An Analysis Of The Asean Regional Forum Politics Essay

An Analysis Of The Asean Regional Forum Politics Essay The end of the Cold War brought a fundamental change of security environment in Asia. As the East-West confrontation ended, US security policies became unclear. A power vacuum had been created in the region after the Soviet armed forces withdrew from Far East and Indochina, and the Chinese political influence was rapidly increasing. A multilateral forum for regional security was therefore ASEAN’s solution to the challenges that arose. In spite of the end of the Cold War, Asia still had problems such as tension on the Korean Peninsula, territorial disputes over the Spratly Islands, civil war in Cambodia and tension across the Taiwan Straits. These were problems that posed the threat of becoming severely destabilizing factors in the region. Although the United States had become the world’s only military superpower, in terms to burden sharing, its domestic economic problems as well as the global nature of all its affairs placed more demand on Asian countries. Therefore, A sian nations were preoccupied with this new set of circumstances in terms of security and how to get through the post-Cold War transitional period, while maintaining stability in Asia and ensuring its further development. The fundamental views of that emerged in the context of the above security threat were: In an uncertain post-Cold War era, promotion of confidence-building measures among Asian countries will be increasingly necessary. The Asia Pacific region will soon be facing new global issues such as the environment, terrorism, and drug trafficking. In order to address such issues, a regional cooperative framework is crucial and should be enhanced. The late 1980s and early 1990s marked a period of strategic shifts and uncertainty for Southeast Asia. Incorporating China and Japan into the web of interdependence with the rest of the region became imperative. It was recognised that United States’ engagement in the Asia Pacific region is indispensable for the stability and p rosperity of the region. Thus, the ARF emerged. The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is the principal forum for security dialogue in Asia, complementing the various bilateral alliances and dialogues. It provides a setting in which members can discuss current regional security issues and develop cooperative measures to enhance peace and security in the region. It draws together 27 countries which that include the 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). To begin with, it is not hard to miss that the ARF’s scope in terms of its member states goes far beyond South East Asia such that it includes a large number the developed and emerging powers of the world. In my view, this is an important characteristic of the ARF, which makes it unique compared to other security forums around the world. The reason behind this could be the idea of collective security. Most conflicts tend to involve national interests of major powers of the world. Therefore, their inclusion in the forum in a way ensures their consent or commitment towards peace and stability in the region. Formation of the ARF The ASEAN Regional Forum was primarily the outcome of states’ response to regional security problems that emerged post Cold War. The reasons for its formation can be looked via the two contrasting lenses of Realism and Idealism in order to grasp a wider interpretation. According to Realism, state action is a result of it national interests and a constant â€Å"security dilemma† that it faces. The concern for â€Å"security† motivates states to behave in a certain way, which in this case, was to come together and form a multilateral institution. Post-Cold War, there was a concern about changing strategic situation of South East Asia, wherein there was the fear that the attention and aid that the United States had showered during and before the Cold War would wane away. Moreover, the rapidl y rising power of China was extremely worrisome and there was still a trust deficit that existed among the ASEAN countries and Japan- a hangover of Second World War ASEAN saw the ARF as a way to keep the US in, and China and Japan down. Moreover, the ARF could be seen as ASEAN’s way to maintain a â€Å"balance of Power† among the South East Asian Nations themselves.