The Quest for Regional and Domestic Stability

An assessment of political and security developments in Southeast Asia over the last year will reveal three trends that highlight the continued challenges faced by both individual Southeast Asian states as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). First, ASEAN faced the challenge of re-establishing regional cohesion, a task that had taken on greater import in the wake of debacle of 2012 when the inability of members to arrive at a consensus for a joint communique at the conclusion of its July foreign ministers' meeting cast doubt on the organization's unity. Second, the year also saw a deepening of engagement with major powers. Third, the imperative of domestic stability came to the fore of regional affairs as several Southeast Asian regimes came under pressure for political change both at the ballot box and in the street. Predictably, the preoccupation of several governments on domestic affairs had negating effect on foreign policy and regionalism.