Professor Desmond Ball 
Co-chair AUS-CSCAP 
Strategic and Defence Studies Centre 
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies 
Australian National University 

Professor Stuart Harris 
Co-chair AUS-CSCAP 
Northeast Asia Program 
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies 
Australian National University 

Professor Peter Drysdale 
Australia-Japan Centre, Australian National University 

Professor Paul Dibb 
Strategic and Defence Studies Centre 
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, 
Australian National University 

Mr Ken Harris 
Australian Defence Industries Ltd 

Dr John White 
Transfield Defence Systems 

Vice Admiral RAK Walls AO RAN 
Vice Chief of the Defence Force 

Dr Stephen Fitzgerald 
The Asia-Australia Institute, University of NSW 

Mr Hugh White 
International Policy Division 
Department of Defence 

Dr Lesley Jackman 
Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) 

Mr Roger Price MP 
Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade 

Mr R G Halverson OBE MP 
Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade 

Professor Nancy Viviani 
Faculty of Asian and International Studies 
Griffith University 

Mr Ian Cousins 
International Security Division 
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 

Mr Miles Kupa 
South and South-East Asia Division 
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 

Air Marshal (Ret'd) R G Funnell 
The Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies 

Assoc. Professor Kenneth McPherson 
The Indian Ocean Centre for Peace Studies 
University of Western Australia 

Professor Andrew Mack 
Department of International Relations, 
Australian National University 

Mr Barry Johnston 
Project Marketing Australia Pty Ltd 

Captain Ian Watts 
Defence Industries Group, 
Northern Territory Government 

Mr Michael O'Connor 
Australian Defence Association 

Professor Joe Camilleri 
School of Politics, La Trobe University 

Commodore W S G Bateman RAN (Retd.) 
Centre for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong

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There have been two meetings of the AUS-CSCAP Member Committee so far. The first was in fact a meeting of the Australian Pro Tem Committee of CSCAP, held on Thursday 1 December 1994. The purpose of the meeting was to brief members of AUS-CSCAP on the purposes and progress of the establishment of CSCAP; and to formally establish the Australian Committee. Professor Ball outlined the background to and current status of CSCAP. The meeting received a report on the establishment and progress of the Maritime Cooperation Working Group from Sam Bateman. It also formally nominated Sam Bateman as co-chair of the Maritime Cooperation Working Group. The main items of discussion were the various applications for membership of CSCAP; and the nature of the relationship between CSCAP and the ARF. 

• China/Taiwan: The meeting agreed that China should be admitted to CSCAP as soon as possible rather than waiting until a formula can be found for including both China and Taiwan. 
• South Asia: The meeting felt that given the fragility of CSCAP at this early stage of its development and the likelihood that South Asian membership of CSCAP could see an over-emphasis on South Asian security issues, it was unwise to overload CSCAP by bringing in four extra members. It therefore recommended that applications for membership from South Asia not be accepted at this stage. 
• North Korea: The consensus of the meeting was that if the South Korea National Committee were in favour then North Korea should be allowed to join CSCAP. 
• Russia: The meeting had no objections to Russian membership of CSCAP. 
• Vietnam: There was agreement in principle that Vietnam be admitted to CSCAP on the same terms as other members, that is, on the condition that it meets the financial obligations that membership implies. 
• Mongolia: The meeting agreed that if Mongolia could meet the obligations contained in the CSCAP Charter, then it should be allowed to become a member. 
• CSCAP and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF): The meeting discussed the nature of the relationship between CSCAP and the ARF. There was a consensus that CSCAP should steer a middle course, that it should be willing to take up tasks of direct interest to the ARF and at the same time undertake research of a more scholarly, conceptual and theoretical nature. The meeting felt that CSCAP could pursue a useful role by exploring those issues on which there was as yet no consensus within the ARF on how to proceed. 

