Artificial Intelligence in Indo-Pacific
Quo Vadis International Humanitarian Law and Regional Peace and Security in Southeast Asia
Abstract
The use of Artificial Intelligence in the military is like two sides of a coin. It can provide convenience and aid in military operations but has the potential to hinder military operations. Dangerous and potentially catastrophic for humanity will be inevitable as no restrictions on its use. The United States, China, Australia, Japan, and India are examples of nations whose militaries have developed artificial intelligence technology. Geographically, Southeast Asia, which is located in the middle of these nations, will experience a significant impact due to its tight maritime borders if there is no international consensus on the military application of artificial intelligence technology. An autonomous or autonomous system to operate this technology will reduce the amount of human control and allow it to operate without any human intervention. It will be a threat to the application of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, such as the distinction principle, and proportionality principle. Where these principles are tightly intertwined with human command and control in making decisions regarding the execution of attacks. The article employs normative legal methodology. Furthermore, this paper endeavours to assess the pertinence of principles in international humanitarian law during the era of the artificial intelligence arms race. It also delves into the contribution of ASEAN in upholding stability, peace, and security in the Southeast Asia region, thereby reinforcing the importance of this research. This research emphasises the importance of aligning the progress of artificial intelligence in military contexts with core principles of international humanitarian law. It underscores the need for ASEAN to safeguard regional peace and security by establishing a novel regulatory framework that outlines restrictions on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence for military objectives.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, International Law, Peace and Security, Southeast Asia.
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Alex Neads, Theo Farrell & David J Galbreath, “Evolving Towards Military Innovation: AI and the Australian Army” (2023) 46:2 Journal of Strategic Studies 1–30.
Andi Raihanah Ashar & Muhammad Fauzan Malufti, “Indonesian Military Modernization: A Race Against Time”, (23 June 2022), The Diplomat, online:
Austin Wyatt & Jai Galliott, “Closing the Capability Gap: ASEAN Military Modernization During the Dawn of Autonomous Weapon Systems” (2020) 16:1 Asian Security 53–72.
Bérénice Boutin, “State Responsibility in Relation to Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence” (2023) 36:1 Leiden Journal of International Law 133–150.
Carla Hobbs, Europe’s Digital Sovereignty: From Rulemaker to Superpower in the Age of US-China Rivalry (London: E European Council on Foreign Relations, 2020).
Chai Hong, “Japan to Beef Up Deploying AI Technology in Military Defense”, (2 December 2019), online: China Daily
Damian Copeland, “Australia’s Approach to AI Governance in Security and Defence” in the AI Wave in Defence Innovation, 1st Ed (Routledge, 2023).
Daniel Araya & Meg King, The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Military Defence and Security (Ottawa: The Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2022).
Daniele Amoroso & Guglielmo Tamburrini, “In Search of the ‘Human Element’: International Debates on Regulating Autonomous Weapons Systems” (2021) 56:1 The International Spectator 20–38.
Dominic Perry, “Thailand Grows EC725 Order", Flight Global, online:
Elsa B Kania, China’s Rise In Artificial Intelligence And Future Military Capabilities, Battlefield Singularity (Center For A New American Security, 2017).
Emily Feng & Charles Clover, “Drone Swarms vs Conventional Arms: China’s Military Debate”, Financial Times (24 August 2017), online:
Felix Heiduk, “An Arms Race in Southeast Asia?”, Research Paper, August 2017, Berlin, 13.
Felix Heiduk, An Arms Race In Southeast Asia? (Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft Und Politik German Institute for International snd Security Affairs, 2017).
Felix K Chang, “Comparative Southeast Asian Military Modernization - 1”, (1 October 2014), The Asan Forum, online:
Gian P Gentile et al., A History of the Third Offset, 2014-2018 (Santa Monica, Calif.: Rand Corporation, 2021).
Gloria Shkurti Özdemir, Artificial Intelligence Application in the Military the Case of the United States and China (Istanbul: Seta, 2019).
Heru Prayitno, “AUKUS and the Role of ASEAN Centrality in Managing Regional Security Affairs” (2021) 26 Technium Social Sciences Journal.
Hiroki Habuka, Japan’s Approach to AI Regulation and Its Impact on the 2023 G7 Presidency (The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2023).
Ingvild Bode & Hendrik Huelss, “Autonomous Weapons Systems and Changing Norms in International Relations” (2018) 44:3 Review of International Studies 393–413>.
István Szabadföldi, “Artificial Intelligence in Military Application – Opportunities and Challenges” (2021) 26:2 Land Forces Academy Review 157–165.
Jessie Tan, Liew Sue Yin & Joel Prashant, “Artificial Intelligence - Malaysian Legislative Framework and Key Legal Challenges”, Lexology (12 May 2023), online:
Justin Haner & Denise Garcia, “The Artificial Intelligence Arms Race: Trends and World Leaders in Autonomous Weapons Development” (2019) 10:3 Glob Policy 331–337.
Justin Sherman, Essay: Reframing The U.S.- China Ai "Arms Race": Why This Framing Is Not Only Wrong But Dangerous for American Policymaking (USA: New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative, 2019).
Justinas Lingevicius, “Military Artificial Intelligence as Power: Consideration for European Union Actorness” (2023) 25:1 Ethics and Infomation Technology 19.
Kanok Bunnag, “Artificial Intelligence Arms Race: Opportunities for ASEAN and Thailand’s Defence Capability” 13:1.
