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{{Infobox Geopolitical organization|name = Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN)|linking_name = the Association of Southeast Asian Nations|image_flag = Flag of ASEAN.svg|text_symbol_type =
Hymn|admin_center_type = |admin_center = [Jakarta, Indonesia ]|leader_name1 =
Ong Keng Yong ]|established_date1 =
August 8 1967 1.6%|footnote3 = [ISO 4217 codes bracketed:Brunei dollar (BND) • Indonesian rupiah (IDR) • Cambodian riel (KHR) •
Lao kip (LAK) • Myanma kyat (MMK) • Malaysian ringgit (MYR) • Philippine peso (PHP) • Singapore dollar (SGD) • Thai baht (THB) • Vietnamese đồng (VND)-->
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Overview 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 s:Bangkok Declaration. Wikisource. Retrieved March 14,
2007. Its aims include the acceleration of
economic growth,
social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace. Overview, ASEAN Secretariat official website. Retrieved
June 12,
2006In 2005, the bloc had a combined GDP (Nominal/Purchasing Power Parity) of about United States Dollar$884 billion Selected key basic ASEAN indicators/$2.755 trillion growing at an average rate of around 4% per annum.Nominal GDP had grown to $1,066.4 billion in 2006. IMF statistics April 2007,
History
]ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the
Association of Southeast Asia, 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.
In
1976, the
Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer status. ASEAN secretariat. Throughout 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.
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 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as well as in the Asian region as a whole. Asia's Reaction to NAFTA Nancy J. Hamilton. CRS - Congressional Research Service. Retrieved March 14,
2007. This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States. Whither East Asia? Asian Views. Retrieved
March 14,
2007. Japan Straddles Fence on Issue of East Asia Caucus International Herald tribune. Retrieved
March 14,
2007.
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.
.
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.
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.ASEAN Secretariat. ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Extracted
October 12 2006 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 East Asian leaders to promote biofuel, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007., the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005 ASEAN Statement on Launching of the ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), 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.
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
United Nations General Assembly observers. RP resolution for observer status in UN assembly OK’d, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007. As a response, the organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the
United Nations. Furthermore, in
July 23 that year, José Ramos Horta, 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.
In 2007, ASEAN has celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.
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.
The ASEAN Way
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 head 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. ASEAN Structure,
ASEAN Primer 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.
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).
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"! colspan="4" style="font-size:105%;" | ASEAN Formal Summits! width="30px" | !! width="140px" | Date !! width="140px" | Country !! width="140px" | Host|-| 1st || align="right" |
February 23–February 24, 1976 ]| 2nd || align="right" |
August 4–
August 5,
1977 ]| 3rd || align="right" | December 14–December 15,
1987 ]| 4th || align="right" | January 27–
January 29,
1992 ]| 5th || align="right" |
December 14–December 15, 1995 ]| 6th || align="right" | December 15–
December 16, 1998 ]| 7th || align="right" | November 5–
November 6, 2001 ]| 8th || align="right" | November 4–November 5, 2002 ]| 9th || align="right" |
October 7–
October 8,
2003 ]| 10th || align="right" | November 29–November 30, 2004 ]| 11th || align="right" | December 12–
December 14,
2005 ]| 12th || align="right" | January 11–January 14,
20071 ]| 13th || align="right" |
November 13–
November 21, 2007 || || | 15th || align="right" | [2009 ]–December 14, 2006 due to
2006 Pacific typhoon season#Typhoon Utor (Seniang).|}
During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"!colspan="4" style="font-size:105%;"| ASEAN Informal Summits!width="30px"| !!width="140px"| Date !!width="140px"| Country !!width="140px"| Host|-| 1st || align="right" | November 30,
1996 ]| 2nd || align="right" | December 14-December 16, 1997 ]-
November 28,
1999 ]-November 25,
2000 || || Singapore|}
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 in 2005, was present with an 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
]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. About Us, ASEAN Regional Forum official website. Retrieved June 12,
2006 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. BBC country profile/Asean leaders, BBC. Retrieved
March 13,
2007. 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., ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved
March 16,
2007. Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as International security or the
Natural environment, and are attended by
Minister (government), 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.
ASEAN-Russia Summit
The ASEAN-Russia Summit is a meeting between leaders member states and the
President of the Russian Federation.
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.
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.
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, and 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
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 ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007. 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 the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Kinabalu National Park. ASEAN's Greatest Parks, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13,
2007..
List
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"!colspan="4" style="font-size:105%;"| ASEAN Heritage Sites|-!width="160px"| Site !!width="130px"| Country!width="160px"| Site !!width="130px"| Country|-| Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park || | Ao Phang-nga Marine National Park || |-| Mt. Apo || |
Ba Be National Park ] || | Gunung Leuser National Park ] || | Ha Long Bay ] || | Inlé Lake || |-| Kaeng Krachan National Park ] || |-| Khakaborazi National Park || | Khao Yai National Park ] || | Komodo National Park ] || | Meinmhala Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary || |-|
Surin Island-Similan Islands Marine National Park || | Nam Ha Protected Area || |-| Phong Nha-Ke Bang || | Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park || |-| Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park ] || |-| Taman Negara National Park ] || |-| Tasek Merimbun Wildlife Sanctuary || | Thung Yai-Huay Kha Khaeng National Park || |-| Tubbataha Reef Marine Park ] || |-| Virachey National Park || ||}
ASEAN Scholarship
The ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship program offered by
Singapore to the 9 other
ASEAN members for secondary school, junior college, and university education. It covers accommodation, food, medical benefits & accident insurance, school fees, and examination fees. ASEAN Scholarships,
Government of Singapore. Retrieved June 18,
2007..
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 members. The membership of the consortia is currently 17 due to the enlargement of ASEAN in 1997 and 1999.
Sports
Southeast Asian Games
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
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.
Criticism
Western world countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar. Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on peaceful protesters in Yangon, ASEAN have refused to suspend Myanmar as a member and also rejects proposals for economic sanctions. 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. International observers view it as a "talk shop", which implies that the organization is "big on words but small on action".
During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Metro Cebu, several militant groups staged
anti-globalization and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rallies. 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. 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.
Comparison
See also
Notes
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
- 13th ASEAN Summit Singapore official site. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.
- 12th ASEAN Summit Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
- 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.
- 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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