The second meeting was held on 16-17 March 1995. Professor Harris reported to the meeting on the decisions of the December 13-14 meeting of the CSCAP Steering Committee relating to membership issues. After some discussion of the question of PRC/Taiwanese membership of CSCAP, the AUS-CSCAP meeting reaffirmed the position it had adopted at its December 1 meeting, namely that China should be admitted to CSCAP as soon as possible rather than waiting until a formula could be found for including both China and Taiwan. Professor Ball gave a report on the CSCAP Working Groups, based on the reports tabled at the December 13-14 meeting of the CSCAP Steering Committee in Kuala Lumpur. Following a discussion of the relationship between AUS-CSCAP and the Working Groups, the meeting decided to establish a Publications Review Sub-committee to specifically undertake the task of reviewing such documents. The meeting further agreed to the establishment of four sub-committees corresponding to the four CSCAP Working Groups. The purpose of these sub-committees would be to act as a support group for the designated representative of AUS-CSCAP for the working group in question. 

The meeting also heard a report from Sam Bateman on the preparations for the upcoming workshop of the Maritime Cooperation WG. The meeting approved the participation of Dr George Cresswell from CSIRO in the workshop. It agreed that the first meeting of the Working Group will be held in Kuala Lumpur on 2-3 June 1995, immediately preceding the next meeting of the CSCAP Steering Committee and the 9th Asia Pacific Roundtable; 

In line with the decision taken at the December 1 meeting that 'as well as performing a reporting function meetings of the AUS-CSCAP should also allow members to discuss and exchange ideas on particular themes relating to security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific', the remainder of the meeting was taken up with the presentation and discussion of informal papers. These were: 'The End of Sovereignty and Security in the Asia-Pacific' (Prof. Joe Camilleri); 'Resources and Security: Risk Analysis in the Northern Australia Region' (Captain Ian Watts); 'Developments in Maritime Confidence Building in the Asia-Pacific Region' (Sam Bateman); and 'The Strategic Maritime Information System (SMIS)' (Jack McCaffrie). Dr Gerald Segal of IISS gave a talk on 'The Prospects for China: Implications for Regional Security' at the AUS-CSCAP dinner. 

The next meeting of the AUS-CSCAP Committee will be held on Thursday 31 August 1995 

Steve Bates 
Executive Officer AUS-CSCAP

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Objectives

The objectives of the Working Group are to: 

• foster maritime cooperation and dialogue among the states of the Asia Pacific region and enhance their ability to manage and use the maritime environment without prejudicing the interests of each other; 
• develop an understanding of regional maritime issues and the scope they may provide for cooperation and dialogue; 
• contribute to a stable maritime regime in the Asia Pacific region which will reduce the risk of regional conflict; 
• undertake policy-oriented studies on specific regional maritime security problems; 
• promote particular maritime confidence and security building measures; and 
• promote adherence to the principles of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

Scope

The scope of maritime issues where cooperation is possible embraces the following: 

• maritime security and defence; 
• maritime surveillance and information-sharing; 
• maritime transport and communications, including marine safety and the security of sea lines of communication (SLOCs); 
• marine scientific and technological research; 
• integrated maritime and coastal zone development and managements; 
• the exploitation and sustainable development of living and non-living marine resources; 
• the handling of marine emergencies, including search and rescue, disaster relief and shipping accidents; and 
• the conservation and protection of the marine environment, including the sustainable development of marine areas and the prevention of marine pollution. 

First meeting

The Working Group will hold its first meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 2-3 June 1995. The topics covered and relevant expertise required were identified prior to final agreement on the composition of the Working Group panel. This was done to ensure that the panel has the right mix of expertise as well as a reasonable representation from a cross-section of CSCAP members. The alternative route of accepting the nomination of individuals from different countries risked ending up with a working group panel comprised of members with similar skills and interests. 

Each member of the panel was assigned a maritime field of interest relevant to his or her expertise. They were then asked to prepare a short discussion paper addressing: 

• the current level of cooperation in that field; 
• the scope for further cooperation and dialogue; and 
• the potential contribution to regional security.

The Working Group meeting will consist of six sessions: 

• maritime security and defence; 
• legal regimes; 
• shipping; 
• marine environment; 
• marine science; and 
• the way ahead. 

