Conflict management and constructive engagement in ASEAN's expansion

This article examines the expansion of membership in ASEAN which has occurred during the second half of the 1990s, and identifies the factors behind this process, with particular attention devoted to the efforts aimed at implementing the conflict management mechanisms of ASEAN on a wider regional level. The study takes as its starting point the rapprochement between the original member states of ASEAN and Vietnam and Laos, which began during the second half of the 1980s and gained momentum following the resolution of the Cambodian conflict in 1991. The first half of the 1990s was characterised by the gradual acceptance by other Southeast Asian countries of ASEAN's code of conduct for inter-state interaction. This paved the way for the accession to full membership in ASEAN of Vietnam in 1995, of Laos and Burma in 1997 and of Cambodia in late 1998. Given the considerable discrepancy in the level of economic development between the new and old members of ASEAN, the economic motivation for expanding ASEAN would be to facilitate foreign investment in the new members and open new markets for exports within an expanded ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). The article argues, however, that the political and security considerations are more important in explaining why the original members embarked on the process aimed at bringing all 10 Southeast Asian countries into ASEAN. It is in this context that the policy of constructive engagement and peaceful management of inter-state conflicts comes into play.     

The ASEAN free trade area and the construction of a Southeast Asian economic community in East Asia

In October 2003, ASEAN leaders decided to establish an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2020. An AEC is presented by advocates as a logical step following the completion of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by ASEAN6 in 2003. Adopting a critical political economy approach inspired by the work of Mitchell Bernard and Robert W. Cox, this article argues that the decision to launch AFTA and an AEC are motivated primarily by the desire to transform Southeast Asia into an investment site and a production base for the world market within East Asia, in competition with China. AFTA and a future AEC are decisions taken within the structural context of an East Asian region characterised, among others, by the organisation of Japanese production and the developmental state.     

ASEAN At 50: the global political economy’s contribution to durability

Why has the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) proved so durable as a regional organisation given the many challenges it has faced since its inception in 1967? This analysis makes use of an historical institutionalist approach. It shows how the global political economy, through the injection of aid and investment and the development of production networks and increased trade, generated a generally positive regional economic environment that encouraged cooperation. It also provided the resources for the gradual institutionalisation of ASEAN and the expansion of its reach through the establishment of associated regional organisations. The result was that these factors, in combination, contributed to ASEAN’s staying power.     

ASEAN Initiatives to combat Haze pollution: An assessment of regional cooperation in public policy‐making

Over the last 25 years, Southeast Asia had been affected by significant smoke pollution (commonly referred to as the haze), which has mainly emanated from the widespread burning of forests and scrubs by smallholders and plantation operators within Indonesia. The haze has seriously affected air quality in the neighbouring countries. The article will consider the concerted efforts of the states of ASEAN to deal jointly with the problem, through various initiatives culminating in the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution of 2002. The article will then assess the design and impact of these initiatives, and will argue that their success will depend particularly on the standards of governance and administration in Indonesia.     

Leadership in ASEAN: The Role of Indonesia Reconsidered

This paper examines the complexity and multidimensional features of leadership and provides understanding of leadership in ASEAN integration. It highlights the significant roles of leadership in the integrating Southeast Asia and contradicts its common belief of invisible leadership. It highlights the role and the importance of Indonesia in the development of ASEAN as a main factor that can determine ASEAN's survival and success. Moreover, it insists that ASEAN is literally subject to structural powers, derived from material and resource capacity, in which leadership is highly attached to a leader's charisma. Finally, the paper proposes that the benevolent roles of Indonesia with strong emphasis on soft power are a key element of success.     

亚太战略视域下的美国—东盟关系考察

由于东盟地区在地缘、政治、反恐、经济等方面的突出作用,奥巴马履新以来,主动接近并大力发展与东盟国家间关系,美国"重返东南亚"的战略态势渐趋明朗。然而较长时期内,东盟在美国亚太战略中的地位仍将主要让位于中国、东北亚、日本、印度、阿富汗等关键国家和地域,这从很大程度上决定了美国与东盟关系深入发展的限度。东盟唯有自身行动机能和决断能力的实质性增强,才能赢得美国持久根本的战略关注高度。     

Why (most) Indonesian businesses fear the ASEAN Economic Community: struggling with Southeast Asia’s regional corporatism

By the end of 2015 the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had ushered in a common market, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). However, the groups most affected by it – small businesses – were bypassed in the decision-making process. They are the victims of a selectively inclusive state corporatism which member countries have transferred from their domestic political system to the regional level. In this article I argue that the decision to create the AEC was promoted by ASEAN governments together with foreign economic and local corporate interests. This coalition was able to frame the AEC in a way that small businesses perceived it as a win-win scheme. Empirically the article focuses on Indonesia.     

