ASEAN holds first joint military exercise: Preparing to respond to crisis?

All members participate

The first joint military exercise of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), called Exercise ASEAN Solidarity 2023, has just concluded. Held from September 19 to 23 under the chairmanship of Indonesia, this is the first military exercise on an ASEAN scale without any outside participation.

The exercise is non-combat in nature and includes maritime and land operations related to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, search and rescue, medical evacuation and counter-piracy. All 10 member states are participating, with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore deploying warships.

The participation of all ASEAN members is important, especially since ASEAN is not a military alliance. According to CNA, there was initial skepticism about whether the exercise would take place after Cambodia raised concerns about the proposed location in the South China Sea. Ultimately, Indonesia, as host, moved the exercise to Batam and the Natuna Islands.

There are many reasons why countries participate in military exercises, including building trust between military forces and increasing interoperability.

Signal to the powers

What purpose does the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 serve?

First, the exercise could be interpreted as a signal to major powers that ASEAN has an interest in securing the region’s maritime zones and has the authority to do so. Given the tensions between China and the United States, ASEAN defense officials are concerned that any military conflict between China and the United States would affect the region’s maritime zones.

Additionally, the exercise comes at a time when China has been increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, from harassing the maritime activities of some ASEAN members in their exclusive economic zones to releasing a new map claiming almost the entire South China Sea as its own.

In fact, the initial location of the exercise in the South China Sea was Indonesia's signal to China that Beijing's claim to the entire South China Sea is disputed.

Second, the exercise helps ASEAN militaries build trust with each other without the need for outside forces. Trust leads to better communication, which is crucial if ASEAN needs to tap the region’s military power to quickly resolve a major crisis.

There are currently several multilateral arrangements in the region aimed at enhancing maritime security. These include coordinated patrols between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to address security issues in the Sulu Sea and the Malacca Strait Patrol Framework involving Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to ensure the security of the Malacca and Singapore Straits.

However, these contents are limited to specific geographical areas within the region and do not relate to all ASEAN members.

Third, the exercise contributes to capacity building for ASEAN navies. Interoperability is critical to conducting humanitarian missions. The focus on non-traditional security, such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and medical evacuation, is practical given the frequency of natural disasters in Southeast Asia. In fact, more than 50% of global disaster deaths occurred in the region between 2004 and 2014.

Furthermore, interoperability among ASEAN military forces for humanitarian evacuation missions would be crucial in any emergency in Taiwan. Over 730,000 ASEAN nationals are working in Taiwan and evacuating them to safety would be paramount in any future military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. No individual ASEAN member has the air and sea capabilities to evacuate their nationals from Taiwan. A joint ASEAN humanitarian mission may be necessary. Therefore, the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 could be a platform for ASEAN to prepare for such joint missions.

Whether this exercise is a realistic way to prepare for a future contingency depends on two questions: Will the exercise continue over the long term, even if the ASEAN chairmanship changes? And if so, will members agree to expand the size and scope of future exercises to match evolving security threats?

These are the questions that ASEAN must find answers to after the “heat” of the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 gradually subsides.