The Russian war against Ukraine and why it matters to Malaysia

Matter of global import: Russian aggression against Ukraine sets a dangerous and ominous precedent for any major power with territorial or political claims on smaller powers. – AP Photo

RUSSIA has just started a war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, in particular the prohibition to use or threaten to use force, the respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States, the duty of non-interference in internal affairs. This is also a clear violation of the commitments which Russia herself had undertaken: the Helsinki Final Act and its ten principles, the Paris Charter for a New Europe, the Budapest Memorandum – which, ironically, made Russia one of the guarantors of the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine- and, of course, the Minsk Agreements. The list unfortunately does not stop here and, based on the first military operations, there are, alas, reasons to believe that the most elementary norms of international humanitarian law and conflict law are also being violated by Russian troops.

This war is also in clear violation of all the Asean principles as stated in the 1976 Asean Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC): mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations; the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion; the non-interference in the internal affairs of one another; the settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means; the renunciation of threats or use of force.