JAKARTA, 21 January 2022 – The ASEAN Secretariat today released the 2022 issue of the ASEAN Political Security Community (APSC) Outlook on the theme: Revisiting ASEAN and ASEAN-led Mechanisms: Taking Stock and Thinking Through.
Written by desk officers from the ASEAN Secretariat dealing with specific ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms, the essays in this volume recall the context where such mechanisms and frameworks emerged and discuss the progress of cooperation through the years. Further, they identify certain challenges encountered as well as views on how to further leverage the potential of these ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms in intensifying ASEAN Community building efforts.
This volume includes pieces on East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus, the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Commission, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC), the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drugs (AMMD), the ASEAN Network of Regulatory Bodies on Atomic Energy (ASEANTOM), and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).
Indeed, the context where these mechanisms emerged has to be fully understood for a better appreciation of the importance of these mechanisms, specifically as each of them has been established to help ASEAN and the ASEAN Member States deal with specific issues. However, what must be equally recognized is the adaptability of these mechanisms, enabling them to deal with an increasing number of issues beyond their immediate purviews. The Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Political-Security Community Michael Tene acknowledged that such adaptability has kept these mechanisms relevant through the years.
This issue of the APSC Outlook, therefore, hopes to contribute to the current and future discourse on ASEAN Community building, more importantly, as the Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi noted in his message, in the conversation as ASEAN moves into the post-2025 horizon. Such a conversation will officially commence this year with the convening of the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision.
Download the full Publication here.
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