Arms Acquisitions: Are They Stabilising or Destabilising?

This paper attempts to shed some light on the debate as to whether the post-Cold War arms acquisitions, especially maritime arms, are stabilising or destabilising for ASEAN. In trying to assess the impact of arms acquisitions, a number of analysts have treated the entire Asia-
Pacific as a single system. From the analytical point of view, however, the Asia-Pacific comprises two rather distinct sub-regions: Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. The
interactions of these two sub-regions has been defined by their historical experience. In this sense, the interactions of these two sub-regions tend to be at the intra-subregional level rather than the inter-subregional. In other words, because of their very different histories, levels of
development and perceptions, countries tend to react to each other in military terms at the sub-regional level.