(Redirected from ASEAN)
The 'Association of Southeast Asian Nations',
[1] commonly referred to as 'ASEAN', pronounced // ("AH-SEE-AHN") in English, is a geo-
political and
economic organization of 10
countries located in
Southeast Asia, which was formed on
August 8,
1967 by
Indonesia,
Malaysia, the
Philippines,
Singapore and
Thailand[2]. Its aims include the acceleration of
economic growth,
social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace.
[3]
In 2005, the bloc had a combined
GDP (Nominal/
PPP) of about
USD$884 billion
[Selected key basic ASEAN indicators]/$2.755 trillion
growing at an average rate of around 4% per annum.
[5] Nominal GDP had grown to $1,066.4 billion in 2006.
[6]
Membership
██ ASEAN full members
██ ASEAN observers
██ ASEAN candidate members
██ ASEAN Plus Three
███ East Asia Summit
██████ ASEAN Regional Forum
ASEAN was founded by five
states, mostly from
maritime Southeast Asia: the
Philippines,
Indonesia,
Malaysia,
Singapore, and
Thailand. The British
protectorate of
Brunei joined six days after the country became independent from the
United Kingdom on
January 8,
1984. The
mainland states of Vietnam,
Laos, and
Myanmar were later admitted.
Vietnam joined on
July 28,
1995, while
Laos and
Myanmar were admitted on
July 23,
1997.
[ ASEAN Enlargement: impacts and implications, Carolyn L. Gates, Mya Than, , , Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001, ISBN 9812300813 ] Cambodia became the newest member when it was admitted on
April 30,
1999.
The
Melanesian state of
Papua New Guinea has had observer status since 1976.
[7] In
July 23,
2006,
José Ramos Horta, the then
Prime Minister of East Timor, signed a formal request for membership and expected the accession process to last at least five years before the then-observer state became a full member.
[8][9]
History
ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the
Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), an
alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand that was formed in 1961.
The bloc itself, however, was established on
August 8,
1967, when
foreign ministers of five countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in
Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration, more commonly known as the
Bangkok Declaration. The five foreign ministers—
Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines,
Abdul Razak of Malaysia,
S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand—are considered as the organization's Founding Fathers.
[10]
In the
1970s, the organization embarked on a program of economic cooperation, following the
Bali Summit of 1976. This floundered in the mid-
1980s and was only revived around 1991 due to a Thai proposal for a
regional free trade area. The bloc then grew when
Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member after it joined on
January 8,
1984, barely a week after the country became independent on
January 1.
[11]
During the
1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership as well as in the drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an
East Asia Economic Caucus[East Asia Economic Caucus. ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 14, 2007.] composing the then-members of ASEAN as well as the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing influence of the
United States in the
APEC as well as in the
Asian region as a whole.
This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States.
[Whither East Asia? Asian Views. Retrieved March 14, 2007.][13]
Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration. In 1992, the
Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing
tarrifs and as a goal to increase the ''region’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market''. This law would act as the framework for the
ASEAN Free Trade Area.
Satellite image of the 2006 Southeast Asian haze over
Borneo.
On
July 28,
1995, Vietnam became the seventh member, Laos and Myanmar joined two years later in
July 23,
1997. Cambodia was to have joined together with Laos and Myanmar, but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. The country later joined on
April 30,
1999, following the stabilization of its government. This allowed the bloc to include all countries within Southeast Asia.
[14]
At the turn of the
21st century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental prospective. The organization started to discuss
environmental agreements. These included the signing of the
ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as an attempt to control
haze pollution in Southeast Asia.
[15] Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful due to the outbreaks of the
2005 Malaysian haze and the
2006 Southeast Asian haze. Other environmental treaties introduced by the organization include the
Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security[16], the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network
[17] in 2005, and the
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both of which are responses to
Global Warming and the negative effects of
climate change.
Through the Bali Concord 11 in
2003, ASEAN has subscribed to the notion of
democratic peace, which means all member countries believe democratic processes will promote regional peace and stability. Also the non-democratic members all agreed that it was something all member states should aspire to.
[18]
The leaders of each country, particularly
Mahatir Mohammad of Malaysia, also felt the need to further integrate the region. Beginning in 1997, the bloc began creating organizations within its framework with the intention of achieving this goal.
