Sponsoring Asia-Pacific Security: PACOM's Role in Reconciling Bilateral and Multilateral Security Structures
Abstract
Although America's bilateral security alliances have underwritten Asia-Pacific regional security since WWII, this exclusivist order-building approach is now subject to an inchoate but promising security community building project led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that champions multilateral security cooperation. The simultaneous pursuit of bilateral ism and multilateralism within Asia confounds scholars and begs an important but heretofore under-addressed research question. How can the United States Pacific Command (PACOM) help reconcile the tension between America's preference for bilateral security alliances and the region's aspiration for multilateralism? The author argues that P ACOM can facilitate more accommodating regional security order-building by pursuing a phased approach. First, P ACOM can modernize alliances and expand partnerships to foster greater intramural cooperation between P ACOM and allied and partnered rnilitaries. Next, PACOM can embed these relationships into key security forums including the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+) to sponsor a broader degree of multilateralism. The analysis points to three recommendations regarding how PACOM can best sustain America's hierarchy while supporting a broader institutionalization of security politics and identity across the region.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 13, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1018100
Entities
People
- Paul A. Lushenko
Organizations
- Naval War College