A Probe on Assessing ASEAN's Leadership in Southeast Asian Regional Governance
Since the 21st century,ASEAN has strived to enhance its centrality and leadership in Southeast Asian regional governance,the success of which directly determines the future of the organization.Examining the voting data from recent UNGA sessions can assess the practical effectiveness of ASEAN's efforts to enhance its leadership and centrality by analyzing the consistency of its member states'diplomatic stances,their neutrality amidst great power competition,and their adherence to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.This paper's findings reveal the following:First,except Myanmar and Cambodia,which deviated from ASEAN's mainstream stance in certain years,the remaining eight member states have consciously maintained internal unity within the organization.Second,in recent years,ASEAN member states have increasingly self-corrected their diplomatic stances based on the principle of"regional neutrality,"aiming to maintain a balance in the strategic competition between China and the United States in Southeast Asia,thereby strengthening their discourse power as the leading core of regional cooperation.Third,the voting stances of Brunei,Indonesia,and Malaysia on issues concerning the rights of Muslims in Myanmar violated the principle of non-interference in internal affairs,reflecting that some Muslim-majority governments prioritize national religious sentiments over ASEAN's internal unity when declaring their diplomatic positions,which poses a challenge to the organization's effectiveness in leading regional governance.This paper further analyzes that the underlying reasons for some countries challenging the principle of non-interference in internal affairs may be the diversity of social development patterns within ASEAN and the lagging nation-building processes,both of which will persistently and profoundly constrain ASEAN's ability to exercise leadership in advancing Southeast Asian regional governance.
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