Roadmap to an ASEAN Economic Community

5. ASEAN Economic Community: Political and Security Implications

80 Mely Caballero-Anthony 5 ASEAN Economic Community: Political and Security Implications Mely Caballero-Anthony 1. Introduction In a region that has been beset by a series of crises, the vision of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) — first introduced at the Eighth ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2002 — could not have come at a better time. The AEC envisages an economically integrated Southeast Asian region, displaying elements akin to the ultimate form of economic integration — that is, a single regional market, but yet to be tailored according to the current political, economic, and strategic conditions and realities of the region. While the modalities and final form of the AEC are yet to be unveiled,1 the ideas that have been floating around nonetheless signal encouraging trends about the revival of the economic dynamism that had characterized the region in the late 1980s until the onset of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Indeed, since the start of the financial crisis, ASEAN has been at the receiving end from critics who have painted a gloomy picture of a “sunset” organization that has seen the light of day. ASEAN has been cast as “irrelevant” 05 Roadmap2AEC Ch 5 7/9/05, 3:42 PM 80 ASEAN Economic Community: Political and Security Implications 81 and “ineffective” in addressing many of the economic and security challenges that had hit the region. Several writings on ASEAN have also cast aspersions at the prevalence of regional norms that are seen to be obstructive to effective regional action.2 Against the many reservations on the prospects of ASEAN, the introduction of the AEC vision is by far the most convincing indicator that member states of this thirty-seven-year-old group have taken a definitive step that could significantly alter the very nature of ASEAN as an intergovernmental , co-operative association — to perhaps one that is similar to a supranational organization like the European Union. Several questions have emerged since the announcement of the AEC. Among these are: What are the implications of the AEC on the geopolitical and strategic environment of the region? How do political and security challenges of the region affect the prospects of an AEC? What are the implications of the AEC on the processes of institutionalization and capacity building in ASEAN? And, how does the idea of an ASEAN Security Community (ASC) relate with the AEC? The above questions are certainly not exhaustive and may require comprehensive analyses that are beyond the scope of a single chapter. However, for the purpose of a more focused discussion, I shall examine two salient points that are discussed in the major sections of this chapter. First, following the introduction, the chapter will assess the nature of political and security co-operation in ASEAN as it impacts on economic co-operation in the region. This is discussed in section 2. In doing so, a brief history of ASEAN’s evolution as a regional grouping will be provided to highlight, among others, the close nexus between politics/security and economics in the region. Second, the chapter will look at some of the political and security challenges that could affect the realization of the AEC and examine how ASEAN has responded to these challenges. This is discussed in section 3. Section 4 attempts to offer some thoughts on the road ahead for the AEC and concludes by going back to the seamless linkages between the AEC and the idea of an ASC.3 2. ASEAN’s Political and Security Co-operation: Paving the Way for Regional Economic Integration 2.1. Revisiting the Economics and Politics/Security Nexus Any analysis of economic co-operation in ASEAN, particularly within the context of deepening and widening economic integration, would inevitably touch on the nature of political and security co-operation of the organization. 05 Roadmap2AEC Ch 5 7/9/05, 3:42 PM 81 82 Mely Caballero-Anthony To be sure, the inextricable linkages between politics and economics, and/or security and economics have defined the very nature of ASEAN and would have consequently informed any assessment of its capacity to respond to regional challenges. Hence, it is useful at the outset to go back to the basics of ASEAN before proceeding to discuss the prospects and problems of realizing the AEC. Many writings on ASEAN have highlighted the very raison d’être of establishing an association for Southeast Asia — that is, regional reconciliation, in a regional...