Name: Mendevil, Joebhel L.

Course and Section: AB Foreign Service 301

Subject: International Negotiations [INNN17F]
Professor: Mr. Jumel G. Estrañero

THE DIPLOMATIC WAY: NEGOTIATION AS A MEANS TO PROMOTE 

COOPERATION IN THE ASEAN REGION 

            After reading our module, I have learned about how everything is subject to
negotiation at some point. Being a skill that is not just limited to diplomatic agents when
it comes to resolving conflicts, it seems like there are no limits indeed to how an
agreement or a negotiation may be constructed. From what we have discussed,
negotiations usually take place whenever there is a conflict between parties; whenever
there is a need for an agreement to who gets what and how much they get in the
resources; and whenever there is a need for a cooperation in order to achieve
something that cannot be achieved by the involved parties alone. With that idea in mind,
it could be deemed then that negotiation is indeed important because from personal to
international level, one continues to face an unprecedented amount of competition to
the point that if ever one party would just lower their guard for a bit, they might be taken
advantage of already. But more than just reason of not wanting to be taken advantage
of, negotiation is important because it also promotes cooperation in the international
realm at large. 

            One of the characteristics of a negotiation situation includes the expectation of a

give-and-take process among the parties. From the day it was established, ASEAN’s
negotiation style has emphasized recognition for national sovereignty, avoidance of
confrontation, agreements through unanimous decisions, and stable pace for every
member-state to follow, which then allowed it to maintain peace and stability
successfully in the region. In line with the idea of cooperative negotiation, the member-
states of ASEAN worked together to create an agreement that allows them to achieve
their best outcomes. ASEAN may be lacking at some points and has a lot of things to
improve, especially with the income and infrastructural gaps between and among the
member-states, but this does not change the fact that all of them still benefited from the
economic cooperation. As we may know, a negotiation does not really guarantee that all
the parties involved will be able to receive the same number of benefits
because if gains exceed the cost, it can still be deemed as beneficial to those
who receive less in the agreement. 

From all the topics that we have discussed this preliminary term, I have also
learned about International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution in general. Being
described as a focused discipline, I have learned from our discussion that International
Negotiation is a field which investigates the causes of conflict as well as the nonviolent
ways and techniques to manage and resolve conflicts in the international realm. In
relation with the online seminar entitled: “SDG Webinar Series: Careers in ASEAN,” in
which it presented various responsibilities that comes with the possible careers in
ASEAN, “negotiation and conflict resolution” is indeed vital because it enables the
member-states of ASEAN to come into agreement when it comes to the exchanges that
is happening between and among them. Promoting a harmonious relationship through
economic cooperation, international negotiation can then be observed in ASEAN
leadership because the representatives ensure that the promotion of international trade
will aid the developing countries in the region to achieve a fair and a beneficial trading
system. With these ideas in mind, it could be deemed then that the online seminar is
indeed related to our subject “International Negotiations” because as an aspirant foreign
service officer, it is indeed important to know that negotiation can bring people
of diverse cultures and beliefs together for the promotion of economic, political and
social cooperation in general.