ITB-301 (International Business)

Assignment 2 on ASEAN

Submitted to: Mr. Md. Gazi Salah Uddin

Senior Lecturer & Assistant Proctor
EastWest University

Submitted by: Mohammad Shaniaz Islam

(2009-1-10-102) (SEC-5)

MD. Towhidur Rahman

(2009-1-10-152) (SEC-5)

Sushanta Kumar Roy

(2009-1-10-093) (SEC-5)

MD. Rezaul Hassan

(2009-1-10-059) (SEC-5)

MD.Hasibur Rahman
(2008-2-10-114) (SEC-5)

Date: March 13, 2011

ASEAN Fact Sheet

ASEAN : Association of Southeast Asian nations

Head office : Jakarta from 1976
Working language : English
Demonym : Southeast Asian
Member states : 10
Government : Regional organization
Existing President : Avijeet Vejjavija (Thailand)
Founding S. general : Hartono Dharsono
Secretary General : Surin Pitsuwan
Formation : Bangkok Declaration 8 August 1967
Charter : 16 December 2008
Type : Geo-political and economic organization
Initial members : 5 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand)
Current members : 10 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia)
Observing country : Papua Neugini
Very last convention: 25 February- 1 March, 2009 in Thailand
Introduction:
ASEAN is renowned for its miracle economic growth, outstanding political
consensus among member states, more pacific multi lateral relations,
extraordinary intellectual exchange and finally anti-communist stand point. In this
paper we attempted to examine the contributing factors towards the success of
ASEAN. We included economic, social, political, security and some other factors
contributing to the success of ASEAN.

However, after its foundation on 8th August 1967, many incidents had made co-
operation harder in international arena. ASEAN overcome those with patience
without sacrificing its core values. It maintained a constant code of conduct with
the super power USA in the time of Cold War. ASEAN’s security relationship
with the West is unlikely to change as long as the organization is made up of
fundamentally pro-Western governments, hostile toward communism (Buszynski
1987). And of the other hand it got comparatively more congenial policy setting in
favor. ASEAN was indeed a special arena of US policy: a grouping of Third world
states which through its generally pro Western development policy could
distinguish from unstable, radical areas of the Third World where nationalism is
often anti-American in character (Buszynski 1987).

This is one side story. the another side is emerging influence of China in global
economy and poor public orientation in ASEAN regional forum may characterized
as a criticism of its achievements through last four decades. With the changes of
the world politics and economy through several shocking incidents like Afghan
and Iraq war and global economic recession in early 21st century, ASEAN is also
concerned for their position on future. Though the former Secretary General of
ASEAN Ong Keng Young stated, If you are wondering about the future of
ASEAN, worrying about how ASEAN will be hurt by the ongoing war on Iraq ,
let me assure you that the future of ASEAN is still bright (Young: 2003).
Beside the factors of war or economic crisis ASEAN is facing many challenges
from different sides. ASEAN is criticized for its poor record of democracy, human
rights and fundamental freedom, economic reservation, poor human security status
and maintenance of environmental well-being. These are the factors what will play
the key role in determining the future of ASEAN with inevitable action and
reaction of international politics.

Establishment and Development of ASEAN:

One of the most significant events in the history of the Southeast Asia was the
formation of Asian. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was
formed in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration by the five original
member countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and
Thailand. The objective of the formation was twofold.
1. First one is, to promote peace and stability in the region. At that time,
Southeast Asia was divided by ideological conflict and war. Territorial
disputes and racial tensions between neighbors, there was a possibility that
the differences could degenerate into a full blown armed conflict, leading to
a lengthen fragmentation of Southeast Asia.
2. And the second one is, to contain the spread of communism to Southeast
Asian countries. At this time china was openly adopted some policies
towards the Southeast Asia to export communism with the association of
some local rebel groups of Southeast Asia. These were led by the
communist parties in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In this
respect, the origins of ASEAN were similar to those of the European Union
(EU), in that the founding countries initially came together for political and
security reasons, rather than a desire to benefit from economic integration.
The stages of development or brief history:
Through different period ASEAN developed in its way. ASEAN was not first
regional group created to act as a forum for dialogue between leaders of the
various countries. The association of southeast Asia ASA, comprising the
federation of Malay, the Philippines and Thailand, was formed in 1961. However,
the organization became obsolete one year later, after the Sabah dispute between
the federation of Malay and the Philippines. Diplomatic ties between Kualampur
and manila were severed during 1962-66. The confrontation launched by
Indonesia’s late president Sukarno also led to the demise of Malphilonido, which
included Indonesia, the federation of Malay and the Philippines. The concept of
Malphilndo was mooted by former Philippines president Macapagal.

