TJC_HISTORY_H2_PRELIMS_2008

TEMASEK JUNIOR COLLEGE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2008 HISTORY Higher 2 9731 WEDNESDAY 10 September 2008 Paper 2 3 hr INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES • Write your name and civics tutorial group in the spaces provided on the cover page and on every answer. • Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. • Write your answers on the separate answer paper provided. • Start each answer on a fresh sheet of paper. • All questions in this paper carry equal marks. • Candidates are to answer Question 1 in Section A, and answer any 3 questions in Section B. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES • You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. This paper consists of 4 printed pages. © Temasek JC 2008

SECTION A You must answer Question 1 1. Read the sources and then answer the question SOURCE A ASEAN has been one of the most durable examples of regional multilateralism. It acts as the hub, if not the leader, of regional multilateral forums for East Asia. The fact that the region's most powerful players - - including China, India, and the United States - s how deference to ASEAN by participating in these forums demonstrates that ASEAN still matters. ASEA N's positive image was built around three areas of accomplishment in its first three decades. First, since 1967 no ASEAN member has engaged a fellow ASEAN member in major armed confrontation, in spite of occasional border skirmishes and bilateral territorial disputes and political tensions. Second, ASEAN was instrumental in bringing the decade-long Vietnamese-Cambodian conflict to the negotiating ta ble in 1989 and in reaching a peace agreement in 1991. Vietnam, then seen as an obstacle to regional stability, is now a valued member of the organization. Finally, as the Cold War ended, it was ASEAN which provided the platform for building broader regional institutions that would engage a rising China and other major players in East Asia. Amitav Acharya, in Foreign Affairs, 2008 SOURCE B One of ASEAN's greatest achievements has been its capacity to promote stability among its members. ASEAN's tools are its consensus-based diplomacy, its capacity to draw in the great powers in a non- threatening way, and the clout its economic prosperity has given it. As a result, South-East Asia, once regarded as one of the world's most politically tumultuous regions, is now characterised, for the most part, by longstanding stability. The ARF may in fact prove to be one of ASEAN's most important contributions to regional affairs - if not the most important. It has already established itself as the primary multilateral forum for the discussion of security issues in the Asia Pacific region. Alexander Downer, Australian Minister for Foreig