ABSTRACT
Against the fluid backdrop, this chapter examines competing multilateral visions advanced by various stakeholders of East Asia's architecture that purportedly challenge the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-centric status quo. It discusses how multilateralism in East Asia has evolved during the post-Cold War period. The chapter traces the origins of those multilateral visions, assesses how they compete with – and, where conceivable, how they complement – one another, and discusses their resulting ramifications for regional order and security in East Asia. Laissez-faire multilateralism welcomes a looser architecture wherein other institutions could furnish states alternative venues for dialogue and conflict management should they encounter gridlock, or worse, deadlock in one institution. Proponents of command multilateralism favor the creation of an overarching institution or, alternatively, a lead institution authorized and empowered to guide if not to drive all other arrangements within the region.
