ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASEAN
[show]

Flag

Motto: "One Vision, One Identity, One Community"

"10 countries, 1 identity"

Anthem: "The ASEAN Way"

Seat of Secretariat  Jakarta

Largest city  Jakarta

Working language English[show]

Demonym Southeast Asian

Member states 10[show]

 Government Regional organisation

 -  ASEAN Summit Presidency  Indonesia [1]

 -  Secretary General  Surin Pitsuwan

Formation

 -  Bangkok Declaration 8 August 1967 

 -  Charter 16 December 2008 

Area

4,479,210.5 km2
 -  Total  
2,778,124.7 sq mi 

Population

 -  2010 estimate 601 million 

 -  Density 135/km2 

216/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate

 -  Total US$ 3.084 trillion [2] 

 -  Per capita US$ 5,131 

GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate

 -  Total US$ 1,800 billion 

 -  Per capita $2,995 

HDI (2007) 0.742 (medium) (100th¹)

Currency 10[show]

Time zone ASEAN(UTC+9 to +6:30)

 Internet TLD 10[show]

Website
asean.org

Calling code 10[show]

1
If considered as a single entity.

2
Selected key basic ASEAN indicators

3
Annual growth 1.6%

Wikisource has original text

related to this article:

Bangkok Declaration

The Secretariat of ASEAN at Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.70A, South Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,[3] commonly abbreviated ASEAN (generally

pronounced /ˈɑːsi.ɑːn/ AH-see-ahn,[4] occasionally /ˈɑːzi.ɑːn/AH-zee-ahn[5] in English, the official language of the
bloc),[6] is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was
formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.[7] Since then,
membership has expanded to includeBrunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims
include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members,
the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities for member countries to
discuss differences peacefully.[8]

ASEAN spans over an area of 4.46 million km2, 3% of the total land area of Earth, with a population of
approximately 600 million people, 8.8% of the world population. In 2010, its combined nominal GDP had
grown to USD $1.8 trillion.[9] If ASEAN were a single country, it would rank as the 9th largest economy in
the world and the 3rd largest in Asia in terms of nominal GDP.

History

See also:  List of ASEAN member states

ASEAN was preceded by an organisation called the Association of Southeast Asia, commonly

called ASA, an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand that was formed in 1961. The
bloc itself, however, was established on 8 August 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 Ramos of the Philippines,Abdul
Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand– are considered as the
organisation's Founding Fathers.[10]

The motivations for the birth of ASEAN were so that its members’ governing elite could concentrate
on nation building, the common fear of communism, reduced faith in or mistrust of external powers in the
1960s, as well as a desire for economic development; not to mention Indonesia’s ambition to become a
regional hegemon through regional cooperation and the hope on the part of Malaysia and Singapore to
constrain Indonesia and bring it into a more cooperative framework.

In 1976, the Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer status.[11] Throughout the

1970s, the organisation 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 8 January 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on 1 January. [12]

[edit]Continued expansion
On 28 July 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member.[13] Laos and Burma (Myanmar) joined two years
later in 23 July 1997.[14] 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 30 April 1999, following the
stabilisation of its government.[14][15]

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[16] 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 (APEC) as well as in the Asian region as a whole.[17][18] This proposal failed, however, because
of heavy opposition from the United States and Japan.[17][19] Despite this failure, member states continued to
work for further integration and ASEAN Plus Three was created in 1997.
In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing
tariffs and as a goal to increase theregion’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. After the East Asian
Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was established in Chiang Mai, known as
the Chiang Mai Initiative, which calls for better integration between the economies of ASEAN as well as
the ASEAN Plus Three countries (China, Japan, and South Korea).[20]

Aside from improving each member state's economies, the bloc also focused on peace and stability in the
region. On 15 December 1995, the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty was signed with
the intention of turning Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. The treaty took effect on 28
March 1997 after all but one of the member states have ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June
2001, after the Philippines ratified it, effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region. [21]

Satellite image of the 2006 haze overBorneo

[edit]Environment and democracy

At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental perspective. The
organisation 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.[22]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 organisation include the Cebu
Declaration on East Asian Energy Security,[23] the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) in
2005,[24] and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both of which are responses
to the potential effects of climate change. Climate change is of current interest.

Through the Bali Concord II 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. [25]

The leaders of each country, particularly Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, also felt the need to further
integrate the region. Beginning in 1997, the bloc began creating organisations 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.[26] As a response, the
organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.[27] Furthermore, on 23 July that
year, José Ramos-Horta, then Prime Minister of Timor Leste, 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.[28][29]

In 2007, ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations
with the United States.[30] On 26 August 2007, ASEAN stated that it aims to complete all itsfree 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.[31][32] In November 2007 the ASEAN members
signed the ASEAN Charter, a constitution governing relations among the ASEAN members and
establishing ASEAN itself as an international legal entity. [citation needed] During the same year, the Cebu
Declaration on East Asian Energy Security was signed in Cebu on 15 January 2007, by ASEAN and the
other members of the EAS (Australia, People's Republic of China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South
Korea), which promotes energy security by finding energy alternatives to conventional fuels.[citation needed]

On February 27, 2009 a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN regional block of 10 countries and New
Zealand and its close partner Australia was signed, it is estimated that this FTA would boost aggregate
GDP across the 12 countries by more than US$48 billion over the period 2000-2020. [33][34]

[ edit]The ASEAN way

This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

The flags of 10 ASEAN members.