Sam Bateman 
Co-chair Maritime Cooperation WG 

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The first meeting of the CSCAP Working Group on Comprehensive and Cooperative Security was held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 21-22 March, and was attended by delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Canada, Russia, India, the United States and Europe. China and the two Koreas were invited, but did not attend. This Working Group was one of four established by the CSCAP Steering Committee in June 1993, to undertake policy oriented studies on specific regional political-security problems. The purpose of the Working Group on Comprehensive and Cooperative Security is to explore the new thinking on security concepts that has emerged in recent years in order to establish whether there is a basis for a common approach to security in the Asia-Pacific region. 

The first Working Group focussed its discussions on three broad areas - the evolution of security as a concept, regional approaches to security, and the constituent elements of comprehensive security. The two Australian delegates presented papers on some of these themes. Alan Dupont (Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU) addressed the changing notions of security concepts with particular relevance to the Asia-Pacific region, and Professor Stuart Harris (Head of the Northeast Asia Program, ANU) spoke on the economic aspects of security in the region. Their papers, and those of the other paper contributors, will be published by CSCAP by mid-year. 

Although members of the Working Group were not able to reach agreement about the precise definition of security, because of its 'contested' nature, there was broad consensus that the security policies of regional states needed to focus not only on traditional military threats to political and territorial sovereignty, but also on a range of non-military factors which have direct implications for the security of communities and states. Security was considered to be multi-dimensional in nature which required multi-dimensional policy responses, including the creation of habits of dialogue and other informal processes essential to effective conflict management and security cooperation. There was less agreement, however, on what the constituent elements of a common regional approach to security might encompass, and whether or not it is possible to reconcile competing national interests and diverse political and strategic cultures within a comprehensive theoretical and institutional framework acceptable to all countries of the Asian-Pacific region. There was also considerable discussion about whether or not there is a uniquely Asian approach to security issues or an 'Asian security paradigm'. 

Having dealt with these issues at a broad level, it was agreed that the next meeting of the Working Group (tentatively scheduled for early June in Kuala Lumpur) should attempt to narrow the focus of subsequent discussions to more specific policy relevant aspects of the security conundrum, and to develop some of the ideas and themes canvassed in Wellington. 

Alan Dupont

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The Indian Ocean Centre for Peace Studies (IOCPS) was established late in 1990 as a joint research centre of the University of Western Australia and Curtin University with an annual grant from DEET and financial contributions from the two universities. Physically the Centre is located on the UWA campus whilst the Executive Director is Kenneth McPherson, a historian of the Indian Ocean who is Associate Professor at Curtin University. 

Since its inception the Centre has been active in researching the area of regional security across the Indian Ocean and promoting regional security cooperation. The Centre's first major conference, held early in 1991, focussed on "Prospects For Peace in the Indian Ocean Region", and since then this theme has been developed through research projects, conferences and seminars - the results and proceedings of which have been reported in the Centre's research publications either as Occasional Papers or Monographs. 

Funded projects and resulting publications range from studies of the security situation in Sri Lanka, through a joint seminar with the Peace Research Centre at the ANU - "Arms Control in the Post-Cold War World. Implications for the Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions", to "second track" seminars between India and Australia on security issues and perceptions. The most recent IOCPS activity in this area was a seminar, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the IOCPS, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in Perth last April. 

The first of these dialogues was held in cooperation with the Institute for Defence Studies and Strategic Analysis (IDSA) in New Delhi late in 1993 and focused upon common areas of security concern; the second of these dialogues was also held in New Delhi in cooperation with IDSA, early in 1995, and more ambitiously brought together delegations of more than a dozen academics from both India and Australia to discuss a range of foreign policy and security interests on a global basis. Papers presented at the first of these seminars have been published and the proceedings of the second seminar are now in the process of publication. 

The IOCPS will effectively cease operations late in 1995 as its funds dwindle. DEET funding ends with the 1995 calendar year and the participating universities will not be contributing further funds. However, given the rapidly increasing national interest in the Indian Ocean region the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has decided to fund, initially for three years, an "Indian Ocean Centre" (IOC) in Perth - in cooperation with Curtin University and the State Government - which will continue to promote research into economic, security and cooperation issues in the Indian Ocean region. 

