Mely Caballero-Anthony

Non-traditional security and infectious diseases in ASEAN: going beyond the rhetoric of securitization to deeper institutionalization

Abstract The transnational security challenges posed by non-traditional security (NTS) issues like pandemics are pushing ASEAN to deepen regional security cooperation. However, unless regional efforts at addressing complex NTS threats like pandemics are reinforced by a more holistic, human security approach, many of the current initiatives will remain inadequate.

Regional Security in Southeast Asia: Beyond the ASEAN Way

Preliminary pages Introduction 1. Regionalism and Regional Security: Locating ASEAN 2. ASEANs Mechanisms of Conflict Management: Revisting the ASEAN Way 3. ASEAN and the Cambodian Conflict: Testing the Limits of the ASEAN Way 4. ASEAN Regional Forum: Extending the ASEAN Way in Managing Regional Order 5. ASEANs Track Two Diplomacy: Reconstructing Regional Mechanisms of Conflict Management 6. The Asian Economic Crisis and Other Challenges: Turning Points Beyond the Comfort Zone? 7. ASEAN and Civil Society: Enhancing Regional Mechanisms for Managing Security 8. Conclusion: Beyond the ASEAN Way

Understanding ASEAN's centrality: bases and prospects in an evolving regional architecture

Abstract There have been a number of articles about ASEANs centrality in the regional security architecture of Asia. Yet, the notion of centrality remains undefined and under-operationalised. Implicit in the discourses of centrality is the idea of ASEANs leadership, which in turn raises questions about ASEANs ability to do so, given its limited capacity. This article defines ASEANs centrality from the perspective of social network approach and argues that ASEANs structural position in the density of networks that it has established and those that it has linkages with explains ASEANs centrality. Despite its lack of material power, ASEAN has been able to claim centrality because of its position as a node in a cluster of networks, and this condition of ‘high betweenness’ allows ASEAN to exercise influence in regional processes with the tacit acceptance of major powers. However, while centrality may have been achieved, maintaining centrality in a rapidly changing regional environment compels ASEAN to address challenges to its centrality. This would necessarily include its ability to maintain consensus, carry out collective action and achieve its stated goals.

Cyclones and Humanitarian Crises: Pushing the Limits of R2P in Southeast Asia

The devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar in May 2008 and the lack of immediate action on the part of the military junta to respond to the humanitarian crises triggered not only international dismay but renewed debates on the utility of the R2P. But given the lack of international consensus on the R2P on the one hand, and the urgency to act to provide humanitarian relief and protection on the other, this paper argues that it is about time that a R2P variant be explored—if indeed the ultimate objective of the R2P is the protection and promotion of human security. This paper therefore examines the idea of a R2P-Plus that is responsive to different kinds of human security threats, such as those caused by intentional state neglect in times of natural disasters, and sensitive to the political context in Asia. The notion of a R2P-Plus is aimed at finding convergence between the advocates of the strict interpretation of the R2P and those who argue for an R2P that is more attuned to the realities of Asia.

The Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: opening up spaces for advancing human security

Abstract At the 2005 World Summit, ASEAN Member States contributed to an official global consensus that states do indeed have a responsibility to protect their populations from the four mass atrocity crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. As is the case in a number of regions, however, there is a strong sense of caution - if not hostility - in Southeast Asia (and East Asia more broadly) towards the Responsibility to Protects provision for military interventions as a last resort, in order to protect populations from such harm. Furthermore, there is an accompanying, more general ambivalence towards the perceived relevance of the norm for Southeast Asia, due to the perceived nature and/or intensity of conflicts in the region. Against this backdrop, this article attempts to shed light on a sub-altern discourse in the region that argues that the RtoP is not only relevant, but that it is critical it be operationalised in light of the various manifestations of conflict that plague the region.

Community security: human security at 21

The concept of human security has come a long way since its introduction in the UNDP Human Development Report in 1994. There are now a number of global and regional initiatives aimed at promoting human security issues. However, the achievements over the last two decades may be less impressive when one starts to explicate the progress of each of the key elements subsumed under the broad concept of human security. This paper will examine the extent to which community security, as one of the elements of human security, has been advanced through the security discourses and practices in the international arena. Using ASEAN as a case study, the paper argues that the massive gaps in human development, security and democracy hinder progress in promoting community security. The paper further argues that in developing states, community security is still very much the domain of the state.

Ensuring urban food security in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations): summary of the findings of the food security expert group meeting held in Singapore 4–5 August, 2010

This synthesis provides the main findings of the Food Security Expert Group Meeting which was convened by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) in Singapore on 4–5 August 2010. The meeting brought together experts from multilateral and bilateral agencies, international and regional organisations, universities, agribusiness firms and relevant Singapore government agencies. The Meeting aimed to examine the context of urban food security relative to global food security and rural food security; explore the development of an ASEAN Food Security Management Information System; assist in developing a research agenda on urban food security; and identify possible roles for Singapore in the global food system.

Revisiting the Bangsamoro Struggle: Contested Identities and Elusive Peace

Abstract This article revisits the issue of the quest for the “Bangsamoro” since its first articulations in the 1960s. It examines the dynamics of identity in the history of this struggle and how these dynamics have shaped the Muslim separatist movements in the Philippines. Given the diverging trajectories of “Moro” groups that took up the “Bangsamoro” struggle and the contemporary developments that have since unfolded over the years, the paper argues that the issue of identity is a tenuous factor undergirding the fight for a “Bangsamoro” homeland. It is tenuous for many reasons: one of these is the construction of a “Moro” identity, which has come to mean different things to the many multi-ethnic and multi-lingual groups. The other is divisive history of the various ethnic groups who have wanted to be part of the envisioned separate state called the “Bangsamoro.”

Towards Asia 2025: policy and technology imperatives. Summary of the main findings of the second international conference on Asian food security held in Singapore on 21–22 August 2014

& To suggest recommendations that contribute towards enhancing food security at the national and regional levels, and identify clear policy directions and interventions to guide efforts towards food security. & To provide concrete and actionable policy recommendations attuned to the new realities of food security challenges as Asia approaches 2025. & To identify ways in which Asia could position itself to maximise the full benefits of its connectivity and build on its comparative advantage within and vis-a-vis other regions.

Introduction: Energy and Non-Traditional Security (NTS)—Understanding Security from Below

The pursuit of energy security has long been associated with intense rivalry and competition among states for energy resources that are available in limited amounts outside their borders. More often than not, this competition has been perceived as a zero-sum game where one state’s security can only be achieved at the expense of another’s. Since the end of the Cold War and with it, the decline of inter-state wars, the idea that security primarily revolves around the sovereignty of the state has been challenged by the emergence of non-traditional security (NTS) scholars who argue that the debate should shift towards human collectivities instead.