ASEAN and evolving power relations in East Asia: strategies and constraints

This article seeks to examine constraints and challenges that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states are confronted with in formulating and implementing their strategies in response to evolving regional environments represented by the rise of China. It argues that China's southern neighbours have adopted purposeful strategies in order to mitigate potentially negative effects from China's growing capabilities in East Asia. These strategies led to the expansion of membership in the East Asia Summit (EAS) and positive involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, encouraging America's substantial commitments to the Asia-Pacific. However, ASEAN has failed to form the unified front on the EAS and TPP because its members have adopted diverse stances on and policies towards the two institutions. Moreover, an identity issue constitutes a crucial impediment to promoting cooperation between ASEAN members and the USA. While Washington has intensified diplomatic linkages with ASEAN, the US identity shown in its adherence to the results-oriented approach still provokes some concerns among the ASEAN members.     

The role of ASEAN institutes of strategic and international studies in developing security cooperation in the Asia‐pacific region

As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) governments are facing new challenges, the need to re‐evaluate the significance of the track‐two activities has been recognised. As there has been insufficient research on the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), this article analyses their role in the development of security cooperation. It shows that ASEAN‐ISIS has contributed to the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) by analysing the common/cooperative security thinking, the establishment of an inter‐governmental forum for a security dialogue, and the extension of ASEAN's diplomatic style over a larger geographical area. As ASEAN‐ISIS has contributed to inter‐governmental cooperation by promoting ideas, this article concludes that the significance of their activities in contemporary Asian politics should be understood in terms of the introduction and promotion of such innovative ideas.     

东盟跨境数据流动治理的机制构建

跨境数据流动是全球数字经济的重要基础,也是全球治理的新兴议题。在数字经济发展和东盟区域一体化的趋势下,东盟从统筹数字经济发展与数据保护入手,着眼于提升东盟国际竞争力和话语权,制定并完善跨境数据流动治理机制。这一机制的构建始于新加坡对数据保护规制的探索,基于东盟个人数据保护框架,在东盟数字一体化总体框架下制定数字管理框架,并以“东盟示范合同条款”和“东盟跨境数据流动认证”两大关键手段促进机制落实。该机制具有灵活性、包容性和指导性的特征,有利于促进东盟地区数字经济发展,降低谈判成本与合规成本,获得更多全球竞争优势。对于中国而言,在与东盟跨境数据流动治理机制合作对接方面具备可能性和可行性,需要充分认识和评估东盟机制对世界数字治理的影响、对地区数字经济秩序的挑战,推动中国与东盟之间的数字经济合作。     

RCEP:特点、问题与前景

作为世界最大的自由贸易安排,RCEP所取得的突破不仅有利于改善区域贸易与投资环境、增强区域供应链、推动经济复苏,还为区域经济一体化、全球贸易自由化、基于规则的多边贸易体制注入了前行的动力。同时,它对中国贸易和投资的可持续发展、高水平制度型开放、实施自由贸易区提升战略、构建国内国际双循环相互促进的新发展格局也可以发挥积极作用。RCEP以市场准入、规则、合作为支柱,具有开放包容、全面、高质量、互惠等诸多特点,并突出东盟方式与东盟中心地位。RCEP的后续生效实施与适时升级,将面临成员差异性与利益诉求复杂性、外部因素牵制、既有FTA规则的多样性与整合的难度、区域身份认同与大国协调等现实问题的挑战,仍需要以渐进灵活的方式,不断推动其深化和拓展。中国应一如既往支持东盟的主导地位,推动RCEP尽快生效。既要助力东盟提升凝聚力、加强大国协调,也要加速推进中日韩FTA谈判、加快与东盟成员的FTA构建。应不断提高规则利用率,充分发挥FTA本应具有的效应,以制度型开放营造良好营商环境,持续推动区域制度性经济一体化。     

Financial crises as catalysts for regional cooperation? Chances and obstacles for financial integration in ASEAN+3, MERCOSUR and the eurozone

This article compares and analyses the different answers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations+3 (ASEAN+3), Mercado Común del Dur (MERCOSUR) and the eurozone on financial crises in their respective regions. All three regions were hit by economic turmoil between 1997 and 2012, but whereas ASEAN+3 and the eurozone answered with establishing regional liquidity arrangements (RLAs) in order to fight future crises, financial cooperation did not take off in MERCOSUR. Thus, the paper asks why some regions establish RLAs in cases of crisis and others do not. It argues that the variance of regional financial integration in different world regions is due to different interests of regional powers in their respective regions. The regional powers of ASEAN+3 and the eurozone are institutionally and/or economically highly embedded within their respective regions, but this is not the case for Brazil in MERCOSUR. China and Japan suffered from negative externalities of the Asian crisis, and, consequently, have had an interest to stabilize their neighbours’ economies after the crisis. In contrast, Brazil was able to follow a beggar-thy-neighbour strategy at the turn of the millennium, which externalized some of the costs of Brazil's own economic crisis towards Argentina. As a result, Brazil has had no interest in providing liquidity for its regional neighbours after the crisis. France and Germany are not only economically but also institutionally highly embedded in the eurozone because they share a common currency with their regional neighbours. Thus, the stability of the eurozone is a vital interest for Europe's regional powers, and they devote significant resources to stabilize the economies of the eurozone's periphery.     

