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Comprehensive Security in a Multipolar Indo-Pacific: ASEAN’s Balancing Act under Malaysia’s Leadership Kurniawan Firmuzi Syarifuddin; Rodon Pedrason; Jonni Mahroza; Susilo Adi Purwantoro
Community Engagement and Emergence Journal (CEEJ) Vol. 6 No. 5 (2025): Community Engagement & Emergence Journal (CEEJ)
Publisher : Yayasan Riset dan Pengembangan Intelektual

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.37385/ceej.v6i6.9337

Abstract

As the Indo-Pacific region undergoes profound geopolitical transformation marked by multipolar rivalries and non-traditional security threats, ASEAN faces a critical moment in redefining its role as a normative and functional convener of regional security governance. This article examines how Malaysia’s 2025 chairmanship of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) presents a strategic opportunity to recalibrate ASEAN’s defence mechanisms and reinforce its centrality. By advancing the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) through integrative maritime and cyber initiatives, and expanding normative engagement with actors such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the Indian Ocean Rim Association, Malaysia can help operationalise ASEAN’s comprehensive security agenda. The analysis highlights internal challenges—including divergent threat perceptions and capacity gaps—and external pressures from great power competition that risk undermining ASEAN’s cohesion. Drawing on Regional Security Complex Theory, security community theory, and ASEAN’s diplomatic culture, the study argues that institutional evolution does not require abandoning ASEAN’s foundational principles but rather adapting them for contemporary governance. The findings underscore the importance of strategic autonomy, inclusive cooperation, and normative clarity in shaping a resilient and adaptive regional security architecture. Ultimately, Malaysia’s chairmanship should be understood as a moment of normative leadership that can consolidate ASEAN’s credibility and enhance its strategic role in moderating competition, managing risks, and fostering stability in a complex and uncertain Indo-Pacific order.
Securing Regional Influence in a Contested Pacific: The Pukpuk Treaty as Instrument of Australia’s Foreign Policy toward Papua New Guinea Ferditania Estirahayu; Rodon Pedrason; Anak Agung Banyu Perwita
Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS Vol 4 No 2 (2026): Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS
Publisher : Darul Yasin Al Sys

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.58578/mikailalsys.v4i2.10257

Abstract

Although geopolitical competition in the Pacific has attracted increasing scholarly attention, studies specifically examining the Pukpuk Treaty as a multidimensional instrument of Australia’s foreign policy toward Papua New Guinea (PNG) remain limited. Existing scholarship has largely emphasized Australia–China rivalry at the macro-regional level, while the interaction between strategic competition, bureaucratic dynamics, and defense diplomacy within the treaty framework remains underexplored. This study aims to analyze how Australia uses the Pukpuk Treaty to maintain regional influence amid intensifying geopolitical competition in the Pacific. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research examines Australia–PNG security relations within the broader Indo-Pacific strategic environment. Data were collected through document analysis and literature review of official government publications, policy reports, bilateral cooperation documents, and academic literature. The analysis applies Neoclassical Realism, the Bureaucratic Politics Model, and Defense Diplomacy as complementary analytical frameworks. The findings indicate that the Pukpuk Treaty reflects a shift in Australia’s Pacific strategy from development-oriented engagement toward institutionalized security cooperation. The treaty functions not only as a bilateral defense arrangement but also as a mechanism for preserving Australia’s regional leadership, strengthening institutional alignment with PNG, and limiting China’s growing influence. The study concludes that the Pukpuk Treaty plays an important role in shaping regional security architecture and alignment dynamics in the Pacific. This study contributes to foreign policy and Indo-Pacific security studies by clarifying how defense diplomacy, bureaucratic interests, and strategic competition intersect in Australia’s engagement with PNG.
Indonesia’s UNIFIL Dilemma: Balancing Strategic Autonomy and Peacekeeping Risks after the 2026 Casualties Maria Anatasya Sekar Pamungkas; Fauzia Gustarina Cempaka Timur; Rodon Pedrason
Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS Vol 4 No 2 (2026): Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS
Publisher : Darul Yasin Al Sys

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.58578/mikailalsys.v4i2.10649

Abstract

Although Indonesia’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations has received considerable scholarly attention, research specifically addressing the intersection of defense diplomacy, strategic autonomy, and rising peacekeeping risks within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) remains limited. This study aimed to analyze how Indonesia balances its defense diplomacy objectives and strategic autonomy amid escalating operational risks affecting peacekeeping personnel in southern Lebanon. A qualitative approach with a descriptive-analytical case study design was employed, relying on purposively selected documentary sources relevant to Indonesia’s participation in UNIFIL. Data were collected through document analysis of United Nations reports, UNIFIL publications, Indonesian government documents, policy statements, academic literature, and reputable international media sources. The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis through data reduction, categorization, interpretation, and synthesis of recurring themes. The findings indicate that deteriorating security conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly transformed the operational environment of peacekeeping missions, increasing personnel vulnerability and operational unpredictability for troop-contributing countries, including Indonesia. Despite these growing risks, Indonesia has maintained its participation in UNIFIL while strengthening institutional preparedness, diplomatic engagement, and force protection considerations. The findings further suggest that Indonesia’s continued participation reflects a strategic balancing process between maintaining international legitimacy and responding to domestic accountability concerning personnel safety. This study contributes to defense diplomacy and strategic autonomy literature by demonstrating that peacekeeping participation increasingly requires institutional adaptation under volatile and high-risk operational conditions. The study concludes that stronger institutional preparedness and multilateral coordination are essential to sustaining Indonesia’s peacekeeping commitments in increasingly unstable conflict environments. Its implications include theoretical contributions to peacekeeping and defense diplomacy scholarship and practical relevance for policymakers in strengthening deployment preparedness and peacekeeper protection mechanisms.
Border Security Governance in Transition: The Uneven Impact of Ibu Kota Negara on West and North Kalimantan Borderlands Nia Norlyanti; Anak Agung Banyu Perwita; Rodon Pedrason
Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS Vol 4 No 2 (2026): Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS
Publisher : Darul Yasin Al Sys

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.58578/mikailalsys.v4i2.11301

Abstract

Indonesia’s decision to relocate its national capital to Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN) represents a major reconfiguration of state space with significant implications for border governance and the enactment of sovereignty. Although previous studies have largely emphasized the urban and economic dimensions of the relocation, limited attention has been given to how the IKN project reshapes border security governance and why its effects vary across different frontier regions. Drawing on critical geopolitics, border studies, and the security–development nexus, this study compares two segments of the Kalimantan–Malaysia border: West Kalimantan, encompassing Entikong, Aruk, and Badau, and North Kalimantan, encompassing Sebatik and Nunukan, before and after the IKN decision. The study employed qualitative content and discourse analysis of official documents, with the state’s border security strategy and enactment of sovereignty serving as the units of analysis. The findings demonstrate that the uniform, Indonesia-centric geopolitical reframing associated with IKN is enacted unevenly across the frontier. West Kalimantan emerges as a relatively mature yet neglected corridor of border formalization, whereas North Kalimantan constitutes a geographically proximate but underdeveloped frontier undergoing active reterritorialization. This divergence reveals a spatially differentiated gap between the governance and operational management of border security. The study concludes that capital relocation should not be interpreted as a uniform state-building project, as its security and territorial effects are mediated by distinct historical, infrastructural, and geopolitical conditions across border regions. These findings contribute to critical geopolitical and border studies by demonstrating how national spatial restructuring produces differentiated forms of sovereignty and border security governance.