ASEAN navies: new missions and old problems

For the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — the classical naval missions, protecting the country from seaborne attack and keeping vital sea lanes open, are less important than functions related to new concepts in the law of the sea, coupled with problems which have plagued South-east Asians for hundreds of years. Each of the ASEAN countries now is entitled to claim vastly extended exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves, and all but Singapore have been able to extend their maritime territories greatly. However, the old problems of combating piracy, smuggling and illegal barter trade still exist. To these must be added the new patrol functions necessary to protect offshore resources and enforce extended maritime jurisdictional claims.