解析日本的东亚外交——从鸠山到菅直人的东亚合作政策

本文阐述日本民主党执政后的东亚外交及其变化,从日本与中韩、日本与东盟、日本与湄公河地区5国、日本与越南的关系等角度,分析鸠山和菅直人两届政府的关于东亚合作的设想及其实施结果,考察其东亚外交在东北亚和东南亚地区的不同表现,及其对中日关系的影响。     

The ASEAN way of conflict management: Old patterns and new trends

In the current international environment, greater emphasis is placed on regional and international responses to conflict. ASEAN is widely regarded as one of the most successful regional organisations in this area. This paper identifies the principles and institutional mechanisms for conflict management in ASEAN, and examines the extent to which these have changed in the post‐Cold War era. It argues that ASEAN may face increasing challenges to its policy of conflict avoidance, as more and more conflicts take place within ASEAN countries rather than between them.     

From the ASEAN People's Assembly to the ASEAN Civil Society Conference: the boundaries of civil society advocacy

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have asserted their claim for participation in regional governance in Southeast Asia through multiple forums held since the late-1990s. The two most enduring are the ASEAN People's Assembly (APA), organised by ASEAN-ISIS and held seven times from 2000 to 2009, and the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC), organised by the Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy network and held nine times from 2005 to the present. Through comparative analysis of the boundaries of CSO participation in these two events, this article explains why the APA was superseded by the ACSC, and it highlights states' growing intrusions into the ACSC. It argues that states' expanding repertoire of tactics to direct the ACSC has seen the structure of CSO participation in this event recast, challenging the view of the ACSC as an independent space for advocacy and indicating the hollowness of ASEAN's commitments to creating a ‘people-oriented’ Association.     

ASEAN’s governance of migrant worker rights

Temporary migrant workers in Southeast Asia are subject to various abuses in recruitment, work and repatriation. A decade ago ASEAN governments committed to developing an Instrument governing migrant worker rights, but a series of deadlocks have stymied this agreement. Prevailing accounts explain this impasse as the consequence of incompatible national interests, norms of non-interference and consensus, a lack of institutional capacity and the limits of rights advocacy in ASEAN. Conversely, utilising a political economy framework, this article demonstrates this impasse in regional governance reflects societal-level conflicts among migrant workers, civil society organisations, business groups and state-based actors, generated by the latter’s adoption of migrant labour as both a livelihood and development strategy.     

The family state: a non-realist approach to understanding Indonesia’s foreign policy

ABSTRACT

The existing literature on Indonesia’s foreign policy has excluded the state from the category of an agent which shapes the country’s external affairs. This trend certainly ignores the notion that foreign policy is a unique state activity taking place in the interface between domestic and international politics. To fill the gap, this article explores the idea about the family state and looks at its influence on the conduct of Indonesia’s international relations. The argument is that the family state pursues order in international society in which sovereignty can be maintained. Indonesia plays the role of an order-maker in Southeast Asia through the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The order-oriented actions are displayed by Jakarta’s diplomacy to resolve border disputes with neighbouring countries in the region.     

中国和东盟互联互通的意义、成就及前景——纪念中国-东盟建立对话关系20周年

基础设施的互联互通，是深化中国与东盟关系、推进双方合作的重要基础和前提。今年是中国和东盟建立对话关系20周年，中国和东南亚基础设施的互联互通为双方未来关系的进一步发展搭建起更加便捷的桥梁。从这一角度出发，本文主要阐述中国与东南亚基础设施互联互通的意义，介绍中国与东南亚基础设施互联互通建设取得的成就，探讨今后的发展前景。     

Contending eurocentric theories: the case study of Thailand's economic regionalism in ASEA

ABSTRACT

The Eurocentric theory of economic regionalism, as demonstrated by the empirical case of the European Union, has been widely recognized as the pathfinder, role model, and inspiration for other regional organizations, including ASEAN, due to its continuous attempts at deepening economic integration, formalizing the decision-making process, and legalizing the administrative body. Despite this concordant movement, it is evident from Thailand that ASEAN has evolved differently from the rationale, process, and prediction that Eurocentric theory dictates.

The purpose of this article is to argue that the economic regionalism of ASEAN has not developed in accordance with an economically-oriented rationale. Moreover, the process of economic integration has not necessarily derived from the free trade agreement itself, particularly when a country lacks continuity in terms of its development of regionalist projects. In addition, Thailand has not followed the path of economic integration due to spillover effects. This is because member countries have not given up their sovereignty in favour of the regional institution. Economic regional activities have been broadened within a limited scope, and the expansion has been conducted through bilateral talks, rather than a strengthening of regional solidarity.     

Separatism and Southeast Asia: The Islamic Factor in Southern Thailand,Mindanao, and Aceh

Islamic insurgent movements in southern Thailand, the southern Philippines and Aceh represent, arguably, the most visible signs of armed separatism in Southeast Asia today. The roots of ethnoreligious unrest in each of these regions stem from the same basic factors: insensitivity to local concerns, regional neglect, military repression and the contemporary force of militant Islam. The longevity of the movements that have arisen in southern Thailand, the southern Philippines and Aceh has largely been determined by the degree of popular support each has been able to call on as well as operational considerations such as external support and access to weaponry.