The Tragedy of the Southeast Asian Commons

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Harvey Divino Gamas
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
South China ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Collective Decision Making ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Cosmic Order

The South China Sea disputes have proven to be the most divisive issue in ASEAN. The collective decision-making of the ten member states towards the issue remains ineffective and this has often been attributed to their disunity. However, disunity in the ASEAN maritime commons is symptomatic of the underlying political culture in Southeast Asia. Using Lucian Pye’s analysis of power as ritual in Southeast Asian political culture, we can surmise that the disjuncture between the hopes for a definitive Code of Conduct and the resulting lack of consensus in the 2012 biannual ASEAN summit chaired by Cambodia concretised ritualism. This paper’s analysis focuses on how intra-ASEAN disagreement in resolving the South China Sea maritime dispute was compounded by Cambodia’s 2012 ASEAN chairmanship. It revealed that power as ritual reduces ASEAN integration into a temple in support of the secularised version of the cosmic order and thus tolerating its lack of pragmatic utility and efficiency.

scholarly journals Managing Territorial Disputes in Southeast Asia: Is There more than the South China Sea?

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-61
Author(s):  
Nicole Jenne
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
South China ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Territorial Disputes ◽  
The South ◽  
Territorial Conflict ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Territorial Conflicts

The conflicts in the South China Sea have come to dominate debates on Southeast Asian security and specifically on how boundary disputes have been managed within the region. Yet, the case is not necessarily exemplary for the way Southeast Asian countries have dealt with territorial disputes generally. The article gathers three common perceptions about conflict management that are strongly informed by the South China Sea case, but have lesser relevance when looking at other territorial conflicts in the region. I offer a critical reading of the who, why, and how of territorial conflict management and provide tentative guidelines on what to expect in the future.

US tensions drive China closer to ASEAN

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Maritime Security ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
China Sea

Subject ASEAN-China security cooperation. Significance China-ASEAN security cooperation has moderated the assertiveness Beijing displayed in the South China Sea during the first half of this year. In October, China and the ASEAN states held their first ever joint naval exercise. Impacts The verbal statements on regional maritime security cooperation will increasingly be followed by concrete actions. Negotiations over a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea will advance slowly and contentiously. China-Philippines joint energy explorations in the South China Sea will remain hamstrung by Philippine constitutional conditions.

ASEAN summit will make little progress except on trade

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The United States ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Trade Sanctions

Significance South-east Asian leaders will discuss the South China Sea dispute, the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and regional trade. ASEAN’s eight dialogue partners, including the United States and China, will be present at the talks. Impacts An eventual Code of Conduct for the South China Sea is likely to include an air code recently agreed by ASEAN defence ministers. Myanmar could face EU trade sanctions over the Rohingya crisis. ASEAN is likely to boost cooperation over counterterrorism, cybersecurity and climate change.

scholarly journals Presentation for NIICE 2021 - On the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong-Kong T. Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
The Creation

This presentation reviews the decades-long efforts at formulating a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC) between the ASEAN and China. Changes in China's approach to the South China Sea disputes can be observed through its recent moves to accelerate the creation of the COC. This raises questions as to whether the COC is aimed at creating a rules-based framework for the region or instead at excluding outside powers from interfering. These are valid questions that need examining further as relevant parties continue to finalize this important document.

scholarly journals ASEAN Way: Managing Expectation in the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Naifa Rizani
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Power Balance ◽  
International Studies ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Cooperative Security

