Tensions wrecked early regional groupings, but managing them also pushed states towards ASEAN and its habits of restraint.
Tensions wrecked early attempts at cooperation. The Sabah dispute and the creation of Malaysia paralysed the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) in 1963, and Konfrontasi destroyed Maphilindo.
Ending Konfrontasi made ASEAN possible. Thai Foreign Minister Thanat Khoman helped broker peace between Indonesia and Malaysia in 1966, and ASEAN was founded in August 1967.
ASEAN then helped to contain disputes. When the Sabah dispute flared in 1968, other members pressed for restraint, and the claim was shelved. Members learned to set aside disputes they could not solve.
Some disputes went to law. The ICJ settled the ownership of Preah Vihear in 1962, though it did not end the hostility between Thailand and Cambodia.
Security was affected too. Konfrontasi kept British and Commonwealth forces in the region. Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978 made ASEAN members cooperate more closely on security.
Overall, tensions both divided the region and taught its states to manage disputes without war.
- ASA
- Paralysed in 1963.
- Maphilindo
- Collapsed with Konfrontasi.
- ASEAN
- Founded August 1967, after Konfrontasi ended.
Worked example: Judging the consequences
Did tensions weaken or strengthen regional cooperation?
- Weakened: ASA paralysed; Maphilindo collapsed.
- Strengthened: the end of Konfrontasi led to ASEAN.
- Managed: Sabah shelved; the ICJ ruling on Preah Vihear.
- Judgement: damage in the short term, lessons in the long term.
Watch out for this
Inter-state tensions only damaged regional cooperation.
They damaged early groupings, but ending Konfrontasi led directly to ASEAN, and later disputes taught members to manage differences peacefully.
Check your understanding
How did the end of Konfrontasi help regional cooperation?
- It reconciled Indonesia and Malaysia, making ASEAN possible in 1967.
- It ended the Sabah dispute.
- It made Cambodia join ASEAN.