ASEAN and the south China sea conflicts

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the roles that ASEAN can play in the promotion of confidence‐building measures (CBMs) in the Southeast China Sea. In the light of the different threat perceptions of the ASEAN states and the fact that three of its members, namely, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei are directly involved in the conflict, the paper examines the problems for ASEAN in forging a consensus in approaching the territorial conflicts. However, with the ASEAN emphasis on security dialogues in the 1990s, it is suggested in the paper that there is now an ASEAN approach in the making. If some of the ASEAN meetings are used to deal with the conflicts, does it mean that the issues will be internationalized and to what extent will this be successful? Does it also mean that the management of the potential conflicts in the South China Sea will move to the official level? What is then the place of the Indonesian initiative in having informal workshops to promote CBMs for the South China Sea? What are the problems and prospects for ASEAN to broker a settlement for the South China Sea imbroglio? It is the intention of the paper to answer these questions.

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