ASEAN effectiveness Ineffective

1. Haze Problem Due to ASEAN's policy of non-interference, ASEAN has been seen as ineffective in handling regional issues, the problem of annual polluting haze in the region. ASEAN has been trying to address this issue for about a decade, although several written agreements have materialised, the problem still recurs every year. In 2002, the grouping adopted the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution to coordinate efforts to fight the fires. Yet, the main perpetrator, Indonesia has yet to ratify the treaty. In 2002, the grouping adopted the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution to coordinate efforts to fight the fires. Yet, the main perpetrator, Indonesia has yet to ratify the treaty. ASEAN also boasts a Regional Haze Action Plan and a Panel of ASEAN Experts on Fire and Haze Assessment and Coordination. Forest fires recur every year and the smoke continues to afflict Indonesias neighbours. In Oct 2010, haze enveloped Malaysia such that a school in Muar, southern Johor had to been closed and about 5,000 masks were distributed after air quality hit hazardous levels. In 2010, haze due to Indonesias forest fires hit unhealthy levels in Singapore, with the local PSI index reading 108. 2. Myanmar problem The policy of non-interference has blunted ASEAN efforts in handling the problem of Myanmar

3. Preah Vihear Issue

The Thailand-Cambodia border dispute resulted in many clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers since 2008, especially the serious fighting in April 2011 with 5 Thai soldiers killed and more than 35 wounded, while 8 Cambodian soldiers were dead, 17 wounded and 1 missing. Cambodia also refused ASEAN intervention, claiming it was an internal issue, thus rendering the situation an impasse.
4. Conflict in South China Sea

territorial conflicts in the South China Sea over the Spratly Islands, as Chinese patrol boats in May allegedly cut the cable of a Vietnamese oil and gas survey ship; a similar incident occurred two weeks earlier when a Chinese fishing boat rammed another Petrol Vietnam vessel. The Philippine government has accused the Chinese of repeated recent confrontations with Filipino ships and fishermen...(which) follows on the heels of a confrontation in early March between Chinese patrol boats and a Filipino energy survey team Vietnam calling for "military exercises and an announcement of which of it's citizens would be exempt from military service if an armed conflict were to occur." The Philippines also responded by "dispatching military aircraft to the site of conflict.

in 1974, the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam, an engagement that included the use of amphibious forces, jets, and ship-on-ship battles and also in 1988, China and Vietnam fought a pitched battle near the Spratly reefs, resulting in the deaths of more than 70 Vietnamese soldiers. other islands in the South China Sea have also been disputed such as the Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal between China and the Philippines. There were also many military clashes between China, Vietnam and the Philippines over the Spratly Islands since the 1970s, such as the spate between Chinese and Vietnamese navies at Johnson Reef in 1988, a gun battle between Chinese vessels and a Philippine navy gunboat near Capone in 1996, and Vietnamese troops firing on a Philippine reconnaissance air force plane in the Spratlys in 1999. Effectiveness 1. ASEAN was to settle regional disputes and calm rising tensions between the countries over problems - Konfrontasi, and the Malaysia-Philippines disagreement over Sabah. 2. handle disputes over islands in the South China Sea, "The ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed at the ASEAN summit in 2002 has helped reduce tensions in the area, and the reemergence of tensions in the South China Sea since then will probably be addressed through the ASEAN-China dialogue process and the ASEAN Regional Forum. This is supported by the fact that China committed to trilateral joint seismic surveys with Vietnam and the Philippines in 2005, and Chinas Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin also said that the future of the South China Sea is a predictable, manageable and optimistic one 3. ASEAN is also able to promote regional peace and stability to its member countries through passive and subtle intervention, such as by strengthening the human rights mechanism in the ASEAN Charter and spreading the virtues of democracy to recalcitrant countries like Myanmar. This will help to gradually improve the situation in Myanmar and bring about peace and stability there, as is already evident in the military juntas step back from the ASEAN chairmanship in 2005, and also the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2010.