HCI H2 Hist Prelim P2

HISTORY 9731/02 PAPER 2 History of Southeast Asia c.1900-1997 10 September 2008 3.0 hours Additional Materials: Answer Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name and CT on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer four questions. You must answer Question 1 (Section A) and any three questions from Section B. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. All questions in this paper carry equal marks. HWA CHONG INSTITUTION College 2 Preliminary Examination 2008 General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Higher 2 This document consists 5 printed pages. [Turn over HWA CHONG INSTITUTION 1

Section A: ASEAN 1967-1997 You must answer Question 1. ASEAN AND THE SPRATLY ISLANDS DISPUTE 1 Read the sources and then answer the question. Source A In mid-1991, fresh from diplomatic success in helping to end the Cambodian civil war, Indonesia took the initiative in seeking to open multilateral negotiations on competitive South China Sea claims, especia lly those claims involving jurisdictional disputes over the Spratly Islands. Indonesia has taken a leading role in diplomatic initiatives and cooperative agreements to resolv e South China Sea issues, particularly through the ASEAN (Association of Sout heast Asian Nations) forum, which has called for the peaceful arbitration of territorial claims. ASEAN includes all South China Sea nations except for China and Taiwan, and has held a number of working groups with China and Taiwan on related issues that have the potential to foster the cooperation and friendship needed to resolve the more contentious issues in the region. Indonesia hosted the first of these workshops in 1990. The ASEAN foreign ministers have reiterated the invitations to all parties directly concerned to subscribe to the principles of the ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea. An excerpt from an article on GlobalSecurity.org, a website which provides analyses on defence and security issues. Source B Yet ASEAN has been one of the most durable exam ples of regional multilateralism, one that commands attention and respect from r egional organizations in other parts of the developing world. 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 -- show deference to ASEAN by participating in these forums demonstrates that ASEAN still matters. The Spratly Islands dispute with China has been set aside, but this is mainly because Beijin g is focusing on economic self-empowerment and its problems with Taiwan and hence needs to keep its qu arrels with ASEAN to a minimum as part of its new "charm offensive." An excerpt from an article ASEAN at 40: Mid-Life Rejuvenation? By Amitav Acharya, 2007. [Turn over 2

Source C The dispute poses a challenge to the so lidarity of ASEAN and the flowering ASEAN- China trade relations. With four ASEAN members on the claimants’ list, the South China Sea could prove to be a major cleavage in the otherwise strong regional bloc. It could create additional tension between the Phili ppines and Malaysia, which had already exchanged harsh remarks over the long-st anding issue of Sabah (North Borneo) and past allegations by the former of the latter’s interference in its domestic affairs. China and Vietnam, on the other hand, had already resorted to arms in 1988 over the islands. An excerpt from a research paper on the Spratly Islands Dispute, 2003. Source D It is in ASEAN’s ability and readiness to re solve political differences affecting its members and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that the association’s commitment to political co-operation is put to the test. More often than not, that commitment has been affirmed and the ASEA N approach to solving potentially explosive issues vindicated. These issues include territorial and jurisdictional disputes in the South China Sea; self- determination for East Timor; nuclear proliferation in Northeast Asia and South Asia; weapons of mass destruction; and the impact of globalisation. In 1992, recognising that any conflict in the South China Sea could directly affect peace and stability in the region, AS EAN issued a declaration “urging all parties concerned to exercise restraint in order to create a posit ive climate for the eventual resolution of all disputes.” ASEAN further “e mphasised the necessity to resolve all sovereignty and jurisdictional issues about the South China Sea by peaceful means , without resort to force.” An excerpt from the ASEAN official website on the political achievements of the organisation. [Turn over 3

Source E The objective of having a code of conduct is to lay the foundation for cooperation and peaceful settlement of disputes. By applyi ng the confidence-building measures, ASEAN envisaged that the Spratlys will not become a flash point for conflict. A step-by-step approach was taken in the process of formulating the code of conduct, obtaining consensus, and agreeing to the terms and principl es stipulated in t he code. The origin of this declaration goes back to the Declarat ion of the South Chin a Sea issued by the foreign ministers of the ASEAN on July 22, 1992. The Manila Declaration emphasized the “necessity to resolve all sovereignty and jurisdictional issues pertaining to the South China Sea by peaceful means, without resort to force.” The declaration contended that all parties are to apply the principles contained in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) as the basis for establishing a regional code of conduct for South China Sea. As a result ASEAN tasked Manila and Hanoi to formulate a code based on their experiences with the c odes of conduct that they had concluded between China and themselves. Two code s of conduct -- the August 1995 Joint Statement Republic of the Philippines-PRC Consultations on the South China Sea and Other Areas of Cooperation, and the November 1995 Joint Statement on the Fourth Annual bilateral Consultations between the Philippines and Vietnam -- formed the basis for the code. An excerpt from an academic thesis titled Potential for Conflict in the Spratly Islands published in 2003. Now answer the following question: How far do the sources A-E support the view that ASEAN has played an effective role in resolving the Spratly Islands dispute? [Turn over 4

Section B You must answer three questions from this section. 2 To what extent is the impact of the Japanese Occupation on Southeast Asia exaggerated? 3 “Independence in Southeast Asia was served on a platter to the leaders of the newly independent countries.” Discuss the validity of t he statement with reference to the decolonisation process between 1945 and 1965. 4 To what extent has the communist threat to the Southeast Asian nations receded between 1950 and 1997? 5 “Governments do not make good captains of the economy.” How true is this statement in evaluating the role played by governments in the economic development of their countries? 6 “Territorial disputes more than anything else is the main cause of tensions between countries in Southeast Asia.” Discuss the validity of this statement with reference to the period between 1950 and 1997. 5