Towards a New ASEAN Regionalism: Navigating the Outlook on Indo-Pacific in Post-RCEP Beyond 2020
Abstract
The adoption of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has brought the Asia Pacific region into a new paradigm of ASEAN regionalism. The global economic competition between China and the western world significantly impacts Southeast Asian countries regionally due to geographical factors and regional integration towards the ASEAN community. The changing regional order then happened after RCEP increased China's interest in the Southeast Asian geopolitical landscape and ASEAN – China's role in post-pandemic global governance. The authors discussed how China's soft power influences ASEAN's regionalism through the RCEP and vice versa. Further, it investigates how the dynamics impact the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific. Using the concept of soft power and institutional neoliberalism, this article has concluded that China is now ascending its inter-regional cooperation to capture a more significant interdependence to challenge the Western's rule of global order. The rivalry between the U.S. and China, ASEAN external partners, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the political cases concerning said stipulations of the AOIP hence identify the impacts and how ASEAN can navigate the region amid global uncertainties.
References
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Mueller, L. M. (2019). ASEAN centrality under threat–the cases of RCEP and connectivity. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 8(2), 177-198.
Nadya, A., Trihandayani, E., Usha, I. G., Agnetha, M., Soukuotta, T. P., & Melani, S. (2018). Tiongkok Sebagai Pemimpin Dunia Baru Melalui Investasi di Negara-Negara di Dunia. Jurnal Asia Pacific Studies, 2(2), 202-213.
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Nye, J. S. (2008). Public Diplomacy and Soft Power. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 94-109.
Panda, R. (2019, December). A Step Too Far: Why India Opted Out of RCEP. Global Asia Feature Essay, 14(4), 82-29. Retrieved from Global Asia: https://www.globalasia.org/data/file/articles/00209b7b2907a6662401ed759eaf9aba.pdf
Park, S. (2020). The Rise of Asia-Pacific Regionalism in Trade Agreements Following the U.S. Withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, 53(27), 27-36.
Schreuer, C. (1995). Regionalism v. universalism. Eur. J. Int'l L., 6, 477.
Soong, J.-J. (2016). The Political Economy of Development Between China and the ASEAN States: Opportunity and Challenge. The Chinese Economy, 49(6), 395-399.
Stein, A. A. (2008). Neoliberal institutionalism. The Oxford handbook of international relations, 201-221.
Storey, I. (2013). ASEAN and the Rise of China. New York: Routledge.
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Ye, M. (2015). China and competing cooperation in Asia-Pacific: TPP, RCEP, and the new Silk Road. Asian Security, 11(3), 206-224.
Yuan, J. D. (2006). China-ASEAN relations: perspectives, prospects and implications for US interests. Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College.
Acharya, A. (2005). Do norms and identity matter? Community and power in Southeast Asia's regional order. The Pacific Review, 18(1), 95-118.
Acharya, A. (2009). Constructing a security community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the problem of regional order. Routledge.
Acharya, A. (2017). The myth of ASEAN centrality?. Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, 39(2), 273-279.
ANI. (2021, March 11). Bangladesh faces problems with Chinese military hardware: Report. Retrieved May 19, 2021, from ANI: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/bangladesh-faces-problems-with-chinese-military-hardware-report20210311222535/
Anwar, D. F. (2020). Indonesia and the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. International Affairs, 96(1), 111-129.
ASEAN Secretariat (2019a) “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific”. Jakarta. Available at: https://asean.org/storage/2019/06/ASEAN-Outlook-on-the-Indo Pacific_FINAL_22062019.pdf
Asmara, C. G. (2019) Jokowi ke Menlu Retno: Perkuat Diplomasi Ekonomi, Consumer News and Business Channel Indonesia. Available at: https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20191023132819-4- 109406/jokowi-ke-menlu-retno-perkuat-diplomasi-ekonomi (Accessed: 3 January 2020)
Beeson, M. (2016). Can ASEAN cope with China?. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 35(1), 5-28.
