Beyond Paradigms

Abstract

Why did claimant states in the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, especially China, recently increase its militarization activities, in unprecedented ways that were relatively absent in the previous decades? Espousing an analytically eclectic explanation rather than using one single International Relations (IR) paradigm, this essay demonstrates three key exploratory arguments. First, the enduring Chinese military insecurity from American dominance in Southeast Asia has been recently amplified by the confluence of China’s economic rise, and more importantly, the power struggle in the current Xi Jinping-led regime. The article offers a domestic politics-oriented approach in explaining the strategic resolve of Beijing to militarize the disputed SCS region. Second, although many countries in the region uphold a ‘hedging foreign policy strategy’, which refers to their strategic engagement both with China and the USA, the Southeast Asian countries’ patterns of foreign policy behaviour and identity politics suggest that their longterm aspiration still relies on the USA as their primary security guarantor. Third, notwithstanding such perception of Southeast Asian states towards the USA, this article demonstrates that Washington’s long-term commitment of upholding its security guarantees to its Southeast Asian partners is hindered by the US interest to strategically engage with Beijing on broader issues of global governance.

Comprehending Brunei Darussalam’s vanishing claims in the South China Sea: China’s exertion of economic power and the influence of elite perception

“…The claimant states of the South China Sea have shown consistent policies in response to China's belligerence in the South China Sea (Odgaard, 2003;Santino & Regilme, 2018;Thayer, 2016). The Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia have been vocal in the various International law violations committed by China in the South China Sea.…”

Constructing an Inadequate Human Rights Regime: Indonesia and the Deliberate Weakening of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights Authority

“…The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) was established in 2009, as a response to the growing human rights oppressions that occurred in Southeast Asia. With cases varying from the ethnic oppression of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, suppression of the Papuan demand over independence, to the extrajudicial killings that have taken place in the Philippines, there has never been a more urgent time for Southeast Asian states to embrace a human rights regime (DAVIES, 2012;Regilme, 2018). With hopes of mainstreaming human rights protection policies in Southeast Asian states, AICHR since its establishment focuses on the mandate of promoting and protecting human rights.…”