MEDIA RELEASE
30 May 2007
Security in Oceania – engaging track two diplomacy
An international study group established by the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific will present their
findings about security in Oceania at a Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 4 June.
Peter Cozens, Executive Director of the Council's New Zealand branch that is hosted by the University's Centre for
Strategic Studies, says Council members engage in non-governmental discussion.
"The process of track-two diplomacy is where academics and officials in their private capacities look at the problems of
other countries from their perspective, and very often these methods of engagement can lead to solutions," Mr Cozens
says.
In light of recent escalating tension in some parts of Oceania, the Council requested a specialised study group be
established to provide a focused overview of security in the region with implications for the wider Asia-Pacific.
Comprising Council representatives from Australia, China, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the
United States, the group met in April for two days.
Mr Cozens says several themes arose from the discussions. They concerned the remoteness of island communities,
post-colonial difficulties, good governance and capacity building, poverty, demographic growth, natural resource
exploitation (particularly fisheries), sustainable development, the negative effects of climate change, aid dependency
and how to integrate these small nations into a broader regional engagement with Pacific Asia.
He says the group concurred that these troubles did not appear to be getting worse under current management, despite the
recent flare-ups in Fiji, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands.
"The principles of preventive diplomacy should be applied in an orchestrated and strategic fashion to enhance the
security of the region," Mr Cozens says.
Items of discussion by the group included:
- Oceania as a source of insecurity to the wider Asia-Pacific region especially in respect of new security issues such
as terrorism, competition for natural resources, and environmental issues.
- The role of the Council in assisting in the alleviation of problems created for Oceania by global development –
through the provision of analysis, through engagements with regional universities and think-tanks, through the promotion
of two-way dialogue between Pacific Asia and Oceania, and by inducing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to
recognise the footprint of Oceania in the region.
- How the Council will prepare for the effects of climate change on vulnerable island communities.
- The harmful effects of environmental degradation caused by irresponsible resource extraction, especially logging on
some island communities.
- The need for the Council to engage further with colleagues in Oceania and especially with Papua New Guinea.
- The development of an “Oceania Regional Security Architecture Project” – a research project linked to the practice of
preventive diplomacy.
http://www.cscap.org/
ENDS