In the 1960s, the push for decolonisation promoted the sovereignty of Indonesia and Malaysia among
others. Since nation building is often messy and vulnerable to foreign intervention, the governing elite
wanted to be free to implement independent policies with the knowledge that neighbours would refrain from
interfering in their domestic affairs. Territorially small members such as Singapore and Brunei were
consciously fearful of force and coercive measures from much bigger neighbours like Indonesia and
Malaysia. "Through political dialogue and confidence building, no tension has escalated into armed
confrontation among ASEAN member countries since its establishment more than three decades ago". [35]

The ASEAN way can be traced back to the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast
Asia. "Fundamental principles adopted from this included:

 mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial

integrity, and national identity of all nations;

 the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external
interference, subversion or coercion;

 non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

 settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;

 renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

 effective cooperation among themselves".[36]

On the surface, the process of consultations and consensus is supposed to be a democratic approach to
decision making, but the ASEAN process has been managed through close interpersonal contacts among
the top leaders only, who often share a reluctance to institutionalise and legalise co-operation which can
undermine their regime's control over the conduct of regional co-operation. Thus, the organisation is
chaired by the secretariat.[37]

All of these features, namely non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalisation, consultation and
consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation have constituted what is called the ASEAN Way.

Since the late 1990s, many scholars have argued that the principle of non-interference has blunted ASEAN
efforts in handling the problem of Myanmar, human rights abuses and haze pollution in the region.
Meanwhile, with the consensus-based approach, every member in fact has a veto and decisions are
usually reduced to the lowest common denominator. There has been a widespread belief that ASEAN
members should have a less rigid view on these two cardinal principles when they wish to be seen as a
cohesive and relevant community.

[edit]Policies

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Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Apart from consultations and consensus, ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decision-making processes can be
usefully understood in terms of the so-called Track I and Track II. Track I refers to the practice of diplomacy
among government channels. The participants stand as representatives of their respective states and
reflect the official positions of their governments during negotiations and discussions. All official decisions
are made in Track I. Therefore, "Track I refers to intergovernmental processes". [38] Track II differs slightly
from Track I, involving civil society groups and other individuals with various links who work alongside
governments.[39] This track enables governments to discuss controversial issues and test new ideas without
making official statements or binding commitments, and, if necessary, backtrack on positions.

Although Track II dialogues are sometimes cited as examples of the involvement of civil society in regional
decision-making process by governments and other second track actors, NGOs have rarely got access to
this track, meanwhile participants from the academic community are a dozen think-tanks. However, these
think-tanks are, in most cases, very much linked to their respective governments, and dependent on
government funding for their academic and policy-relevant activities, and many working in Track II have
previous bureaucratic experience.[38] Their recommendations, especially in economic integration, are often
closer to ASEAN’s decisions than the rest of civil society’s positions.

The track that acts as a forum for civil society in Southeast Asia is called Track III. Track III participants are
generally civil society groups who represent a particular idea or brand. [40] Track III networksclaim to
represent communities and people who are largely marginalised from political power centres and unable to
achieve positive change without outside assistance. This track tries to influence government policies
indirectly by lobbying, generating pressure through the media. Third-track actors also organise and/or
attend meetings as well as conferences to get access to Track I officials.

While Track II meetings and interactions with Track I actors have increased and intensified, rarely has the
rest of civil society had the opportunity to interface with Track II. Those with Track I have been even rarer.

Looking at the three tracks, it is clear that until now, ASEAN has been run by government officials who, as
far as ASEAN matters are concerned, are accountable only to their governments and not the people. In a
lecture on the occasion of ASEAN’s 38th anniversary, the incumbent Indonesian President Dr. Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono admitted:

“All the decisions about treaties and free trade areas, about declarations and plans of action, are made by
Heads of Government, ministers and senior officials. And the fact that among the masses, there is little
knowledge, let alone appreciation, of the large initiatives that ASEAN is taking on their behalf.” [41]

[ edit]Meetings
[edit]ASEAN Summit
The organisation 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.
[42]
 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. [42] 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.[43]

By December 2008, the ASEAN Charter came into force and with it, the ASEAN Summit will be held twice
in a year.

The formal summit meets for three days. The usual itinerary is as follows:

 Leaders of member states would hold an internal organisation 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). [citation needed]

[ edit]Criticism
Non-ASEAN countries have criticised ASEAN for being too soft in its approach to promoting human rights
and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar.[82] Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on peaceful
protesters in Yangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Myanmar as a member and also rejects proposals
for economic sanctions.[83] 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. [84] International
observers view it as a "talk shop",[85] which implies that the organisation is "big on words but small on
action".[86] Head of the International Institute of Strategic Studies – Asia, Tim Huxley cites the diverse
political systems present in the grouping, including many young states, as a barrier to far-reaching
cooperation outside the economic sphere. He also asserts that in the absence of an external threat to rally
against with the end of the Cold War, ASEAN has begun to be less successful at restraining its members
and resolving border disputes such as those between Burma and Thailand and Indonesia and Malaysia.[87]

During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several activist groups staged anti-globalisation and anti-
Arroyo rallies.[88] According to the activists, the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect
industries in the Philippines and would cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs. [89] They also viewed
the organisation as imperialistic that threatens the country's sovereignty. [89] A human rights lawyer
from New Zealand was also present to protest about the human rights situation in the region in general. [90]

ASEAN has been criticized, in the past, of being a mere talking shop.[91] However, leaders such as the
Philippines' Foreign Affairs Secretary, Alberto Romulo, said it would be a workshop not a talk shop.
[92]
 Others have also expressed similar sentiment. [93]