cyber Security Organisation?

As a consequence of cyber attacks in Estonia and in Georgia in 2007 and 2008 respectively, NATO recognised that cyber security had to be placed at the forefront of new security challenges to be dealt with in the years ahead.

That in turn has required the strengthening of the Alliance's cyber defence capabilities as the threats evolve and become increasingly more sophisticated, potentially undermining critical systems and infrastructure.

"A cyber attack can bring a country down without a single soldier having to cross its borders; and it is no exaggeration to state that cyber attacks have become a new form of permanent, low-level warfare," says NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

This new security challenge was on the agenda at the June 8th-9th meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. Ministers agreed on an action plan and on a revised cyber defence policy which will not only ensure a quicker and more effective protection of NATO's own network, but also provide the Allies and Partners with more assistance in preventing the cyber attacks, coping with them and limiting their impact.

The new strategy requires that all NATO structures be brought under a centralised protection system, and that all of its networks be monitored round the clock as of 2012.

"At this meeting, NATO took the decision to start co-operation with the EU; but the European approach on cyber defence is still limited with the computers' security by focusing merely on the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)," explains Salih Bıçakçı, professor of international relations at Işık University and one of the top experts on cyber defence issues.

Meanwhile, Europe is grappling with the need to hash out a common strategy.

According to Can Buharalı, managing partner of Istanbul Economy Consulting (EDAM), since the EU has no specific common policy area yet for defence issues, it cannot currently implement an effective common defence policy against cyber attacks.

The United States has assumed a role as a potential leader in cyber defence. According to Buharalı, the latest decision by the Obama Administration to respond to cyber attacks with conventional weapons shows that this issue is gaining more traction worldwide.

However, he adds, all these initiatives serve only as declarations of intention, at least for now.

Although a crucial member of NATO, Turkey lags behind in these spheres and is not at an advanced level of organisation as regards cyber defence. "Despite including the cyber security issue into the National Security Politics Document, it is not so clear how to implement this concept," Bıçakçı tells SETimes.

Establishment of a new Ministry of Technology is considered a promising step, Bıçakçı said, adding however that no state can ensure cyber security by excluding the private sector.

According to Mustava Ünver, department head at the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), it is important that the "state should take responsibilities on behalf of its citizens and ensure that both public and private sectors resist such attacks".

With multiple panels and agencies involved, one of the chief problems in Turkey has been the overlapping of competencies.

Organisations playing a role include TÜBİTAK-BOME (Intervention Team for Computer-related Events), which executes the mission of CERT; BTK and TIB (Communication Directorate of Turkey), tasked with protecting the internet; and TÜBİTAK-UEKAE (National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology), which serves as NATO's contact point in Turkey.

"This state-of-play prevents Turkey from being an important actor for the initiatives of NATO. However, as a result of its membership, Turkey will be much more willing to follow NATO's strategy of strengthening cyber defence," Bıcakcı tells SETimes.

On the other hand, TÜBİTAK-UEKAE Institute Deputy Director Mert Üneri thinks that at the state level, a kind of consciousness has been already established regarding cyber threats.

In late January, Turkey organised a simulated operation of national cyber security together with the leadership of TÜBİTAK and BTK. The goal was to test the security of 41 strategic national institutions' systems against intrusions and attacks.

According to Binali Yıldırım, the January operation was completed successfully and there will be more operations in the future. However, he added, it remains essential to develop a system that would be alert constantly.

In all, experts say, the Alliance is heading in the right direction by considering the importance of soft security issues in the changing security environment. But there is still much work to be done.

setimes.com

US, Asean states stage naval drill

flickr.com

The US Navy is conducting a naval exercise with its forces from the five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) amid rising tensions in the troubled South China Sea.

Dubbed the Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (Seacat) 2011, the drills were launched last Tuesday in the Malacca Strait, Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea and will run until Friday.

Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay of the Philippine Navy public affairs office said the naval forces of the five Southeat Asian allies and the US Navy will participate in a scenario-driven fleet training exercise against terrorism, transnational crimes and other maritime threats.

The drills will focus on real-time information exchange, coordinated surveillance operations, tracking, and eventual conduct of visit, board, search and seizure operation, he said.

Information exchange

The Malacca Strait, Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea are known to be areas of piracy and there have been increasing incidents in recent months.

Likewise security experts point to the same spots as likely targets of terrorist strikes due to the importance of these areas. The Strait of Malacca is a vital artery for world sea trade.

Philippine Navy Captain Sebastian Pan said that the activities in the exercise will involve "surface, air, and special operations units in the conduct of surveillance, tracking, and boarding of ... from the different participating navies within their respective maritime territories.

"Three ships from the naval forces of the Philippine Navy will participate in this year's exercise.

"As practised in the yearly Seacat, several ships from each participating Southeast Asian navy will join the training" with a US Navy ship designated as the Contact of Interest for the participating Southeast Asian navies."

Territorial claims

According to Tonsay, the naval exercise has nothing to do with the ongoing tension between China and several Southeast Asian countries over maritime territorial claims.

Manila was recently involved in a heated exchange of words with Beijing over Philippine moves to allow foreign companies to conduct oil and natural gas exploration in the Recto Bank, which is located some 85 nautical miles from the Philippines' Palawan.

Likewise, Vietnam is involved in a similar row with China over oil and natural gas exploratory operations.

China had declared that it has exclusive rights over mineral and marine resources in the South China Sea.

gulfnews.com

Philippines to China: Don't intrude into our water

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III insisted Friday that his country won't be bullied by China in a territorial spat over the Spratly Islands, but also announced an end to oil exploration in the disputed waters that had angered Beijing.

Aquino struck a defiant tone in an interview with The Associated Press, saying that China should not "intrude" on Manila-claimed waters and that the Philippines "will not be pushed around."

Aquino also said that his government has completed oil and gas exploration around Reed Bank, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from western Palawan province, and that the prospects are "very good." He declined to elaborate for fear of further stoking tension over the area, which also is claimed by China.

The Chinese ambassador in Manila said last week that China has not started to drill for oil in the area yet and warned others to stop any oil exploration in the area without Beijing's permission. China has said it is open to engaging other countries in joint oil and gas explorations.

"We will not be pushed around because we are a tiny state compared with theirs," Aquino said.

"We think we have very solid grounds to say 'do not intrude into our territory' and that is not a source of dispute or should not be a source of dispute," the president said.

The vast South China Sea and its island groups form one of Asia's most politically sensitive regions, with China, Vietnam and the Philippines trading diplomatic barbs recently over overlapping territorial claims. Vietnam's navy conducted live-firing exercises Monday after accusing Chinese boats of disrupting oil and gas exploration in its waters.

The Philippines already has protested over six or seven incidents involving alleged Chinese intrusion into waters that Manila says belongs to it because they lie within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone that is covered by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In February, the Philippines accused Chinese naval ships of harassing an exploration ship out of Reed Bank. Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said last week that China was exercising its sovereign rights over all of the South China Sea.

"The overall strategy, we're not going to engage in an arms race with them. We are not going to escalate the tensions there but we do have to protect our rights," Aquino said.