Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- PART I SOUTHEAST ASIA AND REGIONAL SECURITY AFTER THE COLD WAR
- PART II AGE OF TERRORISM, WAR IN IRAQ
- PART III THE BIG BOYS OF ASIAN GEOPOLITICS
- 21 China Needs to Act Like a Good Neighbour
- 22 On Balance, America is Benign
- 23 Resoluteness Alone Will Not Solve Bush's Security Woes
- 24 India Has a Key Role in Asia's Power Balance
- 25 China, Japan Must Meet and Talk More
- 26 India's Ascent: Rocky Path Ahead
- 27 America's Security Strategy and the “Long War” on Terror
- 28 A Weaker America Could Allow the Quiet Rise of China
- 29 ASEAN as a Geopolitical Player
- 30 China: A Powerhouse in Search of Grace
- 31 Security Treaty Signals Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties
- 32 The Wagah Border: From Division to Bridge
- 33 Fix the Gaping Holes in India's Security
- 34 Chiang Kai-shek's Legacy Lives On in China
- 35 Asia-Pacific Security: The Danger of Being Complacent
- PART IV REMEMBERANCES OF CONFLICTS PAST
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
29 - ASEAN as a Geopolitical Player
from PART III - THE BIG BOYS OF ASIAN GEOPOLITICS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- PART I SOUTHEAST ASIA AND REGIONAL SECURITY AFTER THE COLD WAR
- PART II AGE OF TERRORISM, WAR IN IRAQ
- PART III THE BIG BOYS OF ASIAN GEOPOLITICS
- 21 China Needs to Act Like a Good Neighbour
- 22 On Balance, America is Benign
- 23 Resoluteness Alone Will Not Solve Bush's Security Woes
- 24 India Has a Key Role in Asia's Power Balance
- 25 China, Japan Must Meet and Talk More
- 26 India's Ascent: Rocky Path Ahead
- 27 America's Security Strategy and the “Long War” on Terror
- 28 A Weaker America Could Allow the Quiet Rise of China
- 29 ASEAN as a Geopolitical Player
- 30 China: A Powerhouse in Search of Grace
- 31 Security Treaty Signals Closer Canberra-Jakarta Ties
- 32 The Wagah Border: From Division to Bridge
- 33 Fix the Gaping Holes in India's Security
- 34 Chiang Kai-shek's Legacy Lives On in China
- 35 Asia-Pacific Security: The Danger of Being Complacent
- PART IV REMEMBERANCES OF CONFLICTS PAST
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
Summary
ASEAN is viewed variously as an organization for regional confidence building, economic cooperation, or just a talk shop, depending upon the knowledge and disposition of the beholder. But not many people outside elite circles think of it as a geopolitical player. Yet, ASEAN has such a role. It has always wanted to influence the shape of the regional order and the role of major powers in it.
At one time there was a strong impulse among a few ASEAN members to keep the major powers out of Southeast Asia. This sentiment was reflected in the 1971 Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) Declaration, a document still cherished in the ASEAN pantheon, but now regarded more as a declaration of the region's desire to be the primary arbiter of its own fate. By the time the Cold War was over, it was clear to all ASEAN members that the major powers could not be kept out of Southeast Asia: rather ASEAN should seek a balance of their interests in the region.
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was set up in 1994 to address strategic and security concerns that arose after the end of the Cold War. These included the challenge of how to enmesh a rising China into the regional system and get it accustomed to international norms, and how to further anchor the US in the region and get it involved in a multilateral security framework. The ARF has remained a key vehicle for ASEAN's efforts to shape the geopolitical order in Southeast and East Asia. But it is not the only one. Others include the dialogue relationships with outside powers, the ASEAN Plus Three set-up, and the East Asian Summit.
Perhaps no single document spells out explicitly and comprehensively the contents of ASEAN's geopolitical vision for the region.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- By Design or AccidentReflections on Asian Security, pp. 121 - 124Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak InstitutePrint publication year: 2010