During the last four years (barring 2020), the ASEAN navies have conducted Maritime Exercise with three great power navies. These naval exercises can be labelled as momentous for the ASEAN as a collective for at least three counts. First, the ASEAN navies have graduated from conducting naval exercises among themselves. In 2017, the ASEAN commemorated the 50th anniversary of its founding as a block, and one of the highlights of a series of associated events was the first-ever ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise (AMNEX). Besides being celebratory, the exercises symbolized the maturation of a number of defence and security related intra-regional security cooperation mechanisms such as the meeting of ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces (ACDFIM), ASEAN Navy Chiefs (ANCM) and the ASEAN Police Forces (ASEANAPOL), operationalization of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), trilateral patrols between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, growing relevance of defence exhibitions such as the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) in Malaysia and International Maritime and Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) exhibition in Singapore, International Fleet Reviews (IFR), to name a few.

Second these navies appear to shed a label of being minnows. They have successfully participated in many bilateral level and large multilateral naval exercises with navies from across the region such as the biennial United States-led the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) and the annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) exercises which does not include China and Russia. They are now confident of engaging great power navies of China and now Russia. The ASEAN-China naval exercises were first discussed in 2015 and the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying had announced “holding a joint training on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea as well as a joint exercise for maritime search and disaster relief in 2016 in the South China Sea,” In 2018, both sides held their first ever ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise (ACMX) and was coordinated by Republic of Singapore Navy. The Chinese co-exercise director said, “Through this exercise, ASEAN and China navies strengthened friendships and enhanced mutual understanding and cooperation. I hope to see more of such interactions in the future.”

As far as the US Navy is concerned, many of the ASEAN navies have conducted bilateral exercises in the past, but as a collective the first ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise (AUMX) was held in 2019 and was coordinated by the Royal Thai Navy. The commander of Task Force 73, who oversees the U.S. Navy’s security cooperation in Southeast Asia had remarked that “AUMX builds greater maritime security on the strength of ASEAN, the strength of our navy-to-navy bonds, and the strength our shared belief in a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

More recently, in December 2021, the ASEAN navies engaged the Russian Federation Navy (RFN) and these were coordinated by Indonesian Navy. Russia's ambassador to ASEAN observed that ASEAN Russia Naval Exercises (ARNEX) are “about peace, stability and prosperity in the region” and open a “new page in our strategic partnership.”

Third, the ASEAN navies also send a message to the great powers that they are not ‘a push over’ and can shape the regional security, albeit in a limited way. They drive strengths from the growing maturity of the ASEAN led multilateral initiatives such as the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus which are now institutionalized events in the ASEAN’s annual calendar. Besides world leaders have visited the region on regular basis for Summits, bilateral engagements with the ASEAN and its Member States. In November 2021, President Biden joined in a virtual US-ASEAN summit, the first time in four years. Besides, there have been regular visit to the region by other top functionaries of President Biden’s administration.  

Be that as it may, the ASEAN navies have befitted enormously from engagements with the US, China and Russian navies and it would not be long before Australia, France, India, Japan, and the UK join the list. By all counts, the ASEAN initiative must be seen as attempts to be inclusive and uphold ‘ASEAN centrality’ in the evolving great power competition in the region and symbolized by the US-China tensions.

Dr Vijay Sakhuja is Consultant Kalinga International Foundation, New Delhi.