Southeast Asia in 2007: Domestic Concerns, Delicate Bilateral Relations, and Patchy Regionalism

During 2007, issues of domestic stability and internal security continued to preoccupy several Southeast Asian governments, notably in Thailand, the Philippines, TimorLeste and Myanmar. Indonesia, however, seemed considerably more stable: not only did peace consolidate in Aceh, but both the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group and piracy in the Malacca Strait seemed to have been subdued. At the same time, relations between Southeast Asian states remained sensitive to domestic political conditions. Largely for this reason, progress towards closer multilateral political and security cooperation was only tentative, despite the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit adopting the ASEAN Charter in November 2007. In the light of concern over ASEAN’s continuing intramural tensions, the underdeveloped nature of regional security institutions, and concern over the region’s changing balance of power, Southeast Asian governments prudently cultivated their extraregional security links.