Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum

Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum
Name	Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum
Formation	2010s
Type	Intergovernmental forum
Headquarters	Jakarta
Region served	Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific
Membership	ASEAN member states and dialogue partners
Leader title	Chair
Leader name	Rotating

Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum The Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum is a multilateral consultative platform focused on maritime issues in the Southeast Asian and broader Indo-Pacific region. It convenes representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, dialogue partners, and observer entities to address maritime security, maritime law, maritime safety, and maritime resource management. The forum builds on precedents set by the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting, and engages with stakeholders such as the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, and the Asian Development Bank.

Background and Origins

The forum traces intellectual and institutional antecedents to the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus, the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. Discussions were influenced by incidents like the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff, the 2016 South China Sea arbitration brought under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and tensions involving claimant states such as China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. Early dialogues referenced frameworks from the ZOPFAN declaration, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), while drawing expertise from institutions including the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the United Nations Security Council maritime deliberations.

Membership and Organizational Structure

Membership includes the ten ASEAN members—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam—alongside dialogue partners such as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, United States, New Zealand, Russia, European Union representatives, and invited organizations like the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. The forum operates through rotating chairs similar to the ASEAN Chairmanship mechanism, supported by a secretariat modeled on the ASEAN Secretariat and liaison cells comparable to the Regional Maritime Security Centre concepts found in Chittagong and Colombo proposals. Working groups mirror structures seen in the ADMM-Plus maritime security experts’ meeting and the ARF Inter-Sessional Meeting on Maritime Security.

Objectives and Mandates

Mandates emphasize confidence-building, risk reduction, and cooperative capacity-building to address issues identified in instruments like the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. Objectives align with promoting adherence to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea norms, enhancing implementation of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), improving maritime domain awareness in line with Global Maritime Distress and Safety System standards, and supporting prosecutorial cooperation under treaties such as the Transnational Organized Crime Convention-related maritime provisions. The forum also seeks to coordinate with initiatives like the Blue Economy strategies, the Indian Ocean Commission programs, and Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center projects.

Key Activities and Initiatives

Activities include joint exercises inspired by the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, combined patrol coordination reminiscent of Malacca Strait Patrols, tabletop exercises modeled on Proliferation Security Initiative scenarios, and capacity-building workshops in partnership with the International Maritime Organization, the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operations training modules, and the United States Pacific Command outreach. Initiatives comprise a regional maritime information-sharing architecture akin to the ASEAN Regional Forum's maritime security confidence-building measures, pilot projects for integrated maritime surveillance comparable to the Cooperative Mechanism for the South China Sea, and cooperative fisheries enforcement programs inspired by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Regional Security and Maritime Cooperation

The forum addresses security dynamics influenced by incidents like the Huangyan Island disputes and contested features such as the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands, engaging navies and coast guards including the People's Liberation Army Navy, the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Philippine Navy, the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the Royal Thai Navy, the Republic of Korea Navy, and the United States Navy for interoperability dialogues. It promotes legal dispute avoidance mechanisms related to cases heard at the Permanent Court of Arbitration and cooperation with agencies like the Interpol for maritime crime, the International Criminal Police Organization for trafficking interdiction, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for counter-narcotics at sea.

Economic and Environmental Roles

Economically, the forum advances initiatives linking port management best practices from Port of Singapore and Port Klang, supply-chain resilience strategies influenced by Trans-Pacific Partnership debates, and maritime trade facilitation measures echoing World Trade Organization logistics talks. Environmental roles include collaborative responses to oil spills using protocols from the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, marine biodiversity conservation aligned with Convention on Biological Diversity targets, and blue carbon sequestration projects drawing on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidance and partnerships with the Global Environment Facility.

Criticisms and Challenges

Critics cite limitations similar to those leveled at the ASEAN Way, including consensus decision-making seen in the East Asia Summit context and concerns over great-power influence by United States–China rivalry, China–ASEAN relations tensions, and competing initiatives such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Operational challenges mirror issues faced by the Malacca Straits Patrols and the Coral Triangle Initiative: resource disparities among members like Laos and Brunei, sovereignty sensitivities exemplified by Scarborough Shoal controversies, information-sharing reluctance seen in Myanmar-related security dialogues, and legal complexity surrounding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea adjudications. Proposals for reform reference models from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation confidence-building measures and the Arctic Council observer arrangements.

Category:International maritime organizations Category:Association of Southeast Asian Nations