Institutionalization Process of Maritime Security Cooperation in the ARF (2009-2019)

Abstract

Maritime security is a vexing issue in international relations and has been a central focus for ARF as an organization. This thesis explores the institutionalization process of maritime security cooperation with institutional balancing theory in particular being utilized as the foundation to explain the attitude and behavior of ARF members towards the issue.of maritime security. As institutional balancing is not a concept that adheres to one school of thought, the actions of ARF members and the response of ARF as an institution can be explained in this theory through their struggle, confrontation, bargaining and many more. The thesis examines ARF behavior towards maritime security by summarizing differing interpretations of each school of thoughts on the political dynamic of Asia-Pacific and the circumstances that lead to the establishment of the ARF. Accordingly, the struggle of ARF in establishing cohesive maritime security cooperation can be seen by (1) the inability to develop CBM to Preventive Diplomacy, (2) the trouble of sovereignty in dealing with traditional and non-traditional maritime security problems, and (3) the stagnancy in moving from dialogue based to practical based cooperation. These struggles imply that ARF has conducted its practice based on institutional balancing and the inherent problem as well as the way the organization deals with the problem of maritime security portrays the act of balancing through an institution