Kenneth Anderson & Matthew C Waxman, Debating Autonomous Weapon Systems, Their Ethics, and Their Regulation under International Law, Roger Brownsword, Eloise Scotford & Karen Yeung, Eds (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Laurie A Harris, Artificial Intelligence: Overview, Recent Advances, And Considerations For The 118th Congress (Congressional Research Service, 2023).
Linda Monsees & Daniel Lambach, “Digital Sovereignty, Geopolitical Imaginaries, and the Reproduction of European Identity” (2022) 31:3 European Security 377–394.
Magdalena Pacholska, “Military Artificial Intelligence and the Principle of Distinction: A State Responsibility Perspective” (2023) 56:1 Israel Law Rev 3–23.
Mariarosaria Taddeo & Luciano Floridi, “Regulate Artificial Intelligence to Avert Cyber Arms Race” (2018) Nature 296–298.
Matt Sheehan, China’s Ai Regulations And How They Get Made, Working Paper (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023), online:
Matthew E Castel, “The Road to Artificial Super-Intelligence: Has International Law A Role to Play?” (2016) 14:1 Canadian Journal of Law and Technology 1–14.
Merel Ac Ekelhof, “Complications of a Common Language: Why It Is So Hard To Talk about Autonomous Weapons” (2017) 22:2 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 311–331.
Mitzi Austero, et al, Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technology, and Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems: Security, Moral, and Ethical Perspectives in Asia (Philippine: Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, 2020).
Moises Barrio Andres, “Towards Legal Regulation of Artificial Intelligence” (2021) 15:48 Ius Mx.
Nikhat Parveen, “Artificial Intelligence in India’s Military Sector: Efforts and Future Prospects” (2022) 10:9 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts 955–963.
Pablo González Peralta, The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and the Multilateral Push for a Treaty, Master Thesis (Catalunya: Universitat Oberta De Catalunya, 2022).
Peter Dombrowski, America’s Third Offset Strategy: New Military Technologies and Implications for the Asia Pacific (Singapore: RSIS: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2015).
Peter Svenmarck, et al, Possibilities and Challenges for Artificial Intelligence in Military Applications (Sweden: Swedish Defence Research Agency).
Rajesh Chakrabarti & Kaushiki Sanyal, “Towards A ‘Responsible AI’: Can India Take The Lead?” (2020) 21:1 South Asia Economic Journal 158–177.
Raluca Csernatoni, “The EU’s Hegemonic Imaginaries: From European Strategic Autonomy in Defence to Technological Sovereignty” (2022) 31:3 European Security 395–414.
Rizerius Eko Hadisancoko, “Pembangunan Postur Pertahanan Militer yang Diarahkan pada Pembangunan Minimum Essential Force (MEF) TNI Menuju Terwujudnya Postur Ideal TNI” Wira Media Informasi Kementerian Pertahanan (2019) 12.
Sachin Chitturu, et al, Artificial Intelligence And Southeast Asia’s Future, Discussion Paper (Singapore: Mckinsey Global Institute, 2017).
Sam Perlo-Freeman, et al, Trends In World Military Expenditure, 2015 (Stockholm: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2016).
Sanur Sharma, “Beating Retreat and Demonstration of Drone Power | Manohar Parrikar Institute For Defence Studies And Analyses”, (25 January 2022), online: Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann & Richard V Grant, “The Need for an Australian Regulatory Code for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Military Application” (2023) 13:2 American University National Security Law Brief 1–34.
Satavisa Pati, “Use of Artificial Intelligence by Indian Army in the Borders in 2021”, (20 October 2021), online: Analytic Insight
Simon Chesterman, “Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Autonomy” (2020) 1:2 Journal of Emerging Technologies 210–250.
Simon Chesterman, We, the Robots?: Regulating Artificial Intelligence and The Limits of the Law, 1st Ed (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021).
Sri Saraswati Wisjnu, et al, Strategi Nasional Kecerdasan Artifisial Indonesia 2020-2045 (Jakarta: Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi, 2020).
Thomas Reinhold & Niklas Schörnig, Eds, Armament, Arms Control and Artificial Intelligence: The Janus-Faced Nature of Machine Learning in the Military Realm, Studies In Peace And Security (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022).
Timothy McFarland, The Status of Autonomous Weapon Systems under International Humanitarian Law University Of Melbourne, 2017).
Ulil Afwa, Nurani Ajeng Tri Utami & Agus Mardianto, “The Ethical Bias of Artificial Intelligence as a Subject of Law in Indonesia” (2021).
Utaryo Santiko & Maria Davina Agustien, “Kerja Sama Industri Pertahanan Indonesia- Perancis dalam Memenuhi Minimum Essential Force Tentara Nasional Indonesia Tahun 2015 - 2019” (2022) 2:1 Moestopo Journal International Relations.
Vincent Boulanin & Maaike Verbruggem, Mapping The Development of Autonomy in Weapon Systems (Stockholm: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2017).
Wichuta Teeratanabodee, “Military AI Governance in East Asia: Advances and Challenges.”
Zoe Stanley-Lockman, Responsible And Ethical Military AI: Allies and Allied Perspectives, Issue Brief (USA: Center for Security and Emerging Technology, 2021).
Published
2024-02-09
How to Cite
PUTRO, Yaries Mahardika; TARIGAN, Muhammad Insan; AL ASYARI, Haekal.
Artificial Intelligence in Indo-Pacific.
Lentera Hukum, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 3, p. 391-432, feb. 2024.
ISSN 2621-3710.
Available at: <https://jurnal.unej.ac.id/index.php/ejlh/article/view/43449>. Date accessed: 19 nov. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.19184/ejlh.v10i3.43449.
Issue
Section
Articles
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