Finding a Path Through Multiheaded Interregional Relations in Counterterrorism: What Place Is There for Mutual Trust in the EU-ASEAN Dialogue?

Terrorism as a shared security challenge has catalysed the manifestation of various forms of cooperation between ASEAN and the EU, in both closed bilateral (e.g. direct contacts between the representatives of the regional organisations or of their Member States) and multilateral fora (e.g. the UN, ARF and ASEM meetings). Using various platforms, ASEAN and the EU develop group-to-group contacts to strengthen their respective actions and, where appropriate, coordinate their position within wider fora. The EU-ASEAN relations have facilitated the sharing of data and have also enhanced their respective institutional and legal framework to improve their internal and interregional action against terrorism. Although interregional relations exist, they are hardly occurring between the two regional organisations (i.e. strategic inter-organisational interregionalism). By contrast, relations seem to be particularly more effective between the EU, on the one hand, and ASEAN Member States, on the other (i.e. hybrid interregionalism); or between the Member States of each regional grouping, i.e. EU Member States with ASEAN Member States (i.e. interstate bilateralism). The discrepancies between the two regional organisations have limited the development of a three-dimensional mutual trust which facilitates effective interregional cooperation. However, these ‘regional organisation to regional organisation’ relations have fostered, to a certain degree, both the EU and ASEAN’s actorness on the international scene. Group-to-group relations may even be viewed as a means to simplify international relations.