The political stability of Malay was then threatened by the militancy of the
communist. In the federation Malay, the communist carried out insurgent activities
purportedly to free the countries from the British rule. Singapore was also in
danger of being taken over by a communist backed faction of the ruling party. A
series of leftist inspired strikes and a wave of student demonstrations rocked the
Singapore economy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The fear instilled by a
communist control Singapore contributed to the proposition of forming an alliance
comprising Brunei, the federation of Malay, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.
However, an important minority of people was against the alliance. Some
minorities were uneasy over the political dominance of the Malays in the new
federation. In 1962, referendums conducted by the commission of Sabah, Sarawak
and Singapore showed that a majority of people were in favors of joining the new
federation of Malaysia. Brunei, on the other hand, had rejected the idea of joining
the federation, as the country would lose control of its vast oil reserves after
joining the new federation. Thus, in 1963, the federation of Malaysia, which
consisted of only Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and the federation of Malaya, was
formed.
The formation of the federation of Malaysia was not viewed positively by some
surrounding countries. In 1963, President Sukarno ordered the Indonesian
paratroops to instigate a military attack on Malaysia and to initiate acts of sabotage
in Singapore. His intention was to direct attention away from the severe internal
discount arose due to Sukarno’s mismanagement of the economy and the
implementation of guided democracy. However, Sukarno’s pretext was that the
new federation of Malaysia was a neo colonial plot to surround the republic of
Indonesia. The confrontation ceased in 1965, after an abortive coup the subsequent
reaching of an agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia under the new
Indonesians president. The Philippines also refused to recognize the new
federation, because of its dispute with Malaysia over the claim of Sabah.
Shortly after forming the federation of Malaysia, the ruling party in Singapore
began to expand its activities into peninsular Malaysia. The leaders were
aggressively pushing for the concept of a Malaysian Malaysia,. Under this
concept, national interests would precede communal interests. This greatly
alarmed the Malay dominated ruling party in Malaysia (united Malay national
organization, UMNO) and it retaliated with similar activities amongst the Malays
in Singapore. Atmosphere in the two countries was tense and explosion of massive
racial riots seemed imminent. It was under these circumstances that Singapore was
asked to leave the federation of Malaysia in 1965.

All these development led to the formation of ASEAN. Although all the countries
in Southeast Asia were invited to join the organization, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam declined. In 1984, Brunei joined ASEAN as its sixth
member. This was followed by Vietnam in 1995, and Myanmar and Laos in 1997.
Cambodia was not admitted until 1999 because of unresolved internal political
issues. There are ten current members of ASEAN. (Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and
Cambodia)
Observing status:
• In 1976, the Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer
status. 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 8 January 1984, barely a week
after the country became independent on 1 January.(www.wikipedia.com)

Main impetus:
Although, the main impetus for the formation of ASEAN was political in nature,
economic cooperation was also high on the agenda of the organization. The fall of
the Berlin wall in 1980 marked the end of the cold war. This dramatic change in
political environment rendered one of the two major reasons for forming ASEAN
insignificant. ASEAN has since evolved into a more economic oriented
organization. When ASEAN was established in 1967, intra regional trade was a
mere 12% to 15%. In 1997, the amount of intra regional trade increased to 21%.
Example of earlier economic co operation included the ASEAN industrial project
(AIP) scheme and ASEAN industrial complementation (AIC) scheme. Under the
AIP scheme, each member country was allocated an industrial project. Indonesia
and Malaysia were each to have urea plant; phosphate fertilizer was to go to the
Philippines, soda ash to Thailand and diesel engine to Singapore. The ACI scheme
was launch in 1981. The first project under the scheme was the production of the
ASEAN car. However, this earlier project disappointment, prospect for the more
recent projects looks more promising.

