The historic end of the Cold War and the rising tide of globalization have significantly
changed the nature of threats and security discourses in Asia. There is a notable
shift of attention from military power as the core determinant of national security
to several non-traditional sectors with a much enhanced role of economic, political,
and societal forces. Non-traditional security issues—such as climate change, natural
disasters, transnational crimes, and terrorism—require both policymake…
Read moreThe historic end of the Cold War and the rising tide of globalization have significantly
changed the nature of threats and security discourses in Asia. There is a notable
shift of attention from military power as the core determinant of national security
to several non-traditional sectors with a much enhanced role of economic, political,
and societal forces. Non-traditional security issues—such as climate change, natural
disasters, transnational crimes, and terrorism—require both policymakers and
military strategists to deal with security threats in a more comprehensive manner.
Increasing interdependence among states also magnifies the impacts of these threats,
urging Asian countries to forge regional cooperation in multilateral forums such
as ASEAN, EAS, APEC, and ARF. Though these efforts are commendable, their
effectiveness in tackling such a wide canvass of threats is still open to question
