Peacekeeping, ASEAN-style

Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, confirms that it’s sending observers to the disputed area between Thailand and Cambodia. But Indonesia’s foreign minister wants to be clear: this is not a peacekeeping force. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Jakarta was sending unarmed observers to monitor the situation, the BBC reports. He maintained, however, that ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, confirms that it's sending observers to the disputed area between Thailand and Cambodia. But Indonesia's foreign minister wants to be clear: this is not a peacekeeping force.

Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, confirms that it’s sending observers to the disputed area between Thailand and Cambodia. But Indonesia’s foreign minister wants to be clear: this is not a peacekeeping force.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Jakarta was sending unarmed observers to monitor the situation, the BBC reports.

He maintained, however, that the observers weren’t acting in any sort of formal capacity.

"This is an observer team, not a peacekeeping or peace enforcement team," he stressed.

The more relevant question might be whether this is an ASEAN mission or whether it’s an independent Indonesian gambit. The story doesn’t specify whether the observer team will include participants from other ASEAN states, and Indonesia’s foreign minister has kept a tight grip on the mediation effort.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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