ASEAN Defence Research Articles

ADMM Strategy in Overcoming the Covid-19 Pandemic: Defense Diplomacy Perspective

ASEAN as a regional organization is considered slow and less unified in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. In the midst of these problems, ADMM as the main defense cooperation organization was more agile in responding to the pandemic that had begun to spread. This study aims to analyze ADMM's strategy in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of defense diplomacy. The research uses a quasi-qualitative approach with interactive model analysis technique and with data obtained from literature study technique. The findings show that ADMM has carried out securitization of Covid-19, which has had an impact on the formation of regional perceptions regarding the threat of a pandemic that attacks common interests. To overcome the pandemic, ADMM has deployed defense cooperation in the fields of military medicine and CBR. In the midst of space and time constraints, ADMM was forced to modify their defense diplomacy strategy into virtual defense diplomacy. This model of defense diplomacy is an important lesson for ASEAN's defense diplomacy activities to face the same threat in the future

Critical Perspective on ASEAN Security Community under ASEAN Political and Security Community

Despite economic integration challenges, ASEAN faces greater security challenges. It is obvious to assert that a stable economic development requires a secure regional atmosphere. The traditional and nontraditional threats encounter ASEAN home land security. The most probable threats portraying ASEAN are hostile foreign entities infiltration, intra and inter states disputes, radical religious movements, human trafficking, drugs and narcotics smuggling, and even cybercrimes. To this point, ASEAN has taken constructive measures such as establishing consultative forums, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crimes (AMMTC). In 2009, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Political and Security Community. One of its stated purposes is to share security responsibility of each ASEAN member through constructivist approach. However, APSC has far of being success to achieve its ideal mission. Therefore, this piece would critically examined the fundamental questions: how does ASEAN security policy through APSC meet its interest to secure ASEAN region? To search for the answer it would apply constructivism approach. Constructivism ponders the significance role of regional security institution such as APSC in security structure. It suggests that regional security community should be build based on shared values among states in a region. Constructivist’s regional security model will be used as the explanatory model for APSC case. While the Regional Security Complex (RSC) theory would be employed to analyze the security dynamic is ASEAN. Itargues that the APSC is able to create pivotal security forums but lack of confidence in tactical level. It also suggest that APSC’s policies are laid in triangualar basis; rely on dialogue, establishing forums and innitiatives, and rely on non-legal binding principle.