About the Publication
Title: The ASEAN Regional Forum
Author: Rodolfo C. Severino
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is the only Asia-Pacific-wide forum for consultations and dialogue on political and security issues. Although many articles and books have been published on the ARF, this is one of the few books that treat the forum comprehensively and from the standpoint of the region itself. It traces the ARF's origins, the efforts to move it from confidence building to "preventive diplomacy", and the forces that hold them back, analysing the strategic environment that both constrains the ARF and makes it essential. The book discusses the question of participation, describes the numerous cooperative activities that the participants undertake, and deals with the issue of institutionalization. Finally, it assesses the ARF as a forum and a process on its own terms. The book is written by the former ASEAN Secretary-General and former senior official who was involved in the ARF's early years.
Table of Contents
The ASEAN Regional Forum
Preliminary pages
1. The Beginnings
2. Why Join the ARF?
3. Does the ARF Build Confidence?
4. Diplomacy to Prevent What?
5. Cooperating on the Ground
6. Does the ARF Need Central Institutions?
7. Assessing the ARF
APPENDICES
Appendix A: The ASEAN Regional Forum: A Concept Paper
Appendix B: Chairman's Statement: The Second Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum
Appendix C: Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia
Appendix D: Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone
Appendix E: Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea
Appendix F: ARF Ministerial Meetings: 1994-2008
Index
About the author
Rodolfo C. Severino is the head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and a frequent speaker at international conferences in Asia and Europe. He was the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from 1998 to 2002.
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