Regional Security in Southeast Asia - Beyond the ASEAN Way

1. Until the late 1990s, the ASEAN had been described as one of the most successful regional organizations in the world. Founded in 1967 in a region that was once characterized as conflict-ridden and akin to the “ Balkans of the East “, ASEAN’s efforts in maintaining peaceful relations among its members and with states beyond Southeast Asia has made ASEAN an important actor in the bigger int’l arena of the Asia-Pacific.
2. Moreover, at least until the Asian financial crisis in 1997, ASEAN was also one of the fastest developing economic regions in the world. This made ASEAN a pivotal actor in the much larger multilateral initiatives that emerged, which were geared towards closer political and security co-operation, as well as deeper economic co-operation.
3. These multilateral initiatives include the APEC in 1989, the ARF in 1994, ASEM in 1995 and ASEAN plus 3 in 1997.