Cambodia’s engagement on ASEAN regional security issues

Ousaphea Yuok PhD in History Postgraduate student, Department of Theory and History of International Relations, RUDN University 117198, Russia, Moscow, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 yuokphea2015@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Introduction

The relevance of the topic of the study is due to the growing tension in the region of the South China Sea, consisting in the confrontation between the USA and the PRC, and the increase in terrorist activities in South-East Asia.

The object of this study is ASEAN regional security issues in South-East Asia. The subject of this study is the role of the Kingdom of Cambodia in addressing ASEAN regional security concerns.

This scientific article is based on the theory of neoliberalism. The key theorist of neoliberalism is the American political scientist and author of the term «soft power» Joseph Nye. The neo-liberalism paradigm views the system of international relations as a non-anarchic system with the primacy of international law and trade limiting the potential of armed conflicts.

The scientific novelty of the study is the content-analysis of key ASEAN documents and the structuring of the ASEAN regional security system.

History and structure of regional security in ASEAN

Association of South East Asian nations – ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967, in accordance with the Bangkok Declaration. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Founding members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand ^[1].

The content analysis of the Bangkok Declaration shows that the key lexical units of this document are: 1. minister; 2. foreign; 3. country; 4. cooperation; 5. association; 6. South-East; 7. region; 8. affair; 9. Asia; 10. regional; 15. peace; 16. social; 17. economic; 23. freedom; 24. stability; 25. development; 37. progress; 38. prosperity etc. ^[2]. Based on the previous content analysis of the Bangkok Declaration, the focus of the document is on the structuring of the legal framework to strengthen economic relations among the Association’s member States.

Further institutional development of ASEAN can be divided into the following stages:

1. Establishment of the ASEAN Secretariat; Signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-east Asia (Bali Treaty); Signing of the ASEAN Declaration of Consent (1976) ^[3];

2. Signing of the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement (1992) ^[4];

3. Signing of the South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Bangkok) (1995) ^[5];

4. Signing of the second ASEAN Declaration of Consent (Bali Concord II) (2003);

5. Adoption of the ASEAN Charter (2008) ^[6].

In parallel with the institutional development of ASEAN, the association has been steadily expanding:

1. 1984 - Brunei;

2. 1995 - Viet Nam;

3. 1997 - Laos, Myanmar;

4. 1999 - Cambodia ^[7].

As for the regional security structure of ASEAN, its formation began in 2015. with the ratification of ASEAN Political-Security Community – APSC the draft of which was created in 2009 ^[8]. The activities of the previously mentioned community are governed by specialized documents dated 2009 and 2016. The key aspects of the earlier document are as follows:

Paragraph B.1.18. «Confidence Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy are important instruments in conflict prevention. They mitigate tensions and prevent disputes from arising between or among ASEAN Member States, as well as between ASEAN Member States and non-ASEAN member countries. They will also help prevent the escalation of existing disputes».

Paragraph B.2.20. «Convinced that the settlement of differences or disputes should be regulated by rational, effective and sufficiently flexible procedures, avoiding negative attitudes, which might endanger or hinder cooperation, ASEAN promotes the TAC, which seeks to preserve regional peace and harmony and prescribes that Member States refrain from threat or use of force» ^[9].

Moreover, the content analysis of the 2009 document shows that the main focus is on the peaceful resolution of conflicts, ways to avoid them and the non-use of force.

At the same time, the document also pays close attention to the fight against cross-border crime: it highlights «non-traditional security issues» that ASEAN states need to combat, such as drug trafficking, transnational crime, terrorism, poaching, trafficking in small arms, cybercrime, piracy, forgery, etc.

The 2016 document which aims to implement projects until 2025, focuses more on the activities of the ASEAN Regional Forum – ARF and the crisis situation in the South China Sea. The problem of terrorism in the 2016 document is 26 times against 9 times in 2009. The problem of drug trafficking appears 25 times in the 2016 document against 10 times in 2009, the problem of the proliferation of small arms - 17 times against 4, the topic of transnational crime is addressed 19 times, in the 2009 document - only 5 times ^[10].

The ARF is an integral part of the ASEAN Security Architecture. It is a recurring feature in both documents. It was mentioned about 18 times in 2009, but it has been mentioned 29 times in the 2016 document. The Forum itself was established in 1993 and the first meeting of the Forum was held in Bangkok on 25 July 1994. The main purpose of the ARF is «to foster constructive dialogue and consultation on political and security issues of common interest and concern; and to make significant contributions to efforts towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region… The ARF could become an effective consultative Asia-Pacific Forum for promoting open dialogue on political and security cooperation in the region» ^[11].

