ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN အရှေ့တောင်အာရှနိုင်ငံများအသင်း (Burmese) 东南亚国家联盟 / 東南亞國家聯盟 (Chinese) Perhimpunan Bangsa-bangsa Asia Tenggara (Indonesian) សមាគមន៏ប្រជាជាតិអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ (Khmer) ສະມາຄົມປະຊາຊາດແຫ່ງອາຊີຕະເວັນອອກສຽງໃຕ້ (Lao) Persatuan Negara-negara Asia Tenggara (Malay) Samahan ng mga Bansa sa Timog-Silangang Asya (Tagalog) தென்கிழக்காசிய நாடுகளின் கூட்டமைப்பு (Tamil) สมาคมประชาชาติแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ (Thai) Hiệp hội các quốc gia Đông Nam Á (Vietnamese)
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 English Malay Burmese Chinese (Mandarin) Filipino Indonesian Khmer Lao Tamil Thai Vietnamese
Demonym		Southeast Asian
Member states		10  Brunei  Burma (Myanmar)  Cambodia  Indonesia  Laos  Malaysia  Philippines  Singapore  Thailand  Vietnam
Government		Regional organisation
-	Secretary General	Surin Pitsuwan
-	ASEAN Summit Presidency	Vietnam
Formation
-	Bangkok Declaration	8 August 1967
-	Charter	16 December 2008
Area
-	Total	4,464,322 km2  2,772,344 sq mi
Population
-	2008 estimate	577 million
-	Density	129/km2  208/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	US$ 3,431.2 billion
-	Per capita	US$ 5,962
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	US$ 1,505.7 billion
-	Per capita	$2,609
HDI (2007)		0.742 (medium) (100th¹)
Currency		10 Brunei dollar Cambodian riel Indonesian rupiah Lao kip Malaysian ringgit Myanma kyat Philippine peso Singaporean dollar Thai baht Vietnamese dong
Time zone		ASEAN (UTC+9 to +6:30)
Internet TLD		10 .bn .kh .id .la .my .mm .ph .sg .th .vn
Website http://www.asean.org/
Calling code		10 +673 +855 +62 +856 +60 +95 +63 +65 +66 +84
1	If considered as a single entity.
2	Selected key basic ASEAN indicators
3	Annual growth 1.6%

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,^[1] commonly abbreviated ASEAN (generally pronounced /ˈɑːsi.ɑːn/ AH-see-ahn,^[2] occasionally /ˈɑːzi.ɑːn/ AH-zee-ahn^[3] in English, the official language of the bloc),^[4] 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.^[5] Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, 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.^[6]

ASEAN spans over an area of 4.46 million km² with a population of approximately 580 million people, 8.7% of the world population. In 2009, its combined nominal GDP had grown to more than USD $1.5 trillion.^[7] If ASEAN was a single country, it would rank as the 9th largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP.

History

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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

On 28 July 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member.^[11] Laos and Burma (Myanmar) joined two years later in 23 July 1997.^[12] 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.^[12][13]

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^[14] 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.^[15][16] This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States.^[15][17] 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 tariffs 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. 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).^[18]

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.^[19]

Satellite image of the 2006 haze over Borneo

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.^[20] 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,^[21] the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) in 2005,^[22] 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.^[23]

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.^[24] As a response, the organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.^[25] Furthermore, on 23 July 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.^[26][27]

In 2007, ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.^[28] On 26 August 2007, ASEAN 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.^[29][30] 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. 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.

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.^[31][32]

The ASEAN way

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".^[33]

The ASEAN way can be traced back to the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asian. "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".^[34]

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.^[35]

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.

Policies

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".^[36] Track II differs slightly from Track I, involving civil society groups and other individuals with various links who work alongside governments.^[37] 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.^[36] 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.^[38] Track III networks claim 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.” ^[39]

Meetings

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.^[40] 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.^[40] 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.^[41]

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).

