QUEST FOR A VIABLE REGIONAL ORDER IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

This article examines the ongoing quest for a stable and viable regional order in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It analyzes the primary challenges to regional stability in the mid-1980s, including the ongoing conflict in Cambodia, superpower rivalry, and internal political instabilities within member states. The study assesses the effectiveness of ASEAN's diplomatic strategies and its mechanisms for conflict management, such as the principle of non-interference and the emphasis on consensus-building. The research explores the prospects for strengthening the regional order through enhanced political cooperation and economic integration. The paper argues that while ASEAN has been remarkably successful in preventing inter-state war among its members, its ability to resolve conflicts involving external powers remains limited. It concludes by evaluating the long-term prospects for ASEAN to consolidate a durable and autonomous regional order.

The quest for a viable regional order in Southeast Asia has been a central theme in the region's post-colonial history. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this quest, focusing on the problems and prospects as they appeared in the mid-1980s. The analysis is centered on the role of ASEAN as the primary institution for regional order-building. The first part of the paper identifies the major challenges to stability. The most significant external challenge is the Cambodian conflict, which had become a proxy war for larger geopolitical rivalries involving China, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam. The study examines ASEAN's unified diplomatic front in opposing the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia and its efforts to find a political solution. The paper also discusses the internal challenges, including communist insurgencies and ethnic tensions within several ASEAN states, and how the principle of non-interference was used to manage these issues. The second part of the article explores the prospects for a more robust regional order. It evaluates the successes of ASEAN in fostering a sense of regional identity and creating a "security community" where the use of force to settle disputes among members became unthinkable. It also assesses the progress towards economic integration and the potential for greater cooperation to enhance the region's collective resilience. The findings suggest that ASEAN represented a unique and partially successful model of regionalism, but its ultimate success in creating a truly autonomous regional order would depend on its ability to navigate the complex geopolitical currents of the wider Asia-Pacific.