Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been increasing scholarly interest in the development of regional co-operation the world over. The development of the global economy, with its borderless commerce and financial flows, as well as instantaneous communication and information exchange, have not only eroded traditional notions of sovereignty of East and South-East Asian states, but have also led to the emergence of ‘non-traditional’ security challenges. These scenarios test traditional policy responses and require more nuanced and co-operative frameworks to address what are largely either internal or transnational security challenges.