Search

The article discusses the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, or the Bali Treaty, in 1976, which established the Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit meeting of numerous Southeast Asian leaders. The article provides a summary of the various articles contained within the treaty, which sought to promote security, economic development, and economic cooperation in the region. Subsequent ASEAN summit meetings focusing on global economic integration are described.

Why have Southeast Asian states' threat perceptions regarding China been reduced significantly over the last 15 years? This article argues it is the result of astute Chinese diplomacy, successful Southeast Asian regional security strategy, and the relative restraint exercised by the major regional powers. The paper is divided into three sections that first outline Southeast Asian strategic imperatives and Chinese strategic aims in the region; followed by an analysis of Southeast Asian views of the consequences of China's rise in the military, political, and economic realms; and an analysis of Southeast Asian responses to the China challenge with regard to their larger regional security strategies. It concludes with outstanding questions about the strategic implications of China's rise for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the introduction, the editors discuss the emergence of a new body of literature on Southeast Asia's regional relations that is both theoretically informed and stimulating. One element of this literature features a constructivist challenge to realism, traditionally the dominant perspective on Southeast Asian International Relations. Constructivist writings have helped to broaden the understanding of Southeast Asia's regional order by capturing its ideational determinants (norms and identity), the agency role of local actors, and the possibility of transformation through socialization and institution building. But constructivism itself has been challenged by other perspectives, including neo-liberal, English School and critical approaches. The essays in this special issue of The Pacific Review capture this emerging debate. The editors argue that the articles in this special issue are a good indicator of the theoretical pluralism that marks the study of Southeast Asia's regional relations today. Southeast Asian studies need not be dominated by either realism or constructivism, but can accommodate a diversity that vastly enriches our understanding of regional conflict and order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the problems of piracy and probes on several institutional responses in the eradication of illegal activities within the realm of the implemented policy in Southeast Asia. It centers on the enforced counter-piracy measures and policy designed to cutback security problems on commercial piracy whether within territorial waters or on the High Seas as employed by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Moreover, the processes of closer cooperation enacted in Southeast Asia in the reduction of piracy proves to be efficient in certain parts of the region but policies to counter act and alleviate motivating socio-economic factors behind piracy need to be enlivened and expanded.

The main focus of this paper is the regional impact of U.S.-ASEAN investment relations: Does U.S. investment complement ASEAN's regional industrial cooperation? Generally, the relationship is asymmetrical since U.S. investment is important for ASEAN countries, but ASEAN is not as important for U.S. investors. Further, Japan's role as a market and host/source of investment places the United States and ASEAN in a triangular relationship. The paper also looks at existing patterns of U.S. investment in five ASEAN countries. Finally, there is analysis of U.S investors' role in three techniques of ASEAN co-operation: ASEAN Industrial Projects (AIP), ASEAN Industrial Complementation (AIC), and ASEAN Industrial Joint Ventures (AHV). The paper concludes that past experience and an international environment of continued economic friction and uncertainty are likely to make ASEAN industrial co-operation of less importance than other U.S.-ASEAN economic relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]