ASEAN Plus Three was the first of these and was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea. This was followed by the even larger
East Asia Summit, which included these countries as well as
India, Australia, and
New Zealand. This new grouping acted as a prerequisite for the planned
East Asia Community, which was supposedly patterned after the now-defunct
European Community. The
ASEAN Eminent Persons Group was created to study the possible successes and failures of this policy as well as the possibility of drafting an
ASEAN Charter.
In 2006, ASEAN was given
observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.
[19] As a response, the organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the
United Nations.
[20]
In 2007, ASEAN has celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States
[21].
On
August 26 2007, ASEAN has also stated that it aims to complete all its
free trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand by
2013, in line with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by
2015.
[22][23]
The ASEAN Way
Demographics of the ASEAN Members
ASEAN was designed to be first and foremost an association of states actively engaged in
nation building, as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore had become sovereign independent nations only after the end of the
World War II. Since nation building was often messy and vulnerable to foreign intervention, the governing
elite wanted to have free hands to conduct their policies in the knowledge that neighbours would refrain from interfering in their domestic affairs. In addition, smallest members such as Singapore, Brunei are consciously fearful of force and coercive measures from much bigger neighbours like Indonesia and Malaysia. In other words, ASEAN was established to ensure
sovereignty remained firmly located at the national level.
As a result, non-interference became the cardinal principle of the organisation. Members were committed to the norm of non-use of force and non-confrontation, and they often shared a reluctance to institutionalise and legalise regional cooperation. They were in favour of informal and under-institutionalised forms of regional cooperation instead. In fact, the ASEAN process has been managed through consultations and
consensus among top leaders.
All of these features, namely non-interefence, informality, minimal institutionalisation, consultation and
consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation have constituted what is called the ASEAN Way.
Meetings
ASEAN Summit
The organization holds meetings, known as the
ASEAN Summit, where
heads of government of each member meet to discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other meetings with other countries outside of the bloc with the intention of promoting external relations.
The ASEAN Leaders' Formal Summit was first held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976. Its third meeting was held in
Manila in 1987 and during this meeting, it was decided that the leaders would meet every five years.
[24] Consequently, the fourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders again agreed to meet more frequently, deciding to hold the summit every three years.
In 2001, it was decided to meet annually to address urgent issues affecting the region. Member nations were assigned to be the summit host in alphabetical order except in the case of Myanmar which dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United States and the
European Union.
[25]
The formal summit meets for three days. The usual itinerary is as follows:
★ Leaders of member states would hold an internal organization meeting.
★ Leaders of member states would hold a conference together with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
★ A meeting, known as ASEAN Plus Three, is set for leaders of three Dialogue Partners (People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea)
★ A separate meeting, known as ASEAN-CER, is set for another set of leaders of two Dialogue Partners (Australia, New Zealand).
| ASEAN Formal Summits |
|---|
| Date | Country | Host | | 1st | February 23-24, 1976 | | Bali |
2nd | August 4-5, 1977 | | Kuala Lumpur | 3rd | December 14-15, 1987 | | Manila | 4th | January 27-29, 1992 | | Singapore | 5th | December 14-15, 1995 | | Bangkok | 6th | December 15-16, 1998 | | Hanoi | 7th | November 5-6, 2001 | | Bandar Seri Begawan | 8th | November 4-5, 2002 | | Phnom Penh | 9th | October 7-8, 2003 | | Bali | 10th | November 29-30, 2004 | | Vientiane | 11th | December 12-14, 2005 | | Kuala Lumpur | 12th | January 11-14, 20071 | | Cebu | ''13th'' | November 13-21, 2007 | '' | ''Singapore'' | ''14th'' | ''2008'' | '' | | ''15th'' | ''2009'' | '' | | | 1 Postponed from December 10-14, 2006 due to Typhoon Seniang. |
During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:
East Asia Summit
Participants of the East Asia Summit:
The
East Asia Summit (EAS) is a pan-Asian forum held annually by the leaders of 16 countries in East Asia and the region, with ASEAN in a leadership position.
Russia has applied for membership and as of 2005, attends on observer status. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on
December 14,
2005 and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.
ASEAN Regional Forum
ASEAN Regional Forum:
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is an informal multilateral dialogue in Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it is consisted of 27 participants. ARF objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.
[26] The ARF met for the first time in
1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: all ASEAN members,
Australia,
Bangladesh,
Canada, the
People's Republic of China, the
European Union,
India,
Japan,
North Korea,
South Korea,
Mongolia,
New Zealand,
Pakistan,
Papua New Guinea,
Russia,
Timor-Leste,
United States and
Sri Lanka.
