Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an organisation formed by the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore in 1967 to promote economic growth, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
ASEAN History:
ASEAN was established on 8th August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration (ASEAN Declaration) by the founding fathers of the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. The preceding organisation was the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) comprising of Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
5 other nations joined the ASEAN in subsequent years making the current membership to 10 countries.
Institution Mechanism:
Chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
ASEAN Summit: The supreme policy making body of ASEAN. As the highest level of authority in ASEAN, the Summit sets the direction for ASEAN policies and objectives. Under the Charter, the Summit meets twice a year.
ASEAN Ministerial Councils: The Charter established four important new Ministerial bodies to support the Summit.
- ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC).
- ASEAN Political-Security Community Council.
- ASEAN Economic Community Council.
- ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council.
ASEAN Members
Founding member: Thailand ,The Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,
Brunei (joined in 1984), Vietnam (joined in 1995), Lao PDR (joined in 1997), Myanmar (joined in 1997), Cambodia (joined in 1999)
There are two observer States namely, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste (East Timor).
Significance of the grouping
- 3rd largest market in the world – larger than EU and North American markets.
- 6th largest economy in the world, 3rd in Asia.
- Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
- Fourth most popular investment destination globally
Objectives:
- To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations.
- To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.
- To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields.
- To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, the improvement of transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of peoples.
- To promote Southeast Asian studies.
- To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations.
Challenges
- Regional imbalances in the economic and social status of its individual markets.
- Gap between rich and poor ASEAN member states remains very large and they have a mixed record on income inequality.
- While Singapore boasts the highest GDP per capita—nearly $53,000 (2016), Cambodia’s per capita GDP is the lowest at less than $1,300.
- Many regional initiatives were not able to be incorporated into national plans, as the less developed countries faced resource constraints to implement the regional commitments.
- The members’ political systems are equally mixed with democracies, communist, and authoritarian states.
- While the South China Sea is the main issue exposing the organization’s rifts.
- ASEAN has been divided over major issues of human rights. For example, crackdowns in Myanmar against the Rohingyas.
- Inability to negotiate a unified approach with regards to China, particularly in response to its widespread maritime claims in the South China Sea.
- The emphasis on consensus sometimes becomes the a chief drawback – difficult problems have been avoided rather than confronted.
- There is no central mechanism to enforce compliance.
- Inefficient dispute-settlement mechanism, whether it be in the economic or political spheres.
ASEAN-led Forums
- ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF): The 27 member multilateral grouping was developed in 1993 to facilitate cooperation on political and security issues to contribute to regional confidence-building and preventive diplomacy.
- ASEAN Plus Three: The consultative group initiated in 1997 brings together ASEAN’s ten members, China, Japan, and South Korea.
- East Asia Summit (EAS): First held in 2005, the summit seeks to promote security and prosperity in the region and is usually attended by the heads of state from ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. ASEAN plays a central role as the agenda-setter.
