The Reality And Logic Of ASEAN To Maintain The Leadership In East Asian Cooperation

After the end of the Cold War, especially the Asian financial crisis, the moststriking phenomenon in East Asia, in addition to China’s rise is the rise of regionalcooperation in East Asia. The most interesting phenomenon in the East Asiancooperation, ASEAN (instead of Japan and South Korea and other regional powers)always maintain the dominance of the mechanism, and to promote East Asiancooperation to achieve substantive progress. But, in the process of the development ofeast Asia cooperation, the association of ASEAN in the control is not stable, manyexternal factors will impact to its, formation changes in volatility. But strangely, theassociation of ASEAN can take the appropriate measures to restore its dominance.However, little research touched a more fundamental problem ASEAN is how tomaintain its dominance, where is the logic and the reality?This paper attempts to use the basic theory of system science, to find some helpin understanding the ASEAN leadership password, namely the structure-functionsystem theory, it draws the following conclusions:1, ASEAN through theconstruction of East Asia cooperation mechanism and the formation of East Asiancooperation system, which is the core of ASEAN as the center of the ASEANstructure. The system has the adaptability, dynamic, purposeful and self-organization,self-protection and self-evolution.2, ASEAN Plus structure and ASEANdominance closely linked to the interaction between the two promote each other,reinforce each other. ASEAN through the ASEAN Plus structural dominanceundermined by the impact of the other components of the system when the initiativeof ASEAN. ANSEAN will by adjusting the ASEAN Plus structure restored.3, The relations between system, t structure and function: in the process of ASEAN tomaintain leadership, system is the foundation, the structure is the core, the function isthe guarantee.4, But because of the law of diminishing marginal utility, the limited o fASEAN maintenance its leadership are highlights. ASEAN maintain its leadershipwill more and more difficult. This also coincides with the fluctuation changes ofASEAN leadership.Finally, make the East Asia Summit for the case of the empirical analysis. Firstis the EAS expansion lead to the expansion of the East Asian cooperation system. Onone hand,the expansion of ASEAN to implement power balance of the space, thuscontributing to the maintenance of its leadership; on the other hand, they have thepotential to increase the likelihood of concert of powers, which is disadvantageous tomaintain its leadership. The second is EAS was to expand the ASEAN plusstructure is more complex, the formation of more10+1, and three kinds of edgesand multilateral relations, on the one hand enable system structure more firmly, on theother hand intensified the ASEAN logistics complex game difficulty. The third isEAS’s function to the diversified development, on the one hand, the functionalcooperation and its agenda to further consolidate the domination and rulemaking onASEAN, on the other hand also lead to dependence on the powers of the deepening ofASEAN.