In addition to its research role the IOC will also have carriage of an "Indian Ocean Research Network" which will be established as a result of the International Forum on the Indian Ocean Region (IFIOR) which is to be held in Perth, June 11-13. 

The current Executive Director of IOCPS, Kenneth McPherson, will resign from the Centre on June 30 to become the Director of the new "Indian Ocean Centre". Rob Meecham, formerly secretary of the WA Trades and Labour Council, will be the Associate Director. The IOC will be located in central Perth in office accommodation provided by the State Government. 

McPherson has been involved with DFAT in the organisation of the IFIOR, and the major functions of the new centre will be to promote the concept of regional cooperation, most particularly in the areas of economic and security issues - and specifically in the broad and complex area of maritime security - and to activate a regional network of researchers and institutions with expertise in these and other areas. 

Initially, the exploration of security cooperation will focus on non-military threats to security, building on a range of discussions which have already taken place between various participating Indian Ocean institutions and states. Whilst the IOCPS concentrated on promoting a "second track" dialogue between Australia and India in particular, the scope of the new centre will be enlarged to include South Africa, which recently has displayed a new interest in participating in a regional dialogue with particular concern for the broad economic and security situation in southern and eastern Africa. 

Kenneth McPherson

Details of current IOCPS publications can be obtained from: 
The Executive Director 
The Indian Ocean Centre For Peace Studies 
The University of Western Australia 
Nedlands 6907 WA 

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The theme of the Symposium was 'to promote maritime understanding and naval cooperation in the Western Pacific region'. 

Both Indonesia and New Zealand presented papers on maritime cooperation and confidence/trust building measures. The Symposium agreed to accept two levels of confidence/trust building measures (CBMs). It gave its endorsement to those that were considered the easiest to implement and New Zealand volunteered to undertake further study to explore the best way to give effect to them. The second or more difficult group of measures would be passed to the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Workshop for study and recommendation. 

The following CBMs, most of which are already under way, are included in the first category: 

• exchange of information and sharing of non-sensitive information, such as major platform procurement plans; 
• joint publication of naval tactical procedures to enhance interoperability; 
• personnel exchange; 
• cooperative SAR. 

The following CBMs, some of which are already in place bilaterally and multilaterally, were included in the second category: 

• training exchanges; 
• notification of and attendance at naval exercises; 
• exercise observation; 
• visits; 
• multilateral INCSEA Agreements; 
• cooperative logistics; and 
• enhancing collective self-reliance in the supply and maintenance of defence hardware and cooperation in the maintenance and production of parts and components.

It is disappointing that the following existing CBMs were not included: 

• joint scientific research, and data collection and exchange; 
• cooperative surveillance and patrol of areas of joint interest or joint resource development. 

The Symposium also agreed on a definition of criteria for membership and observer status at the WPNS. A member navy must have territory as well as ships in the Western Pacific (although 'Western Pacific' remains undefined). Thus, France by way of its territory in New Caledonia qualifies as a member and will be accepted after formally applying for membership, but Canada and Chile do not. It was agreed, however, that Canada and Chile would be welcome as observers at subsequent meetings, and will be so advised. 

The proceedings of WNPS workshops were accepted, and the two-level (symposium and workshop) concept of business was implicitly endorsed. 

Progress was also made in furthering the development of common doctrine and procedures through the acceptance of drafts of the Replenishment at Sea Handbook, Maritime Information Exchange Directory and Tactical Signals Manual. 

There were, however, some negative aspects to the Symposium. 

Because of the limited number of Navy Chiefs present, some delegates were not prepared to speak on or endorse proposals. There were also no proponents of a regional view. Delegates tended to express national points of view regarding CBMs on the basis of the effect these would have on their own navy, rather than the effect on regional security in this and other regions. There was no endorsement of the principle of members moving at their own pace to adopt multilateral activity, considering resolutions as recommended or advisory and not immediately binding. 

Overall, the Symposium advanced the agenda of Confidence and Trust Building. It continues to provide, in a neutral apolitical environment, a forum for professional naval officers to develop understanding (and reduce misunderstanding) and advance multilateral cooperation. 

Captain Russ Swinnerton RAN

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