Introduction

This chapter explores past Soviet Conference on Security and Cooperation in Asia (CSCA) proposals and the direction in which they developed until the disintegration of the Soviet state. It discusses the remaining shortcomings of the CSCA concept that prevent its realization and acceptance by the nations of East Asia. In East Asia, the end of the Cold War has brought a revolution in regional diplomatic relations, movement in long-frozen conflicts, and the virtual elimination of the Soviet military threat. “East Asia” includes the countries of Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Papua New Guinea, and Australia and New Zealand. The chapter analyzes the prospects for the development of a regional multilateral security regime for East Asia, starting with a subregional grouping for Northeast Asia. It concludes with practical policy recommendations on how the regime should be realized in the new post-Soviet world order.