ASEAN Formal Summits
	Date	Country	Host
1st	23–24 February 1976	Indonesia	Bali
2nd	4–5 August 1977	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
3rd	14–15 December 1987	Philippines	Manila
4th	27‒29 January 1992	Singapore	Singapore
5th	14‒15 December 1995	Thailand	Bangkok
6th	15‒16 December 1998	Vietnam	Hanoi
7th	5‒6 November 2001	Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan
8th	4‒5 November 2002	Cambodia	Phnom Penh
9th	7‒8 October 2003	Indonesia	Bali
10th	29‒30 November 2004	Laos	Vientiane
11th	12‒14 December 2005	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
12th	11‒14 January 20071	Philippines2	Cebu
13th	18‒22 November 2007	Singapore	Singapore
14th3	27 February - 1 March 2009 10–11 April 2009	Thailand	Cha Am, Hua Hin Pattaya
15th	23 October 2009	Thailand	Cha Am, Hua Hin
16th	8–9 April 2010	Vietnam	Hanoi
17th	2010	Indonesia4	TBC
1 Postponed from 10‒14 December 2006 due to Typhoon Seniang.
2 hosted the summit because Myanmar backed out due to enormous pressure from US and EU
3 This summit consisted of two parts. The first part was moved from 12‒17 December 2008 due to the 2008 Thai political crisis. The second part was aborted on April 11 due to protesters entering the summit venue.
4  Indonesia proposed a swap with  Brunei as it will play host APEC (and possibly the G20 meeting) in 2013.

During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:^[40]

ASEAN Informal Summits
	Date	Country	Host
1st	30 November 1996	Indonesia	Jakarta
2nd	14‒16 December 1997	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
3rd	27‒28 November 1999	Philippines	Manila
4th	22‒25 November 2000	Singapore	Singapore

East Asia Summit

Participants of the East Asia Summit:      ASEAN      ASEAN Plus Three      Additional members      Observer

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. The summit has discussed issues including trade, energy and security and the summit has a role in regional community building.

The members of the summit are all 10 members of ASEAN together with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand who combined represent almost half of the world's population. Russia has applied for membership of the summit and in 2005 was a guest for the First EAS at the invitation of the host - Malaysia.^[42]

The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2005 and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.

Meeting	Country	Location	Date	Note
First EAS	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	14 December 2005	Russia attended as a guest.
Second EAS	Philippines	Cebu City	15 January 2007	Rescheduled from 13 December 2006. Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security
Third EAS	Singapore	Singapore	21 November 2007	Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment[43] Agreed to establish Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
Fourth EAS	Thailand	Cha-am and Hua Hin	25 October 2009	The date and location of the venue was rescheduled several times, and then a Summit scheduled for 12 April 2009 at Pattaya, Thailand was cancelled when protesters stormed the venue. The Summit has been rescheduled for October 2009 and transferred again from Phuket[44] to Cha-am and Hua Hin.[45]
Fifth EAS	Vietnam	Hanoi	31 October 2010[46]	To be held

Commemorative summit

A commemorative summit is a summit hosted by a non-ASEAN country to mark a milestone anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and the host country. The host country invites the heads of government of ASEAN member countries to discuss future cooperation and partnership.

Meeting	Host	Location	Date	Note
ASEAN – Japan Commemorative Summit	Japan	Tokyo	11, 12 December 2003	To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and Japan. The summit was also notable as the first ASEAN summit held between ASEAN and a non-ASEAN country outside the region.
ASEAN – China Commemorative Summit	China	Nanning	30, 31 October 2006	To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and China
ASEAN – Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit	South Korea	Jeju-do	1, 2 June 2009	To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and Republic of Korea

Regional Forum

█ ASEAN full members
█ ASEAN observers
█ ASEAN candidate members
██ ASEAN Plus Three
███ East Asia Summit
██████ ASEAN Regional Forum

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, 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.^[47] The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: all the 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.^[48] The Republic of China (also known as Taiwan) has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait are neither discussed at the ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman's Statements.

Other meetings

Aside from the ones above, other regular^[49] meetings are also held.^[50] These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting^[51] as well as other smaller committees, such as the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.^[52] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as defence^[49] or the environment,^[49][53] and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.

Another Three...

The ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, 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 with the intention of strengthening cooperation between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially members of the European Union and ASEAN in particular.^[54] ASEAN, represented by its Secretariat, is one of the 45 ASEM partners. It also appoints a representative to sit on the governing board of Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), a socio-cultural organisation associated with the Meeting.

ASEAN-Russia Summit

The ASEAN-Russia Summit is an annual meeting between leaders of member states and the President of Russia.

