Security Of Southeast Asia Research Articles

The United States, China and Southeast Asia

In 2010 regional security in Southeast Asia was affected by three major developments: increased tensions in Sino-American relations, U.S. re-engagement with the region, and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. Each of these developments when taken in combination posed a challenge to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) self-proclaimed role as the primary driving force in regional affairs. ASEAN weathered these challenges and by year's end demonstrated that ASEAN continued to remain central to the region's security architecture.

The Evolution of Japan's Security Role in Southeast Asia

This paper traces the evolution of Japan–Southeast Asia security relations over the Cold War and the post-Cold War periods. It makes two main points. First, Japan's relationship with Southeast Asia is slowly overcoming its traditional aversion of security affairs in defining its relations with Southeast Asia in the post-Cold War period. Japan has moved beyond economics to gradually carve out a more proactive role in the security affairs of Southeast Asia in the areas of multilateral security dialogues, peacekeeping missions, disaster relief provision, combating piracy, and others. Second, Southeast Asian states have become more amenable to Japan assuming a security role in the region. Not only have the new security roles contributed to enhanced trust and confidence between Japan and Southeast Asia, but Japan has also achieved the status of being a core security actor in Southeast Asian affairs. This role will continue to flourish in the post-Cold War period.

Does Climate Change Have an Impact on National Security? An Indian Perspective

Describing the situation of national security of South-East Asia and then coming to the present day national security of India. The Hindu philosophy of Karma is very apt in this context “Do not aspire for results but act and only then there would be a result”. The relationship between climate change and security is here to stay and it would be myopic on the part of the security establishment to not take cognizance. The political compulsions of public posturing should not deter the establishment towards combating the changing security scenario in their backyard. Failure to recognise the devastating implications of climate change on peace and security could prove to be very costly resulting in the worldwide instability and retarded development not to mention – loss of human life. The need of the hour is of a collective vision, a vision of a world where we are able to co-exist with nature giving back as much as we take, Jonathan Swift said it best when he said, and “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible”. It is the collective responsibility of the Parliaments to make this invisible apparent and tangible for the masses to follow.

ASEAN and Human Security: Challenges and Opportunities

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been the driving force behind the recent growth in regionalism in the Asia Pacific Area. ASEAN 3, the Asian Regional Forum (ARF), and the East Asia Summit are all built around ASEAN. The ASEAN family of international organizations covers a wide array of issues ranging from the economy to regional security. Due to the central role played by ASEAN in Asia Pacific regionalism, the 'ASEAN way' of decision-making has permeated to the other organizations. The 'ASEAN way' favors reaching agreement by consensus, respect of absolute sovereignty, and non-binding decisions, inter alia. This paper deals with the challenges and opportunities in applying the Human Security Concept for the development and security of the region. First, a brief explanation of the two main variations of the Human Security concept is provided, followed by a review of ASEAN and related organizations. This review is then followed with an explanation of the 'ASEAN way' and other underlying principles of the organizations as embodied in the ASEAN Charter. Finally, those previously identified principles are compared and contrasted to those of the two prevalent definitions of Human Security. Two brief case studies are provided as examples of Japan’s flexible approach to Human Security in Southeast Asia. The paper concludes that while there are some theoretical incompatibilities between the principles related to the ASEAN way, the flexibility of the Human Security approach, as represented by the Japanese version of it, can be applied to the region by applying it at the community and individual levels.

Human Security in Southeast Asia: Viable Solution or Empty Slogan?

This article explores the concept of human security and its relevance to the discourse and management of security in Southeast Asia. It examines whether the human security concept is applicable in the management of internal conflicts in that region, such as the conflict currently taking place in southern Thailand. The article argues that human security will have limited applicability in dealing with internal conflicts in Southeast Asia because of the huge gaps between what governments and other groups within Southeast Asian societies regard as threats. Nevertheless, the concept contributes to our understanding of the complex root causes of violence and illustrates links between human insecurity and conflict. The article concludes that the future usefulness of human security in efforts to manage internal conflict in Southeast Asia will depend on whether the analysis of specific situations incorporates a thorough understanding of the unique relationships between government and other groups, as manifested in the `ASEAN Way', within the localities in question.

