International Strategic Relations and China's National Security by Nationa Institute For Strategic Studies

Author:Nationa Institute For Strategic Studies [Nationa Institute For Strategic Studies]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, General, Political Science, World, Asian, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9789814675758
Google: VuOiCgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 29386044
Publisher: World Scientific
Published: 2015-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

3.1The ASEAN needs to further strengthen its internal cohesion

If the ASEAN Community is truly established, it will be an important pole in the future world landscape. From the perspective of the Economic Community alone, it can be said that ASEAN is blessed with considerable potential and energy. In the opinion of an authority of the Asian Development Bank, “It is now the seventh-largest in the world-$2.4 trillion combined GDP in 2013. It could be fourth largest by 2050 if growth trends continue.”15 However, ASEAN cannot always solve its problem of low efficiency in community building because it adheres to using the unique “ASEAN way” to address all sorts of problems in the ASEAN integration process. When facing bottleneck restrictions during the integration process, ASEAN members tend to adopt the tactics of “avoidance and procrastination”,16 and even act in their own ways. On the other hand, the “ASEAN way” has, after all, been formed over the long-term. Without the “ASEAN way”, ASEAN may not be able to operate normally. In the foreseeable future, it will still be the only way of promoting ASEAN integration.

To resolve this dilemma, ASEAN must strengthen its internal cohesion. External factors have been an important driving force of ASEAN integration; nevertheless, the ASEAN members should search for internal momentum in the 21st century, promoting integration to a higher level. Firstly, ASEAN needs to enhance mutual trust among its members in order to strengthen internal cohesion. At present, the degree of mutual trust among its members cannot support the further development of ASEAN integration. In particular, the building of an ASEAN Political-Security Community has been encumbered. Secondly, the governments of ASEAN members must combine their responses to domestic challenges with the development of regional integration. Since 2009, most heads of governments of ASEAN members have focused on dealing with various challenges caused by a power shift or power transition, which weakened the development of ASEAN integration. Finally, main countries of ASEAN, especially Indonesia, must play a leading role in community building. As the founding member of ASEAN and the largest country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has made universally recognized contributions to ASEAN integration. From now on, Indonesia needs to continue to play the important role of coordination, always rally the members together, and turn the expected ASEAN integration into reality.

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