First Prize winner of the Written Essay Awards for “Which Road for Southeast Asia?” Competition
| Title | The Asean Way |
| Author | Krittapas Boonpasart |
In June 2021, on a street in Mandalay, a group of ASEAN citizens was burning the ASEAN flag.
After the Coup earlier that year, the people in Myanmar had been storming the streets, demanding to take their power back while Tatmadaw was taking their lives, one by one. Meanwhile, ten national leaders of ASEAN, including the general who was behind the massacres, were drafting a document known later as the Five-Point Consensus.
Hoping to rebuild peace in Myanmar, this action was also seen as providing “legitimacy to the military junta and contributes to further perpetration of grave human rights violations in the country”[i]. Also, two years later, civilians in Myanmar are still killed every day in a situation elevated to the level of a civil war.
Judging from that, it probably makes sense that the flag was set on fire.
ASEAN was dead. That’s why they were cremating it.
Back then when ASEAN was alive and well, I was still a high school student in Thailand.
As the establishment of the ASEAN Community at the end of 2015 was approaching, which they said was going to change everything, the enthusiastic Thai government decided back then to prepare the younger generation for this. Besides being taught extensively how the people of each member state greet, eat, and dress, students in many schools were assigned to sing a song, often for grades.
“Raise our flag high, sky high. Embrace the pride in our heart.”
These are the first two lines that we have to sing—the first two lines of our anthem, “The ASEAN Way”, the official version in English. The lines seem to emphasize what the lyricist called “the symbol of our common identity which is none other than the ASEAN flag”[ii].
In addition to that, there was also an official Thai translation of the anthem, which was overplayed by the media the way “Let It Go” or “Gangnam Style” was at different points in time. The first two lines, unpoetically translated by me, are something along the lines of:
“Swaying with the wind, fluttering. Under the waving group of flags.”
Of course, a one-to-one translation by the lyricist would not be artistically practical. Actually, general keywords are captured quite well throughout the anthem. However, apart from the persistence to visualize the flag’s motion, there’s something very wrong about it which I just realized years later.
It’s the number of flags.
In the official Thai version, it has been made clear that it’s not one flag, our flag, but a “group of flags”. I could imagine the translator trying to recreate the image of ten national flags standing in a line—a sight found everywhere because of the government’s directive at that time.
Meanwhile, that one ASEAN flag, “the symbol of our common identity”, has been lost in the wind.
Why am I talking about a lyrics translation here? Isn’t it kind of a nitpicking?
Well, because I think it tells something about how we see ourselves. Of course, we can also discuss the politics or socio-economics of the integration. Nevertheless, for this whole ASEAN project to work, for the citizens to unite across nations and build a real “Community” aspired by the ASEAN Charter, we cannot ignore a narrative that bonds us together.
As a panelist at a symposium held by the ASEAN cultural sector to especially discuss the subject matter has said, “a community needs to have a sense of togetherness, of a ‘we-feeling,’ and while economic integration—functional integration—is necessary, it is not sufficient.[iii]”
“ASEAN Identity” is what ASEAN needs.
This is not just my personal take. In fact, in November 2020, the 37th ASEAN Summit adopted a document called “The Narrative of ASEAN Identity”, which I think is worth our consideration. In this self-called “down-to-earth narrative” which is supposed to help make ASEAN relevant in the lives of grassroots people, “constructed values” and “inherited values” are mentioned as instrumental to building that shared identity”[iv].
The first one, “constructed values”, are principles already enshrined in the Charter. Some of them such as non-interference, adherence to international law, or ASEAN Centrality might be important concepts for the thriving of the union throughout history. Nevertheless, I doubt that this would help anyone except some diplomats feel anything about this community. Other values like democracy, freedom, and human rights would definitely be more relevant to the broader citizens. But let’s take some time to imagine the faces of the national leaders at that Summit. Are you surprised that an effective realization of these values through ASEAN mechanisms is almost unheard of?
And how about the protesters in Myanmar? What would they think?
The second instrument, “inherited values”, is no less paradoxical. The document points to “various type of communities with much similarities” as a result of history, then elaborates on how the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia came to be through interactions of people. It’s quite interesting how they paint the picture of the fuzziness of cultures across the region before the 20th-century nationalism chopped them off and put them apart in different boxes called nation-states.
Unfortunately, almost a hundred years later, it is so hard for us to unlearn nationalism. Now, therefore, we are taught to see the world as separated by borders. That also affects how ASEAN is taught in our schools, at least in Thailand at my time.