Maritime Security in Southeast Asia: Two Cheers for Regional Cooperation

countries' export-led economic growth, while countless maritime communities dotted across the region continue to depend on the sea for their livelihoods. Further north, the economic powerhouses of Northeast Asia ? Japan, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and South Korea ? rely on Southeast Asian SLOCs for the safe passage of 80-90 per cent of their energy supplies from the Middle East and Africa, and as conduits for transporting their manufactured goods to other parts of Asia, Europe and beyond. For the world's Great Powers, especially the United States and Japan, but increasingly China and India, Southeast Asia's SLOCs and maritime chokepoints such as the Malacca, Sunda and Lombok-Makassar Straits have strategic value beyond measure, linking as they do Northeast Asia and the Western Pacific with the Indian Ocean. Over the past several decades, globalization contributed to a phenomenal increase in the volume of seaborne trade: in 2007, 8.02 billion tonnes of goods were moved by sea, up from 6.27 billion in 2000 and 2.6 billion in 1970.1 The dynamic economies of Asia accounted for much of this growth: in 2007 Asia took the lion's share, accounting for 40 per cent of loaded goods, followed by the Americas (23 per cent), Europe (18 per cent), Africa (10 per cent) and Oceania (9 per cent).2 Of the world's 20 busiest ports in 2005, 15 were located in Asia;

Securing Southeast Asia's Sea Lanes: A Work in Progress

This article assesses the impact and effectiveness of regional and national initiatives to improve sea lane security in Southeast Asia.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been hailed as one of the more successful regional organisations in the developing world, credited for maintaining regional peace and stabilit...

Maritime Security in Southeast Asia

Maritime Security in Southeast Asia

The Concept and Management of Non-traditional Security in Southeast Asia

The Concept and Management of Non-traditional Security in Southeast Asia

Betwixt balance and community: America, ASEAN, and the security of Southeast Asia

Realist scholars have long claimed, not incorrectly, that a US-led balance of power is fundamental to the security and prosperity of Southeast Asia. Yet the Southeast Asian experience has also been one where multilateral security dialogue and regional community formation figure prominently. In contrast to viewswhich exaggerate the importance of US preponderance in Southeast Asia whilst dismissing regional multilateral efforts, we offer seven arguments against any undue overstatement of the US contribution to regional peace and stability. If anything, a historically ambivalent US presence contributed to ASEAN’s emergence as a mechanism of regional diplomacy. Such ambivalence is no longer feasible since 9/11. However, Washington’s current engagement in Southeast Asia should focus on revitalizing regional multilateralism. Our claim is not that the region’s security is due to ASEAN regionalism rather than US strategic dominance. We argue instead that absent the region’s fluency with ‘soft’ multilateralism, Southeast Asia’s security would probably have been far worse. Southeast Asians are more acutely aware of the uncertainties of U.S. policies than other regions of the world. They remember the American retrenchment in the 1970s followed by a decade of self-doubt. Hence ASEAN countries drew towards each other to seek greater strength in self-reliance. They found that together in ASEAN, they could better International Relations of the Asia Pacific Vol. 6 No. 1 Oxford University Press and the Japan Association of International Relations 2005, all rights reserved at W aeda U nirsity (P U LC ) on D ecem er 0, 2010 irap.oxjournals.org D ow nladed fom overcome their problems; but they still need the United States to balance the strength of the Soviet ships and aircraft. The renewal of self-confidence in America has reassured us that America will help maintain the peace and stability of the region. It is this balance of power which has enabled the free market economies to thrive.

Security, Community, and Democracy in Southeast Asia: Analyzing ASEAN

Is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) a pluralistic security community (PSC)? Does community cause security in Southeast Asia? In a PSC, member states are sovereign. So are the members of ASEAN. Before concluding that the ASEAN region is a PSC, however, one should distinguish between two versions: a thin or descriptive PSC, whose members share both a sense of community and the expectation of security, and a thick or explanatory version in which community has actually been shown to cause security. Depending on how a sense of community is defined, one may say that at certain times in its history, ASEAN probably has been a thin PSC. More recently, however, the cooperative identity of regional elites may have frayed, as democratization, especially in Indonesia, has incorporated non-elites into public life. Meanwhile the proposition that the assurance of security in Southeast Asia has resulted from this sense of community, that ASEAN is a thick PSC, remains to be proven.

AUSTRALIA Contributing to Regional Equilibrium

John Howard, Australia's second longest serving prime minister, is now in his legacy period. Unlike many, Howard may be smart enough to leave the scene with style, handing over to his successor (presumably the current Treasurer, Peter Costello) with ample time before the next election. From mid-year, Howard will have control of the Senate, which will give him the chance to round off his domestic reform agenda. From unpromising beginnings, Howard may end up being regarded as Australia's most successful prime minister since Sir Robert Menzies. Howard has also done much to solidify the alliance with the United States, while ensuring that Australia continues to benefit from the booming resource trade with China, which contributed considerably to the 40 per cent rise in the Australian stock market in 2004. Now Howard is intent on improving relations with neighbouring Indonesia. Having won four successive elections, Howard has also presided over one of the world's strongest economies. Before he retires from the scene, Howard is intent on proving wrong the critics who said that his strong support for the United States in Iraq would undermine Australian interests in Southeast Asia. The success of the Australia-New Zealand-ASEAN summit in Laos in November 2004 provides reason for optimism. It is a hoary fallacy to claim that Australia's alliance with the United States is at odds with a close relationship with Southeast Asia. Indeed, the opposite has always been the case. Australia's alliance with America has helped underpin strategic stability in East Asia, an area in which great power tensions continue. Strategic security in Southeast Asia still depends on a maintenance of abalance of power among the East Asian quadrilateral ? the United States, China, Japan and

