ABSTRACT
Although some countries in Southeast Asia have already published their defence white papers to express their views on defence and security issues confronting the region (as observed in Table 11.1), there is still very little discussion on national defence industries. In some cases, there is a total absence of information. With the exception of Singapore and Thailand, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) do not contribute regularly to the Annual Security Outlook of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) (Table 11.3), which aims to promote greater understanding, confidence, and transparency among participants through the yearly publication of their perspectives on global and national security situations. This indicates the reluctance of many countries in Southeast Asia to really pursue “openness” in the area of defence and security. Globalization, which has increased transactions and the interconnectedness of states, has not yet really enhanced defence transparency in Southeast Asia.