ASEAN WAY: MANAGING EXPECTATION IN THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE SOUTH CHINA SEA Naifa Rizani Lardo Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia,S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Singapore Email: [email protected]: 5 October 2021; accepted: 13 November 2021 AbstrakLandasan pesimistis proses ASEAN Way seringkali menurunkan kredibiltas dari peran Perhimpunan Bangsa-Bangsa Asia Tenggara (ASEAN) dalam menangani sengketa di Laut Tiongkok Selatan (LTS). Justifikasi tersebut disikapi melalui konsep power balance yang mendiskreditkan struktur norma institusionalisme dalam ASEAN Way. Hal ini mendorong rangkaian diskusi terkait kinerja ASEAN melalui prinsip ASEAN Way dalam proses Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC for SCS) yang membuka ruang ekspektasi untuk meningkatkan peran keamanan regionalnya. Melalui permasalahan ini, artikel ini menyuguhkan pandangan peran kemanan regional ASEAN di proses sengketa LTS dengan merumuskan pertanyaan “Apa yang bisa diharapkan dari norma ASEAN Way dalam proses COC for SCS?” Dengan menggunakan pendekatan norma institutionalisme dalam proses perumusan COC, artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa ASEAN Way tidak dibentuk sebagai solusi penyelesaian konflik LTS, melainkan sebagai penyokong bentuk kerja sama pertahanan dengan asas fleksibel bagi partisipan konflik di isu LTS. Adapun, kontribusi ASEAN Way dalam COC for SCS terjabarkan dengan memberikan ruang fleksibilitas bagi pemangku kepentingan untuk berdialog secara damai di luar ketidakseimbangan kekuatan yang terjadi dari proses COC. Hal ini dengan proses yang fleksibel dalam membawa Tiongkok dan pemangku kepentingan terkait lainnya menuju kerja sama keamanan kooperatif yang dapat memenuhi kepentingan bersama dalam perdamaian di kawasan Asia Tenggara. Pendekatan norma institusionalisme ini juga menunjukkan limitasi-limitasi dari kemampuan ASEAN yang dapat membatasi ekspektasi dari perumusan COC for SCS ke penyelesaian sengketa di LTS. Kata kunci:ASEAN, Laut Tiongkok Selatan, Code of Conduct, Tiongkok, ASEAN Way AbstractPessimistic perspectives on the ASEAN Way process frequently undermine the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in resolving the South China Sea (SCS) dispute. These justifications are addressed through the notion of power balance, which undermines the norm institutionalism framework that underlines the ASEAN Way’s foundation. This droves various conversations on ASEAN capabilities ahead of the ASEAN Way principle throughout the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC for SCS) process, which questioned its expectations as a regional security body. This article offers insight on ASEAN’s regional security role in the SCS dispute peace process, guided by the question “What to expect from ASEAN Way in the process of COC for SCS?” Instead of following the power balance approach, this article suggests a norm-based institutionalism perspective through ASEAN Way to the COC process. The ASEAN Way was developed to facilitate security cooperation under flexible participation among relevant parties involved in the conflict. The ASEAN Way on COC for SCS contributes by allowing relevant actors to engage in peaceful dialogue despite the power imbalance that existed on the disputed sea. This flexible participation offered by ASEAN can deliver cooperative security to the Southeast Asia region in the interest of peace. Nonetheless, norm institutionalism also revealed limitations in ASEAN capability that impede the expectation of the formulation of COC for SCS to the resolution of SCS disputes.

scholarly journals China’s Crisis Bargaining in the South China Sea Dispute (2010-2013)

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Eryan Ramadhani
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Territorial Dispute ◽  
Positive Signal ◽  
The South ◽  
Crisis Bargaining ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Negative Signal

As one of China’s most intricate territorial dispute, the South China Sea dispute has sufficiently consumed significant amount of Chinese leaders’ attention in Beijing. This paper reveals that China exerts signaling strategy in its crisis bargaining over the South China Sea dispute. This strategy contains reassurance as positive signal through offering negotiation and appearing self-restraint and of negative signal by means of escalatory acts and verbal threats. China’s crisis bargaining in the South China Sea dispute aims to preserve crisis stability: a stabilized condition after escalation in which neither further escalation nor near-distant resolution is in order. From the yearly basis analysis in the four-year span study, China’s longing for crisis stability fits into its conduct in crisis bargaining with Southeast Asian states.

scholarly journals Calming the Waters of the South China Sea: Solving Territorial Disputes over Artificial Islands

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Anand ◽  
Lisa Forbes
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
United Nations ◽  
South China ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Asean Member ◽  
The United Nations

The South China Sea region has been a site of conflict for decades, with numerous states holding competing territorial claims due to its abundance of resources and strategic importance. Recently, China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea has escalated tensions in the region and has strained efforts to bring peace. This paper observes the role of intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in resolving the conflict in the South China Sea. First, this paper studies the ASEAN-China code of conduct, the dispute management approach currently being negotiated between ASEAN and China. This code of conduct will govern the conduct of the countries involved in the South China Sea disputes. Furthermore, this paper proposes key provisions that should be incorporated into this code of conduct to make it more effective. Second, this paper reviews the conflicting views of ASEAN member states that impede the creation and adoption of the code of conduct. To conclude, this paper recommends an alternative solution through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), proposing that the conciliation procedure provided in UNCLOS be adopted to resolve the long standing South China Sea disputes.

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