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The paper determines the essence and the functionality of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) by looking at a wide range of regional studies, evaluating theoretical approaches in international relations, and examining case studies related on regional security in the Southeast Asia, since the establishment of the APSC in 2015. Essential complex challenges faced include the rise of China, unresolved territorial conflicts and maritime disputes, rigid application of non-interference principles in the internal affairs of the local states, and the failure of ASEAN in protecting human rights regionwide. Based on the study cases that were analysed in this paper, the paper concludes that: (1) the essence of multilateralism is challenged by the complicated nature of interstate relationships and interactions of individual ASEAN member states; (2) development of security cooperation cannot be measured due to complexity of geopolitical and geoeconomic interests; and (3) boundaries in the ASEAN framework have very weak foundations. The developments taking place in the region have hampered ASEAN's ability to optimally perform its core purpose of establishing a stable political environment in the region.
Putra et al. (2019) studied this question.