ASEAN Formation:
 • 1967 ASEAN was founded. Founding members: Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Thailand,
and Singapore. Important document: Bangkok Declaration.
• 1976 ASEAN Secretariat was established. Spelled program of action to
include political, economic, social, cultural, information, security. Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation (TAC) was signed.
• 1984 Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN
• 1995 Vietnam joined
• 1997 Laos and Myanmar joined
• 1999 Cambodia. All Southeast Asian countries are now ASEAN members

ASEAN Free Trade Area:

• 1992 ASEAN endorsed AFTA. Important document: Framework
Agreement on “Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation”.
• 1994 Agreement to accelerate realization of AFTA from 15 years to 10
years by
• 2003. First ASEAN Regional Forum
• 1995 Accelerated tariff reduction to 2002. Abolition of tariff by 2010 for
first 6
• Members, by 2015 for newer members.
East Asian FTA:
• 1997 First ASEAN +3 Summit in Malaysia, followed by successive
ASEAN+1
Summit. Common theme of summits: cooperation between ASEAN Japan,
• ASEAN-Korea, and ASEAN-China, to become building blocks for regional
cooperation in East Asia
• 1998 Hanoi Summit. Agreement to form East Asia Vision Group (EAVG)
 • 1998-2001 EAVG worked to discuss future cooperation in East Asia.
Submitted recommendation in 2001
• 1999 East Asia Study Group (EASG) was formed to study practical ways
and means to deepen and expand existing cooperation, Assess EAVG
• Recommendation. Prepare Action Plans

Economic Aspect of ASEAN

Representatives of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand
met in the capital Bangkok of Thailand in August in 1967 with a view to establish
a regional body named “Association of South East Asian Nations” to address the
regional problems and challenges. The main purposes of this organization are as
following;
 To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development
in the region

 To promote collaboration and mutual assistance……….. In the economic,

social, cultural, scientific and administrative fields.

 To promote ultimately regional peace and security.

Like other regional arrangement, ASEAN is viewed as a new economic grouping

in Southeast Asia. We can discuss the economic aspect of ASEAN on the basis of;
 Trade

 Industry

 Agriculture and Forestry

 Finance, Banking and Investment

 Mineral and Energy

 Transport and Communications

  Social Development

Trade: ASEAN has been slow to make progress in the areas of economic,
technical, and social cooperation. High level official dialogue has helped foster a
sense of common economic purpose and mutual interest in the so-called ‘ASEAN
spirit’. The important initiatives and policies taken by the South-East Asian
Nations to promote trade are as followings;
• Among other ultimate goals of ASEAN, the idea of a limited FTA and
Custom union was firstly mooted during the ASEAN ministers meeting
(AMM) in Manila in1971. But the lack of direct involvement of ASEAN
ministers restrained the impact of efforts for closer economic cooperation.

• In 1975, the first meeting of ASEAN economic ministers was held in

Jakarta. Singapore initiated a campaign to create an ASEAN FTA (Free
Trade Agreement).

• In 1991, the idea of AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement) was revived
by Thailand’s then PM Anand Panyarachun. This proposal gained
enthusiastic support at the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting Kuala
Lumpur in 1991.

• In January, 1992, heads of governments met in Singapore and concluded an

agreement with the aim of creating an AFTA.

• In January, 1993, a common effective preferential tariff (CEPT) scheme

came into effect in accordance with the agreement. The CEPT covered all
manufactured products including capital, goods and processed agricultural
products. Tariffs were to be reduced to a maximum of 20% within 5-8
years.
• In October, 1991, ASEAN trade ministers agreed to modify the CEPT. The
new AFTA programs scheduled to begin tariff reduction from January 1,
1994.

• In September, ASEAN economic ministers made consent on accelerating

the implementation of AFTA. Tariffs were to be reduced to 0%-5% within
7-10 years.

• In December, 1 995, heads of governments convened in Bangkok and

agreed to maintain the objective of achieving AFTA by 2003.

• In October, 1998, ASEAN ministers of economic affairs reiterated their

commitment to reduce restrictions to intra-ASEAN trade.

• The Hanoi Plan of Action (1998) was adopted at the meeting as a

framework for the development of the organization over the period of 1994-
2004. The Plan incorporated a series of measures `aiming at strengthening
macroeconomic and financial cooperation and enhancing greater economic
integration.

• In June, 1996, ASEAN’s Working Group on Customs Procedures

completed a draft legal framework for regional cooperation in order to
simplify and harmonize customs procedures, legislation, and product
classification.

