Mini-lateral treaties: Are they irrelevant?

Written by ABC News

As the debate comes to an end in ALAWMM, ABC News is pleased to report that the circular discussion around the scope of cases has concluded. 

In short, 

The Ministers of Russia and Australia are looking forward to the maintenance of ASEAN relationships in the long run, whereas the United States is only adhering to the narrow scope of debate. 

What’s next? 

Moving forward, although the disagreements between nations have reduced, the differing priorities of these nations continue to prevail in the background, potentially shaping the legal developments in the ASEAN region. For now, the question remains: should solutions be restricted to the scope of debate, or have the foresight for issues that do not fall within the scope of debate? 

The Ministers of observer states seem to be stepping back from their pushy behaviour in their stance on the debate. They have opened their eyes to the reality that the minister of Russia has said, “It’s the ASEAN states that only have the final vote for these procedures.” When asked about the solutions included in the draft declaration, the Minister of China also acknowledged that “It is solely up to the debate within ASEAN member states of what solutions should be included in the document”. 

Though this representative of the ABC News is glad to see the committee reaching a consensus in implementing the advisory guidelines for the exequatur procedures, along with the three legally binding resolutions. However, conflict still seems to arise in the debate about Russia’s proposal of mini-lateral treaties. 

Amongst the friendly relations between ASEAN member states, there are still some conflicts that may be crucial to consider. 

In light of the subtle cracks in the bond between ASEAN countries, like the history behind Singapore and Malaysia's dispute in 1965, the Minister of Russia proposed the implementation of mini-lateral treaties. It concerns legal cooperation as a whole between ASEAN member states, keeping peace within the nations. It helps to foreshadow and prepare for any conflicts that may come about in the future between the member states. 

Despite this solution’s seemingly effective approach to the relationship between ASEAN nations, the Minister of the United States strongly opposed this solution. The Minister expressed to the representative of ABC News that “the mini-lateral treaties do not even address any of the scope of debate in the study guide, and it is irrelevant.” 

The United States has also expressed concern over the fact that other ASEAN countries do not seem to express any opposition to defend their harmonious relationship with neighbouring nations. 

In rebuttal to the argument posed by the United States, the Minister of Russia believes that “sometimes solutions lie outside the SOD and the ASEAN countries may not get along all the time, leaving a heavy opportunity for discord between the nations."

The Minister of Australia has also wholeheartedly agreed with this suggested solution for potential disputes, as its focus is to maintain the stability of ASEAN states with the judgments made in the exequatur procedures. By ensuring the ties between these nations are strong, it is beneficial to Australia as our investors and companies located in the ASEAN countries will be able to have assurance that they can safely network and partner with them. 

Moreover, regarding the treaties, the ASEAN states are supportive of this effort, to the point where they are willing to include it in their draft declaration to tackle the issue of streamlining the exequatur processes. With the collective agreement that ASEAN countries have the only

say in decisions, this representative of ABC News sees that the United States’ opinion on Russia’s approach is deemed empty in the committee. 

All in all, the committee, which is known to be consensus-based, is still collectively in agreement on the draft declaration as a whole and is passed by the council at the end of the day.

Written by Victoria Hwang, Eden Lee, Jessica Xiao