Conflict management and constructive engagement in ASEAN'S expansion

This article examines the expansion of membership in ASEAN which has occurr ed during the second half of the 1990s, and identifies the factors behind t his process, with particular attention devoted to the efforts aimed at impl ementing the conflict management mechanisms of ASEAN on a wider regional le vel. The study takes as its starting point the rapprochement between the or iginal member states of ASEAN and Vietnam and Laos, which began during the second half of the 1980s and gained momentum following the resolution of th e Cambodian conflict in 1991. The first half of the 1990s was characterised by the gradual acceptance by other Southeast Asian countries of ASEAN's co de of conduct for inter-state interaction. This paved the way for the acces sion to full membership in ASEAN of Vietnam in 1995, of Laos and Burma in 1 997 and of Cambodia in late 1998. Given the considerable discrepancy in the level of economic development between the new and old members of ASEAN, th e economic motivation for expanding ASEAN would be to facilitate foreign in vestment in the new members and open new markets for exports within an expa nded ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). The article argues, however, that the po litical and security considerations are more important in explaining why th e original members embarked on the process aimed at bringing all 10 Southea st Asian countries into ASEAN. It is in this context that the policy of con structive engagement and peaceful management of inter-state conflicts comes into play.