• In March, 1997, a custom agreement was concluded at the inaugural

meeting of ASEAN finance ministers.

• In November, 1999, the informal meeting of heads of state of ASEAN

countries, China, the Japan and the Republic of Korea was held and all
parties agreed to strengthen regional unity and discussed the long-term
possibility of establishing an East Asian common market and currency.
 Meanwhile, ASEAN has taken many initiatives to promote trade in the region.
Therefore, it has to be recognized that AFTA has made some progress.
ASEAN countries have reduced the disparities of tariff structure, facilitating
further regional integration efforts. It is expected that AFTA will enable
ASEAN countries to develop trade patterns on the basis of intra-industry
specialization and to make ASEAN more attractive for foreign investment.
It is argued that ASEAN can proceed in two possible directions on the future.
1. To establish a common market to be known as the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC)

2. To establish an East Asian bloc on several grounds.

Industry: the South East Asian nations have little to export in a subsistence
economy. The industries of the region are meager. Most of them have been
established by the West during colonialism which is basically located close to the
coasts, markets and transportation. Many different plans and programs to increase
industrial production have been taken in different times by the governments of the
region. But progress in the field of industrial sector has been slow because of some
reasons;
 Shortage of capital

 Lack of industrial experience

 Destruction caused by the war.

The initiatives adopted in various times by the member state of ASEAN to

promote industrial development and economic progresses are as followings;
 • The ASEAN Industrial Complementation Program (1981) encourages state
party to produce complementary products for preferential exchange among
themselves in specific industrial sectors.

• The ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASEAN CCI) aims to

enhance economic and industrial cooperation and agreed to set up a
permanent ASEANCCI secretariat at the ASEAN secretariat.

• The ASEAN industrial joint venture (1983) initiates projects with at least
40% participation by private companies from two or more ASEAN member
states.

• The formation of ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and

Quality (ACCSQ) is another important initiative which ultimate goal is to
promote the understanding and implementing of quality and concepts and
to eliminate trade barriers.

• An ad hoc Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation was

established in September, 1994, to formulate a framework agreement on
intellectual property protection in the region.

• The ASEAN fund was established in 1988 to provide finance for portfolio
investments in ASEAN countries, especially for small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs).

Agriculture and Forestry: A significant proportion of Southeast Asia’s energies

is concentrated to the development of food supply for its population. The region
has introduced more double-cropping, irrigation, and improved strains of rice seed
which have contributed to substantial progress in agriculture. Some of region’s
country can use only a small part of their land for agricultural purpose. As the
examples we can cite that Burma can cultivate only 10 percents of its land because
of mountainous areas and Laos only 30 percents of its land.
Since the establishment of ASEAN, many initiatives have been taken by the
nations of Southeast Asia. Among of them, some are as followings;

a) Agreement on Fisheries Corporation: This agreement was concluded in

October, 1983. The main features of this agreement are-

 Joint management of fish resources

 Sharing of technology

 Cooperation in marketing etc.

b) Bangkok Conference: A conference on Fisheries Management and

Development strategies in the ASEAN region was held in Bangkok in 1994.
The main purposes of the conference were-

 Enhancing fish production through the introduction of new

technologies

 Aquaculture development

 Improvements of product quality

 Greater involvement of private sectors.

c) Cooperation in Forestry: There is cooperation in the field of forestry. Many

joint projects were run funded by ASEAN’s dialogue partners. A number of

organizations have been established such as- Forest Tree Seed Centre, Institute
of Forest Management, the ASEAN Timber Technology Centre etc. Besides,
there is an established ASEAN program of training, and study exchange for
farm workers, agricultural experts and members of agricultural cooperatives.
d) Strategic Plan of Action: Ministers of agriculture and forestry met in Hanoi,

Vietnam in September in 1998 and endorsed a Strategic Plan of Action on

ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry for the period of1994-
2004. The purposes st forth in the Plan were-

 Enhancing food security

 International competitiveness of ASEAN food, agriculture and

forestry products

 Promoting the sustainable use

 Conservation of natural resources

 Encouraging greater involvement in the food and agricultural

industry

 Strengthening joint approaches on international and regional issues

etc.

