Data Sovereignty Disputes and International Cooperation in the Digital Economy of Southeast Asia

The digital economy in Southeast Asia (SEA)is skyrocketing. It is revolutionizing societies and is giving rise to unprecedented economic opportunities. It is powered by data, which is the valuable resource of the 21st century. But the cross-border nature of digital services triggered a hot debate about the data sovereignty, the idea of free data flow vs. the national interest of the security, economic regulation and citizen privacy. In this article I study contentious governance space throughout the SEA and how data sovereignty has become a primary policy concern for most of the nations in this area. We observe diverse legal and regulatory measures coming on board and focus mainly on data localization demands and impediments of transferring data across borders producing complex, difficult operational conditions. In this paper, it’s argued that despite asserting data sovereignty as a sovereign power of nation states in the digital age, a patchwork of restrictive policies without cooperation risks the economic integration, innovative capabilities, and overarching dream of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) digital community. By looking at the economic data and the national policies it shows the conflict and economic costs of a break-off like this. Finally, the paper concludes that more international and regional cooperation driven by initiatives like DEFA (Digital Economy Framework Agreement) led by ASEAN is the best way to harmonize standards build trust and create an ecosystem that is balanced as it supports both national goals as well as collective digital dreams of the region.