Joint military exercises and security ordering in Southeast Asia

Despite their increasing frequency, or the plethora of studies on defenseengagement and diplomacy, from arms transfer to major visits and industrialpartnerships, it is puzzling that joint military exercises remain understudied.This is particularly as they are important features of the international order.This article introduces this special issue on “Joint Military Exercises andSecurity Ordering in Southeast Asia”, which evaluates joint military exercisesbetween states in Southeast Asia as part of the micro-foundation of theinternational security order within the Asia-Pacific. The issue consists of fivearticles providing in-depth analysis of different bilateral, minilateral, andmultilateral exercises that have shaped the regional security order inSoutheast Asia for decades. Specifically, the articles focus on three SoutheastAsian states—Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand—as well as two prominentgroupings of states in the region; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) and the Five Powers Defence Arrangements (FPDA).