Multilateral approaches to regional security: Prospects for cooperation inNortheast Asia

As former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs S tanley Roth has observed, though overlooked by some and undervalued by othe rs, multilateral cooperation has become an important and likely permanent f eature of Asia's security landscape. In the decade following the end of the Cold War, the scope of activities involved in the emerging network of mult ilateral initiatives has widened dramatically, reflecting the general conse nsus in the region of the need for cooperative frameworks that go beyond tr aditional bilateral relations in addressing certain security concerns. Such a growing pattern of what may be termed "security pluralism" is meant for regional institutions and organizations to complement each other in develop ing an informal security framework for promoting understanding and mutual c onfidence. In the midst of strategic uncertainty and mistrust caused thy th e growing rivalry between the US and China, compounded by the prospects of prolonged instability on the Korean peninsula, multilateral security cooper ation has a chance to perform a number of extremely useful functions. This paper attempts to analyze what those functions are, while also evaluating v arious approaches to regional security. In this process, several arguments will be put forward to demonstrate the belief that a combination of endorsi ng multi-layered security networks while strengthening bilateral alliances provides the best formula for increasing regional security and stability in Northeast Asia.