ASEAN Regional Forum

ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the first regionwide Asia-Pacific multilateral forum for official consultations on peace and security issues. An outgrowth of the annual ministerial-level meeting of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the states serving as ASEAN’s “dialogue partners,” the ARF provides a setting for discussion and diplomacy and the development of cooperative responses to regional problems. The inaugural ARF meeting was held in July 1994 in Bangkok, Thailand, and was attended by 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and ASEAN’s 10 dialogue partners (Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, New Zealand, and the United States). Papua New Guinea and Mongolia joined the group in 1999, and North Korea was admitted in 2000.

Unique among international organizations of its type, the ARF is characterized by minimal institutionalization, decision making by consensus, and the use of both “first track” (official) and “second track” (nonofficial) diplomacy. Whereas first-track diplomatic meetings consist of gatherings of leading officials to discuss security measures, second-track meetings consist of scholars, government individuals not acting in their official capacity, private think tanks, and other individuals and organizations. The Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, which discusses issues such as preventive diplomacy and confidence-building measures, is an example of second-track diplomacy. The central role of second-track procedures distinguishes ARF from most other international organizations, which generally treat non-official diplomatic measures as residual and peripheral. ARF meetings are attended by foreign ministers and are held in conjunction with the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference, which occurs annually in July. The chair of the ARF is rotated annually. The ARF Chairman’s Statement, the organization’s official declaration, is issued after each ARF meeting. The organization is supported by the ARF Senior Officials Meeting (ARFSOM), which is held each May. The ARFSOM meeting is attended by senior foreign ministry officials from all ARF countries; leading defense department officials also attend. The meetings provide an exchange of views on regional political and security issues and developments.