Besides the anthem we sang for grades, one thing that represents the identity issue that we have with ASEAN might be the educational posters. From all the variations that could be found in any Thai school, this kind of poster ends up looking very familiar: each country was assigned one language, one landmark, one dish, one sport, one flower, and one (or actually two—for male and female) costume. Every country is expected to have one rigid national uniqueness. Any poster about ASEAN that doesn’t contain ten partitions can hardly be found.
(It is therefore quite amusing to see the poster makers trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Singapore is an English-speaking multicultural country. A choice for representative national costume, for instance, could be varied from a Chinese cloth to a Western suit. A couple of them also chose the blue-ish Singapore Airlines female cabin crew uniform as a stereotypical costume of the country.)
And that’s not just the local education. Many products of the ASEAN institution created to promote shared identity also fall into the same paradigm. From a booklet [v]to a music festival[vi], there must be ten representatives of every member state, as if a number less than ten could never represent ASEAN.
Okay, what’s wrong with that, you may ask. Isn’t ASEAN really comprised of ten member countries? Well, imagine someone asking you about Thailand, and all you can answer is that it is comprised of 77 provinces, and each province just has its own things.
My question is this: has ASEAN ever been more than the sum of its parts?
And of course, this perspective wouldn’t solve the historical/cultural rivalry issues that we always have. It would still be very much important even in uniting Southeast Asia which country invented batik, or if Muay Thai or Kun Khmer is a rip-off of one another. If these are not enough, try looking at almost any Facebook page with “ASEAN” in its name.
I’m not saying that all these are completely wrong, and I don’t think there’s a single right way you can talk about ASEAN. But still, with this, can we truly have “One vision, one identity, one community”? Or would it always be “ten visions, ten identities, ten communities”, in which one of them greets with “Sawatdee”, and another one of them with “Sabaidee”?
And can we truly have our flag? Or would it always be a group of flags?
This might seem pretty abstract. But there’s one place on Earth where it’s actually possible for a human being to, at least for a moment, think beyond the cramping national borders.
Now comes the European Union.
There are so many things to learn from Europe: single market, single currency, the Schengen, continental court, etc. Having the privilege to study in Germany and have a chance to experience all that by myself, however, there was always a question in my mind: who would ever have the willpower to realize this unbelievably ambitious project?
One answer I’ve found is that: it’s someone like Victor Hugo, who, as early as in the 19th Century, started dreaming for the United States of Europe.
200 years later, many Europeans, including influential politicians, still share the same dream. At least in this part of the European continent, the EU flag is everywhere, from a random balcony to a street protest, from the refrigerator in my shared flat to an Olympic podium[vii]. More than half of the people in the EU also defined themselves as its citizen[viii]. I lost all doubts about that when I met a bus driver who talked to me in German, then to his colleague in Dutch, and then to his wife through a video call in Italian. For them, being European matters.
I believe that one’s identity and actions are deeply intertwined. With those people who feel strongly European, a new Europe is built. And with this more interconnected Europe, more people will feel European.
How about ASEAN? How often do we feel Asean?
Without a substantial group of Southeast Asians who care deeply about the region and its people, not just their nation, “ASEAN Community” would be nothing more than just a slogan.
Educating the kids is one thing, but I feel like this concept of ASEAN of nations is everywhere, even up there. Is there anyone in power who sees ASEAN as more than an instrument for the prosperity of their own nation? I don’t know. But I’m quite pessimistic, judging from how I’ve heard from the media again and again how a tougher stance on the Myanmar issue along the lines of ASEAN would affect Thailand’s national interest.
So that brings me back to the street of Mandalay. Looking back, that moment seems to be the perfect time for ASEAN to start being more than the sum of its parts. But what happened?
Of course, we can talk about the situation in Myanmar with standoffish IR terms like “regional instability” or “humanitarian crisis” which would require a delicate diplomatic game to tackle. Even so, if we really believe in ASEAN as one community, there would be another, much simpler way to see what was going on there:
When their national power turned against them, the people in Myanmar looked up to ASEAN and asked for the protection they deserved as citizens of ASEAN.
And ASEAN failed them.
Was ASEAN already doing its best? I don’t know. But for that, I might only have this weird-sounding question:
Does ASEAN stand for its citizens or its member states?
At the end of the day, the ASEAN’s identity issue might not be just about how to plant this hypothetical “ASEAN identity” into the population, but also for us to define an identity for ASEAN itself.
