In what ways are bilateral ties better than regional ties?

Question

In what ways are bilateral ties better than regional ties?

Answer 1

Both have their own strengths and weaknesses. The only difference is that bilateral can be between any two countries regardless of geographical location (eg: Vietnam and Thailand), whereas a regional tie is between nations within a specified region (eg: ASEAN or APEC).

Both bilateral and regional can cover similar agreements (defence, trade, tech transfer etc...). Both forms of relationships can be broken easily.

The biggest disadvantage of a regional tie is that there are more nations involved, hence more chances for disagreement over issues.

Answer 2

Bilateral ties are better because the countries are binded by the treaty until regional ties when the members have conflicting stance on many issues.