SAJC 2025 H2 P2 Prelims

© SAJC 2025 9752/02/2025/Prelims 1 ST ANDREW’S JUNIOR COLLEGE Preliminary Examinations General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Higher 2 HISTORY Paper 2 Developments in Southeast Asia (Independence – 2000) 9174/02 29 August 2025 3 hours No Additional Materials are required. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST An answer booklet will be provided with this question paper. You should follow the instructions on the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional paper ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet. Section A Answer Question 1. Section B Answer two questions. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. This document consists of 5 printed pages. [Turn Over

© SAJC 2025 9752/02/2025/Prelims 2 Section A You must answer Question 1. VIETNAM’S ACCESSION TO ASEAN 1 Read the sources and answer the questions which follow. Source A Noting Vietnam's accession on 22 July 1992 to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia; Noting also that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has agreed to subscribe or accede, as the case may be, to all ASEAN's Declarations, Treaties and Agreements, including all ASEAN's Agreements with Dialogue Partners, Sectoral Dialogue Partners and Consultative Partners, the Framework Agreement on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation and the Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area; … Having solemnly accepted the conditions of membership; Now therefore, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam hereby agree and declare as follows: 1. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam becomes the seventh Member State of ASEAN; 2. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam solemnly agrees to subscribe or accede, as the case may be, to all the Declarations, Treaties and Agreements of ASEAN. 1995 Declaration of the Admission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, signed in Brunei Darussalam on 28 July 1995. Source B Vietnam's membership of ASEAN was driven by pragmatic reasons of economic growth, political independence and regime survival in a post -Cold War environment. But in fact the learning process which made Vietnamese decision -makers more aware of convergent domestic and foreign policy goals between Vietnam and ASE AN was instrumental in Vietnam's decision to seek ASEAN membership as quickly as possible. The case of Vietnam joining ASEAN then shows that the process of sociali sation and interactions between Vietnam and ASEAN countries helped improve the awareness of commonalities and promoted cooperative relations. In this connection, Vietnam joining ASEAN was also part of a broader process in which the country forged a new state identity in the post -Cold War era: Vietnam opted for ASEAN membership to overcome an identity crisis and political isolation. From an article published in Contemporary Southeast Asia, 2007. Source C Thirty years later, Vietnam’s membership is widely seen as a turning point in its foreign policy – a strategic decision that helped pull the country out of Cold War isolation and embed it within a dynamic regional and global system.

© SAJC 2025 9752/02/2025/Prelims 3 “It was a hit-or-miss moment,” said Nguyen Vu Tung, a former Vietnamese ambassador to South Korea. The decision to join ASEAN was about foreign policy but also about economic development model, because eventually the function of Vietnam's foreign policy is to create favorable condition s for national development, Tung said. By joining ASEAN, Vietnam has accomplished its goal of having a peaceful and cooperative neighboring environment for it to focus on economic development under the Doi Moi agenda, as well as enjoy new economic interests, especially in terms of trade, investment and tourism. Vietnam’s road to ASEAN was paved with profound structural shifts. The end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet bloc and the 1991 settlement of the Cambodian conflict opened a window for realignment. As Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the Univ ersity of New South Wales Canberra and a veteran Vietnam observer, told Việt Nam News: "In the late 1980s, Vietnam assessed that the major threats to its security and independence were economic weakness, political isolation and embargo. The Politburo [of the Vietnam Communist Party] introduced the concept of national interest and called for ‘more friends, fewer enemies’.” From an article published in the Law and Legal Forum website based in Vietnam in 2025. Source D The past three decades also underscore the limits of regionalism and the contradictions within Vietnam’s own rise. One clear challenge lies in the bloc’s structural weakness. Asean’s consensus -based decision-making, designed to promote unity, can often result in paralysis on urgent matters. This has hampered collective responses to key regional flashpoints such as the South China Sea dispute, an issue central to Vietnam’s foreign policy. Vietnam has been among the most vocal Asean states in pushing back against China’s expansive maritime claims. It has actively promoted negotiations over a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea and sought to internationalise the dispute without pro voking direct confrontation. However, the lack of cohesion within Asean has allowed Beijing to exploit internal divisions, particularly among member states with closer economic or political ties to China. Despite Vietnam’s persistent diplomacy, progress on the code of conduct remains sluggish and China continues to fortify its presence in contested waters. From the South China Morning Post, 2025. Source E In the context of great power rivalry and its undermining effects on ASEAN unity and centrality, Vietnam’s position gains additional importance. Hanoi recogni ses the long - term dangers of China’s hegemonic ambitions, which jeopardi se Southeast Asian multilateralism. More importantly, Hanoi, pressed by security concerns posed by China, appreciates not only the potential of ASEAN but also the “ASEAN -Plus partnerships” networks. For a long time, ASEAN provided Vietnam with a perfect venue to sociali se into the international community and re-emerge from the isolation that it fell into in the late 1970s. Twenty years after joining ASEAN, Vietnam is arguably the most active player in the region in terms of foreign policy. It boasts a dynamically expandin g network of

© SAJC 2025 9752/02/2025/Prelims 4 comprehensive and strategic partnerships with Southeast Asian neighbors as well as extra-regional dialogue partners of ASEAN. From a Vietnamese academic, 2016. Source F An online political cartoon. Now answer the following questions: (a) Compare and contrast the evidence provided in Sources A and D on the role of the ASEAN Way in Vietnam’s accession to ASEAN. [10] (b) How far do Sources A – F support the view that Vietnam’s accession to ASEAN yielded positive outcomes? [30]

© SAJC 2025 9752/02/2025/Prelims 5 Section B You must answer two questions from this section. You must support your answer with examples drawn from at least three countries. EITHER 2 ‘Democracy was an alien concept to Southeast Asian states.’ To what extent do you agree with this claim? [30] OR 3 How important was the imposition of national ideo