Transnational Security Concerns, Defence Modernization and Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia Transnational Security Concerns, Defence Modernization and Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia Kusnanto Anggoro* Conditions that allow transnational threats to develop and flourish are evident in many Asia-Pacific countries. A mixture of local conditions and the forces of globalization challenge existing governments and social structures. The spill-over of regional problems in a mobile society, exacerbated by globalized trade and fast-moving banking and financial services systems can amplify their effects internationally. The repercussions of this affect many aspects of people’s lives, and extend to inter-state relations and beyond to military security. This paper shows how in Southeast Asia transnational threats, important as they are, do not directly augment the possibility of inter-state war. State responses to the threats have not yet reached a level where deterrence capability strengthens defence capability. The Nature of Transnational Security Threats Transnational security issues, defined as non-military threats that cross borders and either threaten the political and social integrity of a nation or the health of that nation’s inhabitants, are emerging as key security challenges for Southeast Asian states. Examples of key transnational threats include, among others, transnational crime, terrorism, maritime piracy, arms trafficking, illegal migration, infectious disease and environmental degradation. It is important to emphasize that these threats do not necessarily pose direct challenges to‘territorial’ sovereignty, but rather to‘state authority’ and‘effective government’. There may be an exhaustive list of what so-called transnational threats to security are. Causes vary, such as uneven distribution of wealth, depletion of natural resources, boundary eroding, pan-ideology and politics of identity, and failing states. These all threaten distinct consequences for their primary targets, which could be individual safety, state authority (legitimacy), and/or(internationally recognized) territorial boundaries. More importantly, local security challenges can spread rapidly to acquire a regional or global reach. Individual cases can be found elsewhere. Piracy has been on the increase, particularly in the waters around Indonesia and the Philippines. In the first nine months of 1999, 66 actual or attempted pirate attacks took place on Indonesian waters – representing 67% of the total for Southeast Asia – and double the number of incidents for the same period in 1998. Besides that, illegal migration is increasingly viewed as a security problem. There are hundreds of thousands of illegal Indonesian migrants in * Kusnanto Anggoro works for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS), Indonesia. 25