ASEAN and Regional Security

Dr Lee Jones
Queen Mary, University of London

Overview
1. Main Security Challenges in East Asia 2. ASEANs Responses 3. New Forms of Security Governance
www.leejones.tk l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk @DrLeeJones

Main Security Challenges in E Asia

Context: bi/tri-polar rivalry (US, China, Japan) Traditional Security hotspots
Territory/ borders (China-Japan, China-ROK, JapanROK-DPRK, Malaysia-Philippines, ThailandCambodia, etc) Taiwan Korea South/ East China Seas
www.leejones.tk l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk @DrLeeJones

Main Security Challenges in E Asia

Non-Traditional Security Challenges
Terrorism Transnational crime Pandemic disease Environmental degradation/ climate change Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR)

www.leejones.tk

l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk

@DrLeeJones

ASEANs Responses
What is ASEAN?
Origins in Cold War anti-communism prioritisation of national resilience (elite interests) Less an organisation than a coordination forum

ASEANs leadership role

By default: lack of wider consensus/ great-power leadership consultation & consensus lowest common denominator weak institutions; very limited action
www.leejones.tk l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk @DrLeeJones

ASEANs Responses
ASEAN discussion/ coordination forums
Ministerial Meeting (AMM: FMs) (1967-) ASEAN Regional Forum (1993-)
Avoidance of key issues: NE Asia, South China Sea due to conflicting interests E.g. South China Sea China favours bilateralism, ASEAN multilateralism (code of conduct) No progress beyond technical cooperation/ CBMs

ASEAN Ministerial Meetings on Transnational Crime (biannual 1997-); +3; +China

www.leejones.tk l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk @DrLeeJones

ASEANs Responses
ASEAN Political & Security Community (2004-15)
Defence Minister Meetings (2006-) & biannual ADMM Plus 8 (2010-)
Table-top exercises in HADR, military medicine, maritime security; concept papers on defence industry collaboration, peacekeeping centres

ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission (2009)

East Asia Summit (2005-)

www.leejones.tk

l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk

@DrLeeJones

ASEANs Responses
Trends & Limitations:
+3 dynamic Overlap (ADMM+/ ARF/ EAS) Not failure of institutional design or political will but reflects fundamentally divergent elite interests

www.leejones.tk

l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk

@DrLeeJones

New Forms of Security Governance

Non-Traditional Security threats: scale and scope New forms of governance
around transboundary threats, not traditional regions (so not always ASEAN-centric) Functional Multilevel Regulatory governance/ state transformation (regulatory regionalism)
www.leejones.tk l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk @DrLeeJones

New Forms of Security Governance

Examples
Anti-Money Laundering: FATF Bird Flu: FAO, WHO The Haze: ASEAN Sub-Regional Steering Committee

www.leejones.tk

l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk

@DrLeeJones

New Forms of Security Governance

Limitations
Rescaling/ transformation is contested Outcomes reflect this highly uneven Examples
AML: mock compliance Bird flu: prioritisation of large firms interests success in Thailand, far less in Indonesia Haze: targeting of subsistence farmers not plantation firms

No escaping interests, power and politics!

www.leejones.tk l.c.jones@qmul.ac.uk @DrLeeJones