While in Chapter 4 we examined ASEAN behavior and cohesion at various stages of international negotiations, in the next sections we explore which strategies ASEAN as a collective actor and ASEAN member countries individually employ to increase their bargaining power in global fora. Following our analytical framework devised in Chapter 2, we discuss strategies such as leadership, framing, coalition-building, forum shopping and image-building – that is, the formation of “soft power” – and try to determine the degree of cohesion ASEAN develops in applying these strategies.

Competing for executive and leadership positions

Earlier, in our theoretical part, we argued that formal leadership positions, even if of a merely symbolic nature at first glance, may entail significant powers. They may allow the incumbent to influence the agenda of a negotiation process, the way issues are framed and communicated and impact on the outcome of negotiations. Moreover, leadership in international organizations may gratify the country or – if acting collectively – the regional organization from which the incumbent originates with a high level of visibility and may give substance to actors' often self-styled image of a “multilateral utility.” Leadership positions may signify internationally recognized “soft power” resources of a country and a country's acknowledged competence as a broker and mediator. They also express technical competence in the light of increasingly complex policy issues. Reiterated appointment of representatives of a country tends to affirm these putative capacities and social resources. Finally, ASEAN members' strong penchant for international leadership positions is also a reflection of the high significance Southeast Asian cultures attach to leadership (Solidum 1974: 85; Rüland 2014).

A key arena in which ASEAN member countries sought to exert influence through occupying leadership positions was the United Nations, in particular, the General Assembly and, within limits, the Security Council. All ASEAN member states are members of the United Nations and as a regional organization ASEAN has enjoyed observer status in the United Nations General Assembly since 2006, following the adoption of a resolution sponsored by the Philippines.