The ASEAN Regional Forum: from dialogue to practical security cooperation?

Abstract

This article examines to what extent the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) has moved beyond dialogue to practical security co-operation. Focusing on terrorism, maritime security and disaster relief as key areas of ARF activities in the past few years, the paper offers four arguments: first, while the ARF primarily remains a forum for regional security dialogues and confidence building, its participants have slowly become prepared to proceed with practical security co-operation, albeit only in limited ways. To the extent that desktop and field exercises take place under ARF auspices, most have been organized in the area of disaster relief. This implies, second, that for the most part ARF participants are still pursuing capacity building and operational security responses outside the Forum. Third, the ARF's cautious embrace of practical co-operation is not the outcome of ASEAN's exercise of diplomatic centrality but the result of initiatives pursued by a small group of ASEAN and some non-ASEAN states. Fourth, at least in the short term, any expectations that participants might organize significantly more demanding practical activities under ARF auspices are premature.

The EU's role in developing security cooperation with Myanmar at the ASEAN Regional Forum: 2004–2008

“…Beyond the widespread criticism of the ARF as a 'talk shop' with no action (Katsumata 2006;Thayer 2009, 79), there has been a reported (Haacke), more recent, tendency of the ARF to move beyond dialogue towards practical security cooperation. This development suggests that common agreement might tend to bridge mere diplomatic declarations with more proactive policies (Haacke 2009). National considerations, however, trump conceptions of any common, stable ARF as well as ASEAN interest (Acharya 2014;Simon 1995).…”

“…Casarini (2011) outlined the security developments in East Asia and the consequences for the EU, but he made no mention of Myanmar. Interestingly, Haacke (2009) offered an interpretation of the way in which the Forum has moved beyond dialogue towards practical security cooperation. He contends that ARF is developing capacity building and operational security responses outside, as well as inside, the Forum, and argues that this outcome is the result of initiatives supported by a small group of ASEAN and some non-ASEAN states.…”

Security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: non-traditional security as a catalyst

“…Defence officials have been reliably supportive of substantive security cooperation (Haacke, 2009) and they have used NTS issues as leverage to successfully argue for greater regional coordination. In the opening remarks of the ARF DOD in 2012 the Director General of the Cambodian General Department on Policy and Foreign Affairs referenced the 'unpredictability driven by strategic competition with increasing non-traditional security challenges' and re-emphasised that '[n]on traditional security issues are no doubt the common key issues requiring joint efforts and cooperation' (Sowath, 2012) Table 1 provides a list of practical security measure on NTS issues that have taken place in the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ADMM processes.…”

“…Over time the ARF has grown to encompass the majority of the states in the Indo-Pacific. NTS issues have always been an important part of the ARF and have increasingly come under the Forum's jurisdiction (Haacke, 2009). In the last decade, the ARF agenda has ballooned with activities devoted to NTS cooperation; between August 2013 and December 2014 approximately half of the meetings/workshops on the ARF agenda were devoted to NTS-type problems (e.g., transnational crime, environmental degradation, cyber security, disaster relief) (ARF, 2014).…”

“…The 'ungovernable' nature of NTS problems at domestic levels has compelled states to open up multi-lateral dialogues on a host of security issues (Devare, 2006;CaballeroAnthony, 2010bCaballeroAnthony, , 2010cAcharya 2009). Dialogues have, in turn, evolved into an active push by some regional actors to consolidate and strengthen security architectures directed at NTS issues (Ball, 2010;Haacke, 2009). The configuration and tone of these dialogues differ dramatically from previous forms of security cooperation.…”