Other meetings
Aside from the ones above, other regular
[ASEAN Calendar of Meetings and Events November 2006, ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 13, 2007.] meetings are also held.
[27] These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
[ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 13, 2007.] as well as other smaller committees, such as the
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.
[28] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as
defense or the
environment,
and are attended by
Ministers, instead of heads of government.
ASEAN Plus Three
The
ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, and is primarily held during each ASEAN Summit.
Asia-Europe Meeting
The
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996, bringing together the European Union and the ASEAN Plus Three groupings.
[30]
ASEAN-Russia Summit
The ASEAN-Russia Summit is a meeting between leaders member states and the
President of Russia.
Relations with United States
In recent years, the U.S. has not prioritized strong relations with ASEAN. In 2007, the U.S. upset the ten ASEAN leaders by calling off plans to attend the US-ASEAN summit planned for September 2007, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN and U.S.-ASEAN relations. Also, the
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) brings together 26 key regional leaders to discuss economic and trade issue. Since 2005, for the first time in the history of the ARF, the U.S. secretary of state has not personally attended, sending only a deputy. This has been interpreted as a contemptful U.S. attitude.
[31]
Seen in the context of the shut out of the U.S. from the newly emerging
East Asia Summit, whose member countries span much of the Asian continent and which did welcome Australia and New Zealand but not the U.S., and given the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization's lack of co-operation with the U.S., some have seen a declining role or an invisibiliy of the U.S. in key Asia institutions.
[31]
ASEAN Free Trade Area
The
ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on
January 28,
1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The latecomers have not fully met the AFTA's obligations, but they are officially considered part of the AFTA as they were required to sign the agreement upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.
Open Sky
The ASEAN Open Sky policy aims to liberalise air travel between member cities. The agreement was proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers during the a meeting in Myanmar in October
2003.
The agreement will be implemented beginning
January 1,
2009, with the air routes between capital cities of member countries to be liberalised within that year. This would then expand to cover other cities by 2015.
Singapore and Malaysia are in separate talks to open the Singapore/
Kuala Lumpur route before
2009.
Cultural activities
Logo of the S.E.A. Write Award
The organization hosts cultural activities in an attempt to further integrate the region. These include sports and educational activities as well as writing awards. Examples of these include the
ASEAN University Network and the Singapore-sponsored
ASEAN Scholarship.
S.E.A. Write Award
The
S.E.A. Write Award is a
literary award given to Southeast Asian poets and writers annually since 1979. The award is either given for a specific work or as a recognition of an author's lifetime achievement. Works that are honored vary and have included
poetry,
short stories,
novels,
plays,
folklore as well as
scholarly and
religious works. Ceremonies are held in Bangkok and is presided by a member of the
Thai royal family.
ASAIHL
ASAIHL or the
Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning is a non-governmental organization founded in 1956 that strives to strengthen higher learning institutions, espescially in
teaching,
research, and
public service, with the intention of cultivating a sense of regional identity and interdependence.
ASEAN Heritage Parks
ASEAN Heritage Parks
[33] is a list of
nature parks launched 1984 and relaunched in 2004. It aims to protect the region's natural treasures. There are now 35 such protected areas, including th
Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the
Kinabalu National Park.
[34].
List
ASEAN Scholarship
The
ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship program offered by
Singapore to the 9 other
ASEAN member states for secondary school, junior college, and university education. It covers accommodation, food, medical benefits & accident insurance, school fees, and examination fees.
[35].
ASEAN University Network
The
ASEAN University Network (AUN) is a consortia of
Southeast Asian universities. It was originally founded in
November 1995 by 13 universities within the
ASEAN member states. The membership of the consortia is currently 17 due to the enlargement of ASEAN in
1997 and
1999.
Sports
Southeast Asian Games
Flag of the Southeast Asian Games Federation
The
Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games is under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the
Olympic Council of Asia.
ASEAN Football Championship
The
ASEAN Football Championship is a biennial international football competition organised by the
ASEAN Football Federation, accredited by
FIFA and contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia nations. It was inaugurated in
1996 as Tiger Cup, but after
Asia Pacific Breweries terminated the sponsorship deal, "Tiger" was renamed "ASEAN".