Brewster, D. (2015). An Indian Ocean dilemma: Sino-Indian rivalry and China's strategic vulnerability in the Indian Ocean. Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 11(1), 1-12.
Buszynski, L. (2003). ASEAN, the declaration on conduct, and the South China Sea. Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, 25(3), 343-362.
Caballero-Anthony, M. (2014). Understanding ASEAN's centrality: bases and prospects in an evolving regional architecture. The Pacific Review, 27(4), 563-584.
Cahill, D., Cooper, M., Konings, M., & Primrose, D. (Eds.). (2018). The SAGE handbook of neoliberalism. Sage.
Chia, S. Y. (2014). The ASEAN economic community: Progress, challenges, and prospects. In A World Trade Organization for the 21st Century. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Chung, C. P. (2010). China's Multilateral Co-operation in Asia and the Pacific: Institutionalizing Beijing's' good Neighbour Policy'. New York: Routledge.
Damayanti, A. (2019). Indo-Pacific Maritime Cooperation: ASEAN Mechanisms on Security Towards Global Maritime Governance. Jurnal Global & Strategis, 13(1), 1-14.
Davies, M. (2014). States of compliance?: Global human rights treaties and ASEAN member states. Journal of Human Rights, 13(4), 414-433.
De Graaff, N., & Van Apeldoorn, B. (2018). US–China relations and the liberal world order: contending elites, colliding visions?. International affairs, 94(1), 113-131.
Emmerson, D. K. (2017). ASEAN between China and America: Is it time to try horsing the cow?. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and-National Studies of Southeast Asia, 5(1), 1-23.
Fiori, A., & Passeri, A. (2015). Hedging in search of a new age of non-alignment: Myanmar between China and the USA. The Pacific Review, 28(5), 1-24.
Heiduk, F., & Wacker, G. (2020). From Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific: significance, implementation and challenges.
Hong, Z. (2013). The South China sea dispute and China-ASEAN relations. Asian Affairs, 44(1), 27-43.
Huxley, T. (1983) Indochina and insurgency in the ASEAN states, 1975-1981, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre working paper 67, Canberra: Australian National University.
Iqbal, B. A., Rahman, M. N., & Sami, S. (2019). Impact of Belt and Road Initiative on Asian Economies. Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 11(3), 1-18.
Isnarti, R. (2017). The Potential Threat of China-Myanmar Gas Pipeline. Aegis: Journal of International Studies, 1(2), 193-209.
Itakura, K. (2013). Impact of liberalization and improved connectivity and facilitation in ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community. ERIA Discussion Paper, 1.
Jackson, R., & Sørensen, G. (2016). Why Study IR. Jackson, R. and Sørensen, G. Introduction to International Relations. Theories and Approaches,, 1-27.
Johnson, K. (2019, November 1). While Trump Builds Tariff Walls, Asia Belts on Free Trade. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/01/trump-tariffs-free-trade-rcep-asean-india-china-bangkok/
Johnston, A. I. (2008). Social States: China in International Institutions, 1980-2000: China in International Institutions, 1980-2000. Princeton University Press.
Jones, D. M., & Smith, M. L. (2007). Making process, not progress: ASEAN and the evolving East Asian regional order. International Security, 32(1), 148-184.
Jose, H. S. (2021). Indonesia'S 2020 New Paradigm of Collaborative Strategic Outlook in the South-South Cooperation (SSC) As the Bridge-Builder for the Post-Pandemic Development. Verity: Jurnal Ilmiah Hubungan Internasional, 12(24), 1-16.
Keohane, R. O., & Martin, L. L. (1995). The promise of institutionalist theory. International security, 20(1), 39-51.
Keohane, R. O. (1988). International institutions: Two approaches. International studies quarterly, 32(4), 379-396.
Kim, M. H. (2012). Why Does A Small Power Lead? ASEAN Leadership in Asia–Pacific Regionalism. Pacific Focus, 27(1), 111-134.
Kusumawardhana, I., & Daniel, J. (2017). Is the 'ASEAN Economic Community' Under Siege? Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities, 7(1), 29-41.