Economic Community

ASEAN has emphasised regional cooperation in the “three pillars” of security, sociocultural and economic integration.^[55] The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration, aiming to create an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.^[56]

Free Trade Area

The foundation of the AEC is the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a common external preferential tariff scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN.^[56] 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 28 January 1992 in Singapore.^[57] 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.^[58]

Comprehensive Investment Area

The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Area (ACIA) will encourage the free flow of investment within ASEAN. The main principles of the ACIA are as follows^[59]

• All industries are to be opened up for investment, with exclusions to be phased out according to schedules
• National treatment is granted immediately to ASEAN investors with few exclusions
• Elimination of investment impediments
• Streamlining of investment process and procedures
• Enhancing transparency
• Undertaking investment facilitation measures

Full realisation of the ACIA with the removal of temporary exclusion lists in manufacturing agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining is scheduled by 2010 for most ASEAN members and by 2015 for the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam) countries.^[59]

Trade in Services

An ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in December 1995.^[60] Under AFAS, ASEAN Member States enter into successive rounds of negotiations to liberalise trade in services with the aim of submitting increasingly higher levels of commitments. The negotiations result in commitments that are set forth in schedules of specific commitments annexed to the Framework Agreement. These schedules are often referred to as packages of services commitments. At present, ASEAN has concluded seven packages of commitments under AFAS.^[61]

Single Aviation Market

The ASEAN Single Aviation Market (SAM), proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers, will introduce an open-sky arrangement to the region by 2015.^[62] The ASEAN SAM will be expected to fully liberalise air travel between its member states, allowing ASEAN to directly benefit from the growth in air travel around the world, and also freeing up tourism, trade, investment and services flows between member states.^[62][63] Beginning 1 December 2008, restrictions on the third and fourth freedoms of the air between capital cities of member states for air passengers services will be removed,^[64] while from 1 January 2009, there will be full liberalisation of air freight services in the region, while^[62][63] By 1 January 2011, there will be liberalisation of fifth freedom traffic rights between all capital cities.^[65]

Free Trade Agreements With Other Countries

ASEAN has concluded free trade agreements with PR China, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most recently India.^[66] The agreement with People's Republic of China created the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which went into full effect on January 1, 2010. In addition, ASEAN is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union.^[67] Republic of China (Taiwan) has also expressed interest in an agreement with ASEAN but needs to overcome diplomatic objections from China.^[68]

Charter

On 15 December 2008 the members of ASEAN met in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to launch a charter, signed in November 2007, with the aim of moving closer to "an EU-style community".^[69] The charter turns ASEAN into a legal entity and aims to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 500 million people. President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that "This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift," he added, referring to climate change and economic upheaval. Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s." "The fundamental principles include:

a) respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all ASEAN Member States; b) shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity; c) renunciation of aggression and of the threat or use of force or other actions in any manner inconsistent with international law; d) reliance on peaceful settlement of disputes; e) non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States; f) respect for the right of every Member State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion; g) enhanced consultations on matters seriously affecting the common interest of ASEAN; h) adherence to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government; i) respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice; j) upholding the United Nations Charter and international law, including international humanitarian law, subscribed to by ASEAN Member States; k) abstention from participation in any policy or activity, including the use of its territory, pursued by and ASEAN Member State or non-ASEAN State or any non-State actor, which threatens the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political and economic stability of ASEAN Member States; l) respect for the different cultures, languages and religions of the peoples of ASEAN, while emphasising their common values in the spirit of unity in diversity; m) the centrality of ASEAN in external political, economic, social and cultural relations while remaining actively engaged, outward-looking, inclusive and non-discriminatory; and n) adherence to multilateral trade rules and ASEAN's rules-based regimes for effective implementation of economic commitments and progressive reduction towards elimination of all barriers to regional economic integration, in a market-driven economy".^[70]

However, the ongoing global financial crisis was stated as being a threat to the goals envisioned by the charter,^[71] and also set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in February 2009. This proposition caused controversy, as the body would not have the power to impose sanctions or punish countries who violate citizens' rights and would therefore be limited in effectiveness.^[72] The body was established later in 2009 as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

Cultural activities

Logo of the S.E.A. Write Award

The organisation 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, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, the ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award, 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 honoured vary and have included poetry, short stories, novels, plays, folklore as well as scholarly and religious works. Ceremonies are held in Bangkok and are 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 organisation 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.