Is ASEAN just the ten member states?
Is ASEAN just those ten old men (and once in a while nine with a woman) posing with that iconically awkward arm-crossing?
Or is there something more than that, the way a nation is much more than its government?
For that goal, just promoting the works of ASEAN institutions is never enough. If it really wants to forge a shared identity and build a real community, work toward abolishing its internal borders would already be started. A massive ASEAN exchange program would be mobilizing hundreds of thousands of students across borders every year. A pan-ASEAN media fund would be breaking the language barrier, sending translated works of literature, news, movies, and TV dramas across borders.
Also, a new ASEAN curriculum would be teaching our children that batik was created long before the concept of any countries existed, that civilizations of Chao Phraya and Tonlé Sap have transferred their cultures back and forth countless times before borders, that no one in Singapore wears the cabin crew uniform except the cabin crew themselves, that, that, that…
But since it’s unlikely that this could happen soon, it might be time for the citizens to start building the community with their own hands. A community that’s not ten, or even eleven, but one.
Not ASEAN, which stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but Asean, which stands for nothing but its 660 million people.
What will bond this community together? What would be “the mindset of common beliefs and common goals … embedded in the soul”[ix] of the people? There are so many struggles the Asean people have to face together every day like climate and pollution, but what comes across my mind most often might be the fact that hardly any Asean citizen lives their life without oppression from at least some form of authoritarianism or fundamentalism.
So it inspired me so much to see the pictures of Thai activists marching side-by-side with the mass of Myanmarese immigrants on Bangkok’s Sathorn Road, heading toward the Myanmarese Embassy guarded by Thai police[x]. For me, this is the real “Asean Community”, bonded not by words in a charter no one reads, but by blood and tear of the people.
While something was dying, a new thing was born.
The question might not only be just what Jakarta or the Summits should do, but also what grassroots movements and active citizens could achieve together under the same flag: our flag.
Let’s build Asean Community with our own hands. March side by side on the street, and raise our flag high, sky high.
ASEAN is dead, long live Asean!
Biography:
Having grown up in Bangkok, Thailand, Krittapas Boonpasart is now finishing his master’s degree in automation engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Besides science and technology, Krittapas is also interested in many other things including politics, history, design, and creative writing. His international, cross-cultural experience inspires him to see the world not only as it is, but also as it could be.
Organizer:
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foste understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio- cultural dimensions- from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440 and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction
In collaboration with:
The JFK Foundation in Thailand was founded by H.E. Dr. Thanat Khoman, the former Ambassador to the United States, with the purpose of commemorating President Kennedy’s principles.
References:
[i] ‘Painful’ Myanmar engagement sows rage as ASEAN seeks envoy [https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Crisis/Painful-Myanmar-engagement-sows-rage-as-ASEAN-seeks-envoy]
[ii] A few minutes with Ms. Payom Valaiphatchra, the lyricist of ASEAN Anthem: The ASEAN Way [https://www.czechleaders.com/posts/a-few-minutes-with-ms-payom-valaiphatchra-the-lyricist-of-asean-anthem-the-asean-way]
[iii] A Regional Identity in the Making [https://theaseanmagazine.asean.org/article/a-regional-identity-in-the-making/]
[iv] The Narrative of ASEAN Identity [https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The-Narrative-of-ASEAN-Identity_Adopted-37th-ASEAN-Summit_12Nov2020.pdf]
[v] In Conversations with ASEAN Citizens [https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/In-Conversations-with-ASEAN-Citizens.pdf]
[vi] All You Need To Know About The ASEAN-India Music Festival 2022 [https://www.outlooktraveller.com/explore/city-breaks/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-asean-india-music-festival-2022]
[vii] [https://www.facebook.com/euevents/photos/elisa-di-francisca-first-athlete-to-bring-the-euflag-on-the-olympic-podiumitalia/1729996163928965/]
[viii] Eurobarometer 80.1 [https://www.gesis.org/en/eurobarometer-data-service/survey-series/standard-special-eb/study-overview/eurobarometer-801-za-5876-november-2013]
[ix] THE NARRATIVE OF ASEAN IDENTITY [https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The-Narrative-of-ASEAN-Identity_Adopted-37th-ASEAN-Summit_12Nov2020.pdf]
[x] Thai politicians and activists join Myanmar people at embassy to protest against the coup in Myanmar [https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-politicians-and-activists-join-myanmar-people-at-embassy-to-protest-against-the-coup-in-myanmar/]