ASEAN ParaGames
Logo of the ASEAN Para Games
The
ASEAN ParaGames is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. The games are participated by the 11 countries located in Southeast Asia. The games, patterned after the
Paralympics, includes
mobility disabilities,
amputees,
visual disabilities, and those with
cerebral palsy.
Criticisms
Western countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar.
[36] This has caused concern as the European Union, a potential trade partner, has refused to conduct free trade negotiations at a regional level for these political reasons.
[37] International observers view it as a "talk shop",
[38] which implies that the organization is "big on words but small on action".
[39]
During the 12th ASEAN Summit in
Cebu, several militant groups staged
anti-globalization and
anti-Arroyo rallies.
[40] According to the militants, the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and would cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs.
[ ASEAN protests in Cebu will also underscore massive opposition to Charter Change ] They also viewed the organization as "imperialistic" that threatens the country's sovereignty.
A
human rights lawyer from
New Zealand was also present to protest about the human rights situation in the region in general.
[41]
Comparison
See also
★
ASEAN Common Time
★
ASEAN kechil
★
Asian Currency Unit
★
SEATO
Notes
1. Overview
2. . Wikisource. Retrieved March 14, 2007
3. Overview, ASEAN Secretariat official website. Retrieved June 12, 2006
4. Rank Order - GDP (purchasing power parity)
5. Rank Order - GDP - real growth rate
6. IMF statistics April 2007, &pr1.x=31&pr1.y=13
7. ASEAN secretariat
8. East Timor ASEAN bid
9. East Timor Needs Five Years to Join ASEAN: PM
10. The Asia-Pacific Profile, Bernard Eccleston, Michael Dawson, Deborah J. McNamara, , , Routledge (UK), 1998, ISBN 0415172799
11. Background Note:Brunei Darussalam/Profile:/Foreign Relations
12. Asia's Reaction to NAFTA Nancy J. Hamilton. CRS - Congressional Research Service. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
13. Japan Straddles Fence on Issue of East Asia Caucus International Herald tribune. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
14. The Economics of the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative, Seiji F Naya, Michael G. Plummer, , , Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005, ISBN 9812303359
15. ASEAN Secretariat. ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Extracted October 12 2006
16. East Asian leaders to promote biofuel, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007.
17. ASEAN Statement on Launching of the ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN)
18. Asean: Changing, but only slowly
19. RP resolution for observer status in UN assembly OK’d, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007.
20. Philippines to Represent Asean in Un Meetings in Ny, Geneva
21. US and ASEAN seeking to enhance relationship: Dr Balaji Pearl Forss
22. ASEAN to complete free trade agreements by 2013
23. ASEAN confident of concluding FTAs with partners by 2013 Christine Ong
24. ASEAN Structure, ''ASEAN Primer''
25. Roadmap to an Asean Economic Community, Denis Hew, , , Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005, ISBN 9812303472
26. About Us, ASEAN Regional Forum official website. Retrieved June 12, 2006
27. BBC country profile/Asean leaders, BBC. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
28. [1], ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
29. Malaysians have had enough of haze woes, The Malaysian Bar. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
30. Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM, Lay Hwee Yeo, , , Routledge (UK), 2003, ISBN 0415306973
31. Asia Times, August 3, 2007, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IH03Ae03.html
32. Asia Times, August 3, 2007, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IH03Ae03.html
33. [2] ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
34. ASEAN's Greatest Parks, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
35. ASEAN Scholarships, Government of Singapore. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
36. ADB president calls for building Asian economic integration
37. Burma an Issue in Asean-EU Trade Talks Sai Silp
38. Malaysian foreign minister says ASEAN is no 'talk shop'
39. BBC Country/Internatonal Organization Profile: Association of South-East Asian Nations
40. About 100 militants stage protest vs Asean Summit in Cebu
41. NZ rights lawyer to join protests at ASEAN summit
External links
Organization
★
ASEAN Secratariat Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
ASEAN Focus Group Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
ASEAN Foundation Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
ASEAN Regional Forum Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
ASEAN Secretariat Related Sites Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
Official Guidebook on ASEAN Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
ASEAN News Network (headline news links) Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
ASEAN-Japan Centre Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
BBC Country Profile/Asean Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
Summits
★
11th ASEAN Summit December 12-14, 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia official site. Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
11th ASEAN Summit December 12–14, 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
12th ASEAN Summit Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
Cebu Summit unofficial website/ASEAN Quick Guide and General Info Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
★
The Council on East Asian Community Retrieved on
March 13,
2007.
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