RSIS Book Launch by Mr Eddie Lim, Senior Fellow and Head, Military Studies Programme, IDSS, RSIS and Assistant Professor Daniel Chua, Military Studies Programme; and Deputy Head, Graduate Studies, RSIS

About the Book:

ASEAN 50: Regional Security Cooperation through Selected Documents curates key official documents that established ASEAN as the foundation of Southeast Asia’s peace and security. Since 1967, ASEAN has played the crucial role of managing conflicts and maintaining stability in a region shaped by diverse political, economic and socio-cultural dynamics. During the Cold War, ASEAN’s ability to keep major power rivalries and intra-mural disputes in check provided the conditions for economic growth in the region. Yet the extent of ASEAN’s contributions to the security of Southeast Asia has not been systematically presented. This compendium of official ASEAN declarations, statements, treaties, conventions and workplans demonstrates the activism and innovation of ASEAN member countries in their management of regional security for the past five decades. ASEAN 50: Regional Security Cooperation through Selected Documents provides answers to how ASEAN remains a cohesive organisation through periods of regional conflict, how ASEAN unity thrives despite seemingly insurmountable differences among the ten members, and how ASEAN centrality is resilient against pressure arising from great power influences in Southeast Asia. This book is the first major attempt at compiling primary sources for research about ASEAN’s development as a security community. The book provides students and researchers with access to the most critical documents to commence their study on ASEAN’s role in Southeast Asian security.

About the Authors:

Eddie Lim is Senior Fellow and Head of the Military Studies Programme (MSP), part of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) here in RSIS. The MSP is the primary source of professional military education and training (PMET) for the Singapore Armed Forces in the military arts and sciences. Head MSP ensures the relevant and timely provision of tertiary-level courses for the SAF, as well as a spectrum of other courses at the SAFTI Military Institute (SAFTI MI). Prior to this appointment, he held research and educational appointments in SAFTI MI. After serving his bond with the Public Service Commission, Eddie attended then-IDSS and attained a Master of Science (Strategic Studies). Eddie is currently serving as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the SAF as an Operationally-Ready NSman, having attended most of the courses at SAFTI MI, culminating in the National Service Command and Staff Course (NSCSC).

Daniel Chua is Assistant Professor with the Military Studies Programme at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, RSIS. He is also Deputy Head of Graduate Studies at RSIS, and Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO), a summer programme for both regional and international senior military officers. Prior to his appointment at RSIS, Daniel taught courses in Asian Studies, Strategic Studies and Military History at the Australian National University, as well as in the Australian Defence Force Academy at UNSW, Canberra. His research focuses on the history of foreign relations between the United States and Southeast Asia during the Cold War, traversing fields such as International History, Asian Studies, Cold War Studies and International Relations