ASEAN's economic security and regional economic cooperation: Past, present, and future

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, ASEAN has continuously increased its level of integration into the global economy to enhance regional economic prosperity and stability. Given the conceptual fluidity of economic security in international relations, however, ASEAN's firm commitment to promoting positive synergies between economic and security interests warrants further attention. In this vein, this article examines the evolving nature of ASEAN's economic security with a focus on regional economic initiatives, including trade agreements and the ASEAN Economic Community. The article suggests that ASEAN can maximize its potential for economic security when it increases the credibility of its commitment to regional economic cooperation and integration. To do so, ASEAN should more effectively address the issues of weak institutional capabilities and domestic political conflicts over regional economic governance. It should also proactively respond to unexpected challenges from external factors, such as US–China rivalry and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spatio-Temporal Differences in Economic Security of the Prefecture-Level Cities in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Region of China: Based on a Triple-Dimension Analytical Framework of Economic Geography

“…The per capita retail sales of consumer goods are used to characterize the potential of the regional internal market. Foreign trade, as an external demand, is generally measured as investment [ 33 ], the proportion of FDI in GDP, export structure [ 29 ], foreign trade dependence [ 64 ], cross-border investment [ 24 ], etc. Due to data scarcity, the distance from border ports, instead of the indicators above, is used to measure the potential of foreign trade.…”

“…As mentioned above, the research on economic security mainly focuses on nations and supranational regions, identifying and evaluating key internal and external risk factors and facilitators [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], with a theoretical basis in political economy and the school of marginalism [ 25 ]. Recently, academic interest has been extended to the issue of RES within a country, especially in Russia and Ukraine.…”

“…Kravchenko et al emphasized bid-related indicators as the most important factor affecting the economic security of different regions, with the purpose of providing suggestions for promoting public services [ 22 ]. However, Lee is more concerned with the flexibility and depth of trade agreements between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ASEAN countries, which is considered important to evaluate the economic security of Southeast Asia [ 24 ]. Osberg et al mainly pay attention to citizens’ anxiety about economic crisis and welfare, adopts four key economic risks named in Section 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and construct the RES index based on citizens’ human rights, integrating IEWB (Index of Economic Well-Being) security index, unemployment, illness, single-parent families, aging, etc.…”

“…The internal factors are represented by indicators including GDP growth rate [ 23 , 29 ], inflation rate [ 29 , 30 ], family saving and asset accumulation [ 32 ], employment or unemployment rate [ 2 , 30 , 31 ], industrial structure [ 29 , 33 ], government procurement of public services [ 22 ], investment in fixed assets [ 23 ], residents’ income [ 2 , 30 ], etc. The external factors mainly reflect the dependence of a country/region on the global economy or its competitiveness in the global economic system, which involves foreign investment and import and export trade, and some specific indicators, including the proportion of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in GDP [ 31 , 33 ], import index [ 23 , 31 ], export index [ 29 , 33 ], cross-border investment [ 24 ], foreign trade [ 30 ], foreign debts and liabilities [ 23 ], as well as comprehensive indicators reflecting the level of globalization, such as globalization index, global competitiveness (e.g., the effective integration of countries in the global value chain and their competitive advantages in key economic fields [ 2 ]), and global cooperation (e.g., the framework of regional economic cooperation and integration dealing with traditional and non-traditional issues [ 24 ]).…”

“…Markets can be divided into local (i.e., inside the region), external (i.e., the domestic market outside the locale), and foreign markets. The latter two markets can make up for a lack of local development capacities, such as cross-region or cross-border investment [ 24 , 30 ]. Foreign debt [ 23 ] can make up for a shortage of local economic development funds.…”