ASEAN Task Force: The ASEAN Task Force was set up to harmonize regulations
on agricultural products derived from biotechnology by 2000.
Finance, Banking and Investment: The initiatives taken by heads of
governments in this field to support intra-ASEAN trade and investment are as
followings;
a) ASEAN Reinsurance Corporation: The ASEAN Reinsurance Corporation
came into manifestation as an initiative in the year of1988 with initial
authorized capital of US $ 10 million.

b) ASEAN Investment Area (AIA): The establishment of an ASEAN

Investment Area was proposed at the summit meeting of December, 1995.
 c) ASEAN Plan of Action: Many measures have been taken by heads of
governments to attract greater financial resource flow in the region. From
the view of promoting foreign direct investment, the ASEAN Plan of
Action was adopted.

d) ASEAN funding facility: ASEAN ministers of finance met in Malaysia in

December in 1997 and endorsed a proposal for the establishment of an

ASEAN funding facility with a view to provide emergency assistance in
support of international credit and structural reform programs.

e) Framework Agreement on the AIA: In October, 1998, ministers of

economic affairs met in Manila and concluded a framework agreement on
the AIA.

f) Summit meeting: The summit meeting concentrated to accelerate reforms,

especially in the field of banking and finance with the aim of strengthening
the region’s economies and promoting the liberalization of financial
services sectors.

Minerals and Energy: Minerals and energy is another area of economic aspect
of ASEAN. It is recognized widely that the significance of energy and power
development can sustain the overall growth of the region’s economies.
Recognizing the importance of minerals and energy, the heads of governments
have taken many initiatives provided below in different times.
 ASEAN electricity grid

 ASEAN Energy Management, Training and Research Centre

 A framework of Cooperation in Minerals

  ASEAN Regional Development Centre for Mineral Resources.

In addition to, ASEAN has an object to promote greater cooperation in the

transport and communication sector. Another area of cooperation is to accelerate
social development. For this purpose, many initiatives have been taken. Among of
them-
 Plan of Action for Children

 An ASEAN Taskforce on AIDS

 Joint Declaration for a Drug-Free ASEAN

 ASEAN Rural Development and Poverty Eradication and Social Safety

Nets.

Social and cultural factors:

The success of the ASEAN is recognized not only by the factors to increasing
economic integration and political and security cooperation among the member
states but also to the factors that make ASEAN as a unique association. There is
lots of diversity among the member countries in cultural, social, political,
language, religion, geographical and economic sectors. However by the pleasant
combination of national priorities and the Association’s interests, and a dynamic,
wise and flexible approach that enables ASEAN to optimize its geo-political
regional strength.

Culture plays an important role in building the image of ASEAN. It is impossible

to build an ASEAN community without preserving and further enriching cultural
identities of ASEAN and its peoples. Culture helps build the ASEAN spirit on
which national citizens will think and act more regionally. The concept of
homeland is born and nurtured by a deeply imbued cultural environment since the
early childhood. ASEAN’s youth, through frequent cultural interactions between
distinctive cultures, has the opportunity not only to broaden their knowledge but
also develop a sense of rationality.

Political factors:
1. Stable Political condition:

One of the most important factors is that ASEAN has a safe and sound regional
environment. Since its founding in 1967, there has been no major armed conflict
or confrontation between any ASEAN members. Indeed, one of ASEAN's most
important achievements is that it changed Southeast Asia from a region of conflict
or violence and poverty to a region of development, peace and security. Once it
was the fearful region of conflict and violence now after the establishment of
ASEAN Through political dialogue and confidence building, no tension has
escalated into armed confrontation among ASEAN member countries.
Second factor is that to deal with the collective security concept for the region it
creates ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1994. It deals with an uncertain
security situation in the post-Cold War era by creating a setting or framework
within which confidence building between countries of the region can begin.
Third one is that the member states of the ASEAN are somehow politically stable.
There people enjoy more democracy than the other part of Asia and Africa. That
helps the leaders of this region to achieve the goal and success of ASEAN.

