ABSTRACT
It is meaningless to lump together all ASEAN defence acquisition strategies, across all member nations, arguing that there is a common acquisition pattern, a ‘model’, if you will. However, consistent strategies and goals across ASEAN are evident, and, when taken together, appear to reflect a common approach to the development of local shipbuilding capacity. Crude as it is, ASEAN’s acquisition model comprises four principal characteristics: first, off-the-shelf procurement of foreign weapons systems to accommodate the imperative of defending recently won independence; second, inclusion of a technology offset policy mechanism, whereby ASEAN states seek access to defence-related industries and technological capacity; third, bilateral and even multilateral technology-sharing relationships, forging partnerships that lead to collaborative development and acquisition of joint military systems; and, finally, emphasis on the longer-term objective of seeking national acquisition capability, predicated on the build-up of a diversified domestic defence-industrial base.
