Evolution of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and Thailand’s Defence Diplomacy

Abstract

The ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC), being one of three ASEAN pillars ASEAN
Community Integration, has evolved through considerable contributions from defence diplomacy
practices among ASEAN nations. This article investigates how the APSC has been driven by the ASEAN
nations’ defence diplomacy, focusing on Thailand’s practices. Principles of defence diplomacy
and constructivism theories were studied and applied for the subsequent analysis. Through the
documentary research, a wide range of primary and secondary documents were analyzed to seek
a holistic understanding of Thailand’s defence diplomacy practices within ASEAN-relevant contexts
while the interviews with key informants enabled the researcher to attain greater insights of
such research data and analysis. This study finds that Thailand’s role in defence diplomacy has been
an effective geopolitical tool for ASEAN community integration, through ASEAN’s cooperative
framework and practical mechanisms practiced among ASEAN countries.