Lijun, S. (2006). 14. China’s Economic Relations with ASEAN: Developments and Strategic Implications. In ASEAN-China Economic Relations (pp. 295-317). ISEAS Publishing.
Mardell, J. (2020, August 11). The BRI in Bangladesh: Walking the tightrope between Beijing and Delhi. Retrieved May 19, 2021, from Merics: https://merics.org/en/short-analysis/bri-bangladesh-walking-tightrope-between-beijing-and-delhi
Mearsheimer, J. J., & Van Evera, S. (1995). When peace means war. New Republic, 213(25), 16-20.
Mohan, C. (2012). Samudra manthan: Sino-Indian rivalry in the Indo-Pacific. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Mueller, L. M. (2019). ASEAN centrality under threat–the cases of RCEP and connectivity. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 8(2), 177-198.
Nadya, A., Trihandayani, E., Usha, I. G., Agnetha, M., Soukuotta, T. P., & Melani, S. (2018). Tiongkok Sebagai Pemimpin Dunia Baru Melalui Investasi di Negara-Negara di Dunia. Jurnal Asia Pacific Studies, 2(2), 202-213.
Nye, J. (2004). Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs.
Nye, J. (2004). The decline of America's soft power. Foreign Affairs, 83(3), 16-20.
Nye, J. S. (2008). Public Diplomacy and Soft Power. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 94-109.
Panda, R. (2019, December). A Step Too Far: Why India Opted Out of RCEP. Global Asia Feature Essay, 14(4), 82-29. Retrieved from Global Asia: https://www.globalasia.org/data/file/articles/00209b7b2907a6662401ed759eaf9aba.pdf
Park, S. (2020). The Rise of Asia-Pacific Regionalism in Trade Agreements Following the U.S. Withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, 53(27), 27-36.
Schreuer, C. (1995). Regionalism v. universalism. Eur. J. Int'l L., 6, 477.
Soong, J.-J. (2016). The Political Economy of Development Between China and the ASEAN States: Opportunity and Challenge. The Chinese Economy, 49(6), 395-399.
Stein, A. A. (2008). Neoliberal institutionalism. The Oxford handbook of international relations, 201-221.
Storey, I. (2013). ASEAN and the Rise of China. New York: Routledge.
Terada, T. (2017). South China Sea Dispute and Institutional Balancing: ASEAN, TPP and AIIB. Doshisha University, accessed, 7.
Terada, T. (2018). RCEP Negotiations and the Implications for the United States. The National Bureau of Asian Research.
The Irrawaddy. (2021, April 1). Chinese Troops Gather on Myanmar’s Border to ‘Protect Pipelines’. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from The Irrawaddy: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/chinese-troops-gather-myanmars-border-protect-pipelines.html
Vines, D. (2018). The BRI and RCEP: ensuring cooperation in the liberalisation of trade in Asia. Economic and Political Studies, 6(3), 338-348.
Wagnleitner, R. (1994). Coca colonization and the cold war. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Weatherbee, D. E. (2019). ASEAN's Half Century: A Political History of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Rowman & Littlefield.
Ye, M. (2015). China and competing cooperation in Asia-Pacific: TPP, RCEP, and the new Silk Road. Asian Security, 11(3), 206-224.
Yuan, J. D. (2006). China-ASEAN relations: perspectives, prospects and implications for US interests. Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College.
Published
2022-05-16
How to Cite
JOSE, Hino Samuel; SAMUDRA, Hree Dharma Santhi Putri.
Towards a New ASEAN Regionalism: Navigating the Outlook on Indo-Pacific in Post-RCEP Beyond 2020.
Insignia: Journal of International Relations, [S.l.], v. 9, n. 1, p. 96-109, may 2022.
ISSN 2597-9868.
Available at: <http://jos.unsoed.ac.id/index.php/insignia/article/view/4636>. Date accessed: 27 apr. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.20884/1.ins.2022.9.1.4636.
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