diff --git a/packages/parser/src/resolver.ts b/packages/parser/src/resolver.ts
index c16b02ff3..bed7009da 100644
--- a/packages/parser/src/resolver.ts
+++ b/packages/parser/src/resolver.ts
@@ -14,11 +14,16 @@ export interface Resolver {
 export interface ResolverOptions {
   cache?: boolean;
   resolvers?: Array<Resolver>;
+  resolveExternal?: boolean;
 }
 
 export function createResolver(options: ResolverOptions = {}): SpectralResolver {
+  // Default to true for backward compatibility
+  const resolveExternal = options.resolveExternal !== false;
+  const defaultResolvers = resolveExternal ? createDefaultResolvers() : [];
+  
   const availableResolvers: Array<Resolver> = [
-    ...createDefaultResolvers(),
+    ...defaultResolvers,
     ...(options.resolvers || [])
   ].map(r => ({ 
     ...r,
diff --git a/packages/parser/test/external-ref-disabled.spec.ts b/packages/parser/test/external-ref-disabled.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..79909fcc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/parser/test/external-ref-disabled.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+import { Parser } from '../src/parser';
+
+describe('external reference resolution disabled', function() {
+  it('should not resolve external http references when disabled in constructor', async function() {
+    const parser = new Parser({
+      __unstable: {
+        resolver: {
+          resolveExternal: false
+        }
+      }
+    });
+
+    const documentRaw = {
+      asyncapi: '2.0.0',
+      info: {
+        title: 'Test AsyncApi document',
+        version: '1.0',
+      },
+      channels: {
+        channel: {
+          publish: {
+            operationId: 'publish',
+            message: {
+              $ref: 'https://example.com/nonexistent-schema.json'
+            }
+          },
+        }
+      },
+    };
+
+    // When external resolution is disabled, validation should fail with an error about unresolved reference
+    const diagnostics = await parser.validate(documentRaw);
+    
+    // Should have errors about unresolved references
+    expect(diagnostics.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    const hasRefError = diagnostics.some(d => 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('reference') || 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('resolve') || 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('$ref') ||
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('unable') ||
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('unresolved')
+    );
+    expect(hasRefError).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('should not resolve external https references when disabled in validate method', async function() {
+    const parser = new Parser();
+
+    const documentRaw = {
+      asyncapi: '2.0.0',
+      info: {
+        title: 'Test AsyncApi document',
+        version: '1.0',
+      },
+      channels: {
+        channel: {
+          publish: {
+            operationId: 'publish',
+            message: {
+              $ref: 'https://example.com/schema.json'
+            }
+          },
+        }
+      },
+    };
+
+    const diagnostics = await parser.validate(documentRaw, {
+      __unstable: {
+        resolver: {
+          resolveExternal: false
+        }
+      }
+    });
+    
+    expect(diagnostics.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    const hasRefError = diagnostics.some(d => 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('reference') || 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('resolve') || 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('unable') ||
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('unresolved')
+    );
+    expect(hasRefError).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('should not resolve external file references when disabled', async function() {
+    const parser = new Parser({
+      __unstable: {
+        resolver: {
+          resolveExternal: false
+        }
+      }
+    });
+
+    const documentRaw = {
+      asyncapi: '2.0.0',
+      info: {
+        title: 'Test AsyncApi document',
+        version: '1.0',
+      },
+      channels: {
+        channel: {
+          publish: {
+            operationId: 'publish',
+            message: {
+              $ref: './some-external-file.yaml'
+            }
+          },
+        }
+      },
+    };
+
+    const diagnostics = await parser.validate(documentRaw);
+    expect(diagnostics.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    const hasRefError = diagnostics.some(d => 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('reference') || 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('resolve') || 
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('unable') ||
+      d.message?.toLowerCase().includes('unresolved')
+    );
+    expect(hasRefError).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('should still resolve internal references when external resolution is disabled', async function() {
+    const parser = new Parser({
+      __unstable: {
+        resolver: {
+          resolveExternal: false
+        }
+      }
+    });
+
+    const documentRaw = {
+      asyncapi: '2.0.0',
+      info: {
+        title: 'Test AsyncApi document',
+        version: '1.0',
+      },
+      channels: {
+        channel: {
+          publish: {
+            operationId: 'publish',
+            message: {
+              $ref: '#/components/messages/message'
+            }
+          },
+        }
+      },
+      components: {
+        messages: {
+          message: {
+            payload: {
+              type: 'string'
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    };
+
+    const { document, diagnostics } = await parser.parse(documentRaw);
+    
+    // Document should be parsed successfully
+    expect(document).toBeDefined();
+    expect(document).toBeInstanceOf(Object);
+    
+    // Internal reference should be resolved - the message should not have $ref anymore
+    const refMessage = document?.channels().get('channel')?.operations().get('publish')?.messages()[0];
+    expect(refMessage).toBeDefined();
+    expect(refMessage?.json('$ref' as any)).toBeUndefined();
+    
+    // The message should have been resolved to the component
+    expect(refMessage?.json()).toEqual(document?.components().messages().get('message')?.json());
+  });
+});