Based on the consultative nature of ARF activities, it is worth noting that the following States are ASEAN dialogue partners through this forum: Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, North Korea, East Timor, India, EU, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, USA.

The history of the ASEAN regional security architecture is inextricably linked to the development of the association itself. The formation and development of ASEAN was initially economic in nature, as indicated by the content analysis of the Bangkok Declaration. The Regional Security Architecture began its development in 2015. with the ratification of the ASEAN Political-Security Community – APSC and the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1993.

Regional security challenges in ASEAN

Based on the instruments governing the ASEAN political security community, the key regional security concerns of ASEAN are drug trafficking, transnational crime, terrorism, poaching, illicit trafficking in small arms, сybercrime, piracy, document forgery, etc. The key problem from the previously mentioned list is the growth of terrorist activities in the region.

In 2011, the APAC region recorded more than 2,000 terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of more than 25,000 people. In 2011,173 terrorist acts took place in Thailand, killing 142 people and injuring more than 400, in the Philippines in the same year 125 terrorist acts were committed, 120 people were killed and over 200 injured.

According to the Global Terrorism Index - GTI, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia were the most negatively affected by terrorist activity in 2011. Philippines is among the top five countries with the highest number of terrorist attacks ^[12].

By 2023, the problem with terrorism in ASEAN had improved slightly. In 5 states of the association (Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia) the number of terrorist attacks decreased, however, due to the internal political situation in Myanmar, the number of terrorist acts in the country has increased many times compared to 2011. In 2023, the number of terrorist attacks in Myanmar reached 444, killing 354 people and injuring more than 230. Moreover, in 2022, the number of terrorist attacks in Myanmar reached a record number of 851 ^[13].

In addition to terrorist activity there are other problems in the region directly or indirectly related to regional security: the rivalry between the US and the People’s Republic of China, the impossibility of finding a consensus on regional security issues by force while increasing the cost of the armed forces.

The problem of growing tension in relations between the US and China, in both global and regional terms, is likely to undermine ASEAN’s regional security. Tensions in the South China Sea between the People’s Republic of China and some ASEAN countries reveal an imbalance in political and economic relations in the bilateral policies of the actors ^[14].

It is also worth noting the absence of a legal framework for the settlement of and response to military conflicts. This legal feature of building regional security leads to a «arms race» within the APAC region in the absence of coordinated actions, which leads to the strengthening of the armed forces of individual actors, not the entire association, in particular ^[15].

The key problems in ensuring regional security in ASEAN are the growth of terrorist activities, tensions between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and the lack of a legal framework to resolve or respond to military conflicts.

Cambodia’s role in addressing ASEAN regional security challenges

The Kingdom of Cambodia joined ASEAN last among all current members of the organization in 1999. Based on GTI data, it can be seen that Cambodia has not experienced terrorist attacks in either 2011 or 2023.

The Kingdom of Cambodia is one of the leaders in detecting, preventing and eliminating the terrorist threat in the country. The main instrument for implementing such an effective policy is the Secretariat of National Counter-Terrorism Committee. It was established in 2007 as part of the National Committee for Terrorism (NCDD).

In order to combat terrorism, the Royal Government of Cambodia has enacted a number of pieces of legislation:

1. Constitutional Law (1993);

2. Law on Governance of Weapon, Explosive Material, and Ammunition (2005);

3. Law on Counter-Terrorism (2007)

4. Criminal Code (2007)

5. Law on Chemical, Nuclear, Biological and Radioactive Weapons (2009)

6. National Planning Book on Counter-Terrorism (2009) ^[16].

In addition to the legal framework, the Kingdom of Cambodia is also developing the counter-terrorism force itself through logistical development and joint exercises with foreign counterparts from the United States of America, China, Australia, Thailand, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Finland, India, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Malta, Hungary, Canada, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Kenya, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Morocco.

As for the US-China rivalry, it is worth noting that the Kingdom of Cambodia maintains warm bilateral relations with both superpowers, which helps level out their rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region ^[17].

Conclusion

The history of the ASEAN regional security architecture is inextricably linked to the development of the association itself. The formation and development of ASEAN was initially economic in nature, as indicated by the content analysis of the Bangkok Declaration. The Regional Security Architecture began its development in 2015. with the ratification of the ASEAN Political-Security Community – APSC and the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1993.

The key problems in ensuring regional security in ASEAN are the growth of terrorist activities, tensions between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and the lack of a legal framework to resolve or respond to military conflicts.

The Kingdom of Cambodia, with its rich experience in counter-terrorism activities, can help reduce the terrorist threat within the association. As for the US-China rivalry, it is worth noting that the Kingdom of Cambodia maintains warm bilateral relations with both superpowers, which helps to offset their rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region.