Southeast Asia

"Through the ASEAN Summit processes and the ASEAN Regional Forum, followed later in the 1990's by the ASEAN Plus Three, and, most recently, the East Asia Summit, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has sustained a near monopoly on pan-Asian multilateral processes. To get some perspective on the circumstances that have made this possible, and to provide a basis for assessing its real effectiveness, it is useful to look at how the United States, Japan and China relate to Southeast Asia and at what these postures suggest about the aspirations these states may have for the region. In short, it seems to me that the risk is very real that ASEAN will find that it lacks the muscle to pull off its experiment in geopolitical fine-tuning. ASEAN will need help, ideally in the form of a forum in which the major powers are in the driver's seat, accept responsibility and try to devise a trajectory toward a stable accommodation in the management of East Asia's development."--Provided by publisher.