Consequences for regional cooperation and security

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

I can judge why tensions arose between Southeast Asian states and how they affected the region.
Syllabus 9174, Paper 2, Theme III, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the causes and consequences of inter-state tensions on inter-state relations and the region

Make a guess

Konfrontasi and the Sabah quarrel wrecked early regional groupings in the 1960s. What do you think they also led to?

A military alliance led by Indonesia against Malaysia.
The end of regional cooperation for decades.
ASEAN, as ending Konfrontasi made cooperation possible.

Show the answer

ASEAN, as ending Konfrontasi made cooperation possible.

Thai diplomacy helped broker peace in 1966, and ASEAN was founded in 1967 with habits of restraint.

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 ended the Sabah dispute with the Philippines as well.
It reconciled Indonesia and Malaysia, making ASEAN possible in 1967.
It made Cambodia join ASEAN.

Show the answer

It reconciled Indonesia and Malaysia, making ASEAN possible in 1967.

Right. Thailand helped broker the peace.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

An American estimate of the Malaysia plan
Paraphrase of a US Special National Intelligence Estimate, "Prospects for Malaysia", 20 February 1963.
An American estimate of confrontation
Paraphrase of a US National Intelligence Estimate, "The Malaysian-Indonesian Conflict", 30 October 1963.
Sukarno explains his position
Paraphrase of a telegram from the US Ambassador in Jakarta, Howard Jones, reporting a conversation with President Sukarno, 10 April 1964.
Malaysia reacts to a Philippine plot over Sabah
Paraphrase of an intelligence note from the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research to Secretary of State Rusk, 26 March 1968.
Cambodia explains its break with Thailand
Paraphrase of a US State Department record of a conversation with the Cambodian Ambassador, Nong Kimny, 1 December 1958.
The separation agreement guarantees the water agreements
Paraphrase of section 14 of the Malaysian act annexed to the agreement on the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, signed on 7 August 1965 and registered in the United Nations Treaty Series.
an American official on the Manila summit, August 1963
Extract from a memorandum from Roger Hilsman, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Washington, 2 August 1963, written while the leaders of Indonesia, Malaya and the Philippines were meeting in Manila. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XXIII, document 332. A US government document in the public domain.
Washington talks to General Nasution, December 1963
Extract from a telegram from the State Department (signed by Secretary of State Rusk) to the US embassy in Indonesia, 7 December 1963, reporting talks in Washington with General Nasution, Indonesia's Defence Minister, during Konfrontasi. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XXIII, document 324. A US government document in the public domain.
the President is briefed on the temple ruling, July 1962
Extract from a memorandum from Carl Kaysen, deputy national security adviser, to President Kennedy, Washington, 12 July 1962, and the volume editors' note on it. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XXIII, document 456. A US government publication in the public domain.
the State Department on Indonesia's new course, June 1966
Extract from a State Department paper on Indonesia attached to a memorandum from Walt Rostow to President Johnson, Washington, 8 June 1966, a week after Indonesian and Malaysian delegations led by Adam Malik and Abdul Razak met in Bangkok. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume XXVI, document 210. A US government document in the public domain.
a cartoon about the Manila summit, August 1963
An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a regional newspaper cartoon published in August 1963, during and after the Manila summit of Indonesia, Malaya and the Philippines, which asked the UN Secretary-General to find out the wishes of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.