Situation in Southeast Asian region not ‘zero-sum game’: Munich Security Conference discusses challenges in region

​​​​​​​By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Senior officials at the Munich Security Conference discussed challenges Friday in the Southeast Asian region, including how maritime disputes can turn into areas of cooperation without engaging in a zero-sum game.

Singapore’s Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn were fielding questions during a panel on maritime safety at the three-day conference, which began Friday.

On the disputed South China Sea, Kao said the bloc and China have been negotiating for a code of conduct “because we want to make sure” the vast waterbody becomes a “sea of peace, stability and cooperation.”

The mineral-rich disputed waters have seen persistent tensions between China and the Philippines, one of ASEAN's members.

Whether increased deployment of naval ships by China and the US to the region was making the disputed waters “more dangerous,” Kao said both powers were “comprehensive strategic partners” of the bloc.

“We have been engaging both superpowers through the ASEAN mechanisms,” Kao said.

Singaporean Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing said the island nation “does not see the situation in the region as a zero-sum game.”

“It's not in our interest to see this as a zero-sum game. In fact, if we think about it logically, the interests of both China and the US converge in Southeast Asia. Both countries have a shared interest to make sure that the safety and security of the ships going through this part of the region is well taken care of,” he said.

“From our perspective, we think the US, China and other stakeholders that use the straits of Malacca in the South China Sea have a shared interest to contribute, and they can contribute positively provided we have the shared understanding of the framework,” he added.