The resort to arms over a long-standing territorial disagreement is further evidence that borders, far from becoming redundant as globalization advances and consolidates, are being guarded more zealously than ever. It is also a stark warning that ASEAN’s historical stand of deliberately shelving territorial disputes in the interests of regional cohesion and harmony is no longer valid Years of institutionalized interaction and enmeshment in a multilayered and multitracked web of cooperation failed to produce “retraining effects” on members tempted to use force to settle differences, long an article of ASEAN faith. While a case can be made for ASEAN to review its entire approach to conflict resolution, the association also needs to change its attitude to boundary disputes and border issues that may disturb the peace in the first place.