East Asian Security: Modes and Structures of Cooperation

　　Abstract: In East Asia, three different modes of security cooperation co-exist: the American guided system of East Asian security alliances; a system based on ASEAN regionalism; and the multilateral security coordination framework which China has promoted. Of these, the American guided security mechanism has taken a leading role, while the other two mechanisms being pushed by ASEAN and China respectively are still in the process of conceptual development and promotion, and of building the requisite regional security institutions. The relationship between the three East Asian security frameworks might be thought of in terms of the dynamics of an asymmetric distribution of power. When one adds to this the structural competition between major powers within the region and the latent conflicts inherent within this competition, it should come as no surprise that a security dilemma exists within East Asia. Conditions within East Asia are not yet ripe for the construction of a cooperative multilateral security framework, and the three modes of security cooperation continue to co-exist over the long term.

　　Author: Li Zhifei, Assistant Research Professor, Institute of AsiaPacific Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences