The 'South Sea' and ASEAN: Failing Unity Amidst Beijing's Duplicitous Diplomacy

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has sought to address the challenges of the disputes in the South China Sea for close to a quarter of a century. This paper examines the circumstances and extent to which ASEAN has been effective in its response to the South China Sea dispute as well as the manner and means by which Beijing’s approach to the dispute has been influenced at the regional level. For this purpose, the chapter examines why early ASEAN unity over the issue was eventually undermined, the impact of China’s political and economic rise, and the associated rise in the level of strategic competition and aggression over various territories across the sub-region. Because of these three developments, it is argued that individual members have abandoned their faith in the good officers of the Association and instead sought self-help measures such as international arbitration. These actions were, in turn, negatively affecting Beijing’s interests but, as demonstrated by the chapter, China gained a last-minute reprieve through the election of President Duterte followed by President Trump