Heritage Parks

ASEAN Heritage Parks^[73] 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.^[74]

List

ASEAN Heritage Sites
Site	Country	Site	Country
Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park	Myanmar	Ao Phang-nga Marine National Park	Thailand
Apo Natural Park	Philippines	Ba Be National Park	Vietnam
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park	Indonesia	Gunung Leuser National Park	Indonesia
Gunung Mulu National Park	Malaysia	Ha Long Bay	Vietnam
Hoang Lien Sa Pa National Park	Vietnam	Iglit-Baco National Park	Philippines
Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary	Myanmar	Inlé Lake Wildlife Sanctuary	Myanmar
Kaeng Krachan National Park	Thailand	Kerinci Seblat National Park	Indonesia
Khakaborazi National Park	Myanmar	Khao Yai National Park	Thailand
Kinabalu National Park	Malaysia	Komodo National Park	Indonesia
Kon Ka Kinh National Park	Vietnam	Lampi Kyun Wildlife Reserve	Myanmar
Lorentz National Park	Indonesia	Meinmhala Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary	Myanmar
Mu Ko Surin-Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park	Thailand	Nam Ha Protected Area	Laos
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park	Vietnam	Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park	Cambodia
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park	Philippines	Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve	Singapore
Taman Negara National Park	Malaysia	Tarutao Marine National Park	Thailand
Tasek Merimbun Wildlife Sanctuary	Brunei	Thung Yai-Huay Kha Khaeng National Park	Thailand
Tubbataha Reef Marine Park	Philippines	Ujung Kulon National Park	Indonesia
Virachey National Park	Cambodia	Keraton Yogyakarta	Indonesia

Scholarship

The ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship program offered by Singapore to the 9 other member states for secondary school, junior college, and university education. It covers accommodation, food, medical benefits & accident insurance, school fees, and examination fees.^[75]

University Network

The ASEAN University Network (AUN) is a consortium of Southeast Asian universities. It was originally founded in November 1995 by 11 universities within the member states.^[76] Currently AUN comprises 21 Participating Universities.^[77]

Official song

• The ASEAN Way - the official regional anthem of ASEAN, music by Kittikhun Sodprasert and Sampow Triudom  Thailand; Lyrics by Payom Valaiphatchra  Thailand.
• ASEAN Song of Unity or ASEAN Hymn, music by Ryan Cayabyab  Philippines.
• Let us move ahead, an ASEAN song, composed by Candra Darusman  Indonesia.

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 Para Games

Logo of the ASEAN Para Games

The ASEAN Para Games 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 Paralympic Games, are played by physically challenged athletes with mobility disabilities, visual disabilities, who are amputees and those with cerebral palsy.

FESPIC Games/ Asian Para Games

The FESPIC Games, also known as the Far East and South Pacific Games for the persons with disability, was the biggest multi-sports games in Asia and South Pacific region. The FESPIC Games were held nine times and bowed out, a success^[78] in December 2006 in the 9th FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Games re-emerges as the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China. The 2010 Asian Para Games will debut shortly after the conclusion of the 16th Asian Games, using the same facilities and venue made disability-accessible. The inaugural Asian Para Games, the parallel event for athletes with physical disabilities, is a multi-sport event held every four years after every Asian Games.

Football Championship

The ASEAN Football Championship is a biennial 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".

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.^[79] 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.^[80] 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.^[81] International observers view it as a "talk shop",^[82] which implies that the organisation is "big on words but small on action".^[83] 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.^[84]

During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several activist groups staged anti-globalisation and anti-Arroyo rallies.^[85] 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.^[86] They also viewed the organisation as imperialistic that threatens the country's sovereignty.^[86] A human rights lawyer from New Zealand was also present to protest about the human rights situation in the region in general.^[87]

ASEAN has been criticized, in the past, of being a mere talk shop.^[88] However, leaders such as the Philippines' Foreign Affairs Secretary, Alberto Romulo, said it would be a workshop not a talk shop.^[89] Others have also expressed similar sentiment.^[90]

See also

• ASEAN Common Time
• ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)
• ASEAN kecil
• Asian Monetary Unit
• Chiang Mai Initiative
• List of ASEAN countries by GDP (nominal)
• Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
• SEA-EU-NET
• Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
• US-ASEAN Business Council
• Blue card system - motor insurance scheme of ASEAN

Notes

External links

Organization

• ASEAN Secretariat Retrieved on 13 March 2007.
• ASEAN Regional Forum Retrieved on 13 March 2007.
• BBC Country Profile/Asean Retrieved on 13 March 2007.

Summits

• 14th ASEAN Summit
• 13th ASEAN Summit Singapore official site. Retrieved on 16 September 2007.
• 12th ASEAN Summit Retrieved on 13 March 2007.
• 11th ASEAN Summit 12 December-14, 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia official site. Retrieved on 13 March 2007.

ASEAN organisations

• ASEAN official directory of ASEAN organisations
• ASEAN Architect
• ASEAN Law Association
• ASEAN Ports Association
• US-ASEAN Business Council

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