International Relations in Southeast Asia: The Struggle for Autonomy

Chapter 1: Introduction: The What and Why of Southeast Asia Chapter 2: The International Actors in Southeast Asia Chapter 3: The Cold War in Southeast Asia Chapter 4: ASEAN and Regionalism in Southeast Asia Chapter 5: Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Southeast Asia Chapter 6: Transnational Violence and Crime in Southeast Asia Chapter 7: Southeast Asia in the Regional and International Economies Chapter 8: Human Security in Southeast Asia's International Relations Chapter 9: Environmental Issues in International Relations in Southeast Asia Chapter 10: Conclusion: Nation-States, ASEAN, and Autonomy

Politics and Security in South-East Asia: Prospects for India-ASEAN Cooperation

Politics and Security in South-East Asia: Prospects for India-ASEAN Cooperation

Revisioning Human Security in Southeast Asia

The article aims to capture the dynamics of contesting security in Southeast Asia and examines how states and nonstate actors have responded to the changing nature of the security environment. The argument here is that in spite of structural constraints and problems with conceptual clarity, human security is finding a place in the regional security discourses. Though found along the margins of subaltern security discourses, human security is the concept that embodies the security concerns of societies; its argument is from the standpoint of the most vulnerable, who can articulate their security in their own terms, without being excluded and alienated. Civil-society organizations have been pivotal in framing human security through their transnational linkages and work in human rights and development.

Non-state regional governance mechanism for economic security: the case of the ASEAN Peoples' Assembly

In Asia, the evolving dynamics in the development of civil society on the one hand and the re-conceptualization of security beyond the traditional notions of state/military security on the other are not mutually exclusive. These dynamics are essentially linked by a common need to broaden both the subjects and the objects of security. This paper looks at the emerging transnational civil society organization called the ASEAN Peoples' Assembly (APA), established in 2000. In examining APA and locating it within emerging regional mechanisms for governance and security, the paper argues that APA can be a significant mechanism for governance since it provides the framework for the numerous civil society organizations in the region to engage with state and other non-state actors that are involved in defining security in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the genesis of APA offers salient developments that should not be missed in the study of civil society in this region.

The United States, China and Southeast Asian security: a changing of the guard?

List of Maps List of Tables Map Preface PART I: THE GREAT POWERS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA Introduction The United States: Primary Global Power China: Challenging Regional Power China: Historical and Contemporary Policies in Southeast Asia PART II: PERSPECTIVES FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA Southeast Asia: Autonomous Subregion or Penetrated Area? The Southeast Asian Nations: Views of China and the US PART III: THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE GREAT POWERS Future Security in Southeast Asia: Preparing for a Changing of the Guard Bibliography Index

Conflict management strategies in ASEAN: perspectives for SAARC

ASEAN has generally been hailed as one of the most successful experiments in regional cooperation in the developing world, particularly in its ability to manage conflicts and maintain peace and security in Southeast Asia. SAARC, its counterpart in South Asia, on the other hand, is perceived as a moribund organization that has made little progress in furthering peace and cooperation in the region. Regionalism is indeed peculiar to its own region making for a different set of challenges, which each regional grouping has to address by evolving suitable modelsof conflict management and regional cooperation. ASEAN and its unique style of functioning are also distinct in that sense. While the experiences of one organization cannot be wholly applied or transplanted on to another, it is useful to understand the logic and dynamics in each region to draw the relevant lessons. Some aspects of cooperation in one region may be worthy of emulation in another if adapted in the right socio-economic and political context. This paper explores areas where SAARC, despite obvious divergences with ASEAN in its geopolitical and economic make-up, could benefit from the ASEAN experience in seeking to create a political climate conducive to improving regional cooperation in political and economic matters. The ASEAN model of conflict management may be of greater significance to South Asia in light of greater imminent regional tensions arising from the current war on South Asia’s border in Afghanistan.

Indonesia: the key to South-East Asia's security

Indonesia has played a vital role in the security of South-East Asia for more than 30 years, both through its prominent position in ASEAN and the ARF and through the stability and longevity of the Suharto regime. The central theme of this article emphasizes that peace and stability in Indonesia are the key to peace and stability in the South-East Asian region. However, instability within ASEAN countries themselves and the risk of serious upheaval in Indonesia have the potential to infect other parts of South-East Asia. The author assesses Indonesia's role in shaping regional security and the country's prospects for a successful democratic future in which the West has a strong interest in encouraging the more moderate Indonesian Islamic elements to build enduring and democratic political institutions.