2. Strong leadership:

The second most important factor is that ASEAN leadership. IT has contributed to
ASEAN's success is that the leaders of Southeast Asia focused their energies
sharply on economic growth and development not for their own interest. Though
there is a variety of political systems in Southeast Asia but all the ASEAN
countries are united by their common emphasis on economic growth and
cooperation, not confrontation and conflict. ASEAN leaders realize that ASEAN is
not only good for the region but also for the development of their own national
economies, which lead ASEAN as a successful organization.
3. Relationship with external powers:

A) ASEAN and its neighbors relationship:

The increase of an economically leading and politically powerful China is one of

the most important strategic challenges facing ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific as a
whole Second challenge come from Japan which is economically powerful state
among the world community. However factor is that the political strategy of
ASEAN leads a cooperative relation with China, Japan and other neighboring
countries. (http://app.mfa.gov.sg)

B) ASEAN –US relationship:

To mitigate the threat Of China and Japan or from other neighbor state it is
needed to integrate with the USA. Here interesting factor is that each of the
member states of ASEAN has individual relation with USA, which helps for
further integration. USA has its own interest that’s why US must remain
engaged in the region to protect not only its economic but also its vital strategic
interests in Asia.
C) ASEAN and other powers relation:

Another factor is that accounted for ASEAN's success is its efforts in engaging
and networking with the major powers who have traditionally played an
important role in Southeast Asia. It did so by a series of innovative forums
such as ARF, APEC and ASEM and the ASEAN dialogue processes. The
ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting may confer on an external party the formal
 status of Dialogue Partner, Scrotal Dialogue Partner, Development Partner,
Special Observer, Guest, or other status. ASEAN's dialogue relationships with
other countries started in the 1970s and have now expanded to include the US,
Russia, China, Japan, the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others.
(www.aseansec.org)

Peace, Security and ASEAN:

“ASEAN shall have by the year 2020, established a peaceful and stable Southeast
Asia where each nation is at peace with itself and where the causes for conflict
have been the rule of law and through the strengthening of national and regional
resilience” -ASEAN VISION 2020
In 1971 ASEAN members endorsed a declaration envisaging the establishment of
a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality in the south-east Asian region. This
objective was incorporated in the declaration of ASEAN concord, which was
adopted in the first summit meeting of the organization. Held in Bali, Indonesia in
February 1976, ASEAN’s aspirations to achieve peace, stability, democracy and
prosperity in the region where ASEAN member countries live at peace with one
another and with the world at large in a just democratic and harmonious
environment.
ASEAN’s activities to realize the ASC are guided by the five strategic thrusts in
the ASC plan of actions, namely-

1. Political development

2. Shaping and sharing of norms

3. Conflict prevention

4. Conflict resolution
 5. post-conflict peace building

1. Political development:
One of the main objective of the ASEAN security as envisaged in the Bali,
Conference is to bring ASEAN’s political and security co operation to a higher
plan. In working towards these objectives, ASEAN member’s countries shall
promote political development in support of ASEAN leaders’ shared vision. This
is the highest political commitment that would serve as the basis for ASEAN
political cooperation. They also committed to establish a conducive political
environment which will ensure continued peace, security and stability in the
region here member’s countries intra-regional difference and disputes.

2. Shaping and sharing of norms:

Shaping and sharing of norms aim at achieving a standard of common
adherence to norms of good conduct among members of the ASEAN community;
consolidating and strengthening ASEAN’s solidarity, cohesiveness and harmony;
and contributing to the building of a democratic, tolerant, participatory and
transparent community in Southeast Asia.
These norms setting activities shall adhere to the following principles;
 Non-alignment

 Fostering of peace-oriented attitudes of ASEAN members countries.

 Conflict resolution through non-violent means

 Renunciation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction

and avoidance arms race in southeast Asia; and

 Renunciation of the threat or the use of force.

3. Conflict prevention:
 Based on the principles contained in the TAC, which is the key code of
conduct governing relations between states and diplomatic instrument fir the
promotion of peace, security and stability in the region, the objective of conflict
prevention shall be:
 To strengthen confidence and trust within the community

 To mitigate tensions and prevent disputes from arising between or among

member countries as well as between member countries and non-ASEAN
countries; and

 To prevent the escalation of existing disputes.

4. Conflict resolution:
It is essential that any disputes and conflicts involving ASEAN member
countries be resolved in a peaceful way and in the spirit of promoting peace,
security and stability in the region. While continuing to use national, bilateral, and
international mechanisms, ASEAN member countries shall endeavour to use the
existing regional dispute settlement mechanisms, and processes in the political and
security areas and work towards innovative modalities.

5. Post-conflict Peace Building