The Asia Pacific region remains vulnerable to possible conflicts deriving mainly from historical antagonism, extremism, and unresolved sovereignty issues, although regional economic interdependence does help reduce the likelihood of open hostilities. However, as security issues get more transnational, complicated, and unpredictable, miscalculation regarding the Korean Peninsula, the East and South China Seas, and the unresolved border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand remain ever present. As such, the region needs an effective institution that can reduce the strategic mistrust and misunderstanding between and among states. Vannarith Chheang discusses the outcomes of the inauragal ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus regarding Asia Pacific regional security architecture.

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