Regional cooperation in Asia takes place in formal Regional Organizations (ROs) as well as in less formal Regional Fora (RF). In addition, unlike in other parts of the world, Asian regionalism mainly developed in one instead of two waves. Especially after the end of the Cold War, Asian countries created numerous ROs and RF. Over time, Asian states became members of several ROs and RF at the same time, thereby contributing to Asian regime complexity. Given that multiple memberships in regional cooperation agreements can place high demands on diplomatic and financial resources of member states, the fact that Asian states became members in between one and 17 ROs and RF is puzzling. This article investigates why Asian countries join regional cooperation agreements. Based on a theory-guided empirical analysis that combines quantitative and qualitative methods, it argues that hedging and economic interests are the main driving forces behind Asian regionalism and that these motivations are often interlinked.

亚洲的区域合作在正式的区域组织 (RO) 以及不太正式的区域论坛 (RF) 中进行。此外，与世界其他地区不同，亚洲地区主义主要是在一波而非两波中发展起来的。特别是冷战结束后，亚洲国家创造了无数的RO和RF。随着时间的推移，亚洲国家同时成为多个 RO 和 RF 的成员，从而加剧了亚洲政权的复杂性。鉴于区域合作协议中的多个成员对成员国的外交和财政资源提出了很高的要求，亚洲国家成为 1 到 17 个区域合作协定和 RF 成员的事实令人费解。本文探讨了亚洲国家加入区域合作协定的原因。