7 - Constructing “One Southeast Asia”

Summary

The end of the Cold War brought fundamental changes to the international relations and regional identity of Southeast Asia. The image of a region divided, fuelled by the ASEAN-Vietnam conflict, was coming to an end, in parallel with breakthroughs in the Cambodian peace process in the late 1980s. ASEAN's vigorous diplomacy on Cambodia had not only earned it positive international recognition, but also contributed to the impression of Southeast Asia as a region able to provide indigenous solutions to its own problems. Regional cohesion and unity had been bolstered by the easing of intramural disputes within ASEAN. The ASEAN model or “ASEAN Way” was presented by leaders and commentators both inside and outside the region as an example of how a region can manage its problems and develop a positive identity in international relations. Both in terms of intraregional interactions and extraregional perceptions, Southeast Asia had become the symbol of a dynamic and largely peaceful region.

Yet, looking at the period from Southeast Asia's emergence from the Cold War until the period of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, it becomes clear the elements of integration and cohesion went hand in hand with the forces of conflict and fragmentation. Much of the latter stemmed from the need to adapt to external developments, such as the changing global economic and security order, including globalization and strategic multipolarity. There also emerged fresh challenges to intraregional relations, including territorial and political disputes, which had been dormant or sidelined during the Cold War years. ASEAN, which had been widely praised for its contribution to stability and prosperity, was presented with a host of new problems, including those stemming from the expansion of its membership to realize the aspirations of its founders towards a united Southeast Asia. Buoyed by its Cambodian success, ASEAN also felt confident enough to assume a major role in developing cooperative security frameworks for the larger Asia- Pacific region, partly in response to a perceived strategic void caused by superpower retrenchment and anxieties linked to the rise of China. Finally, Southeast Asia's integration into the wider regional (East Asian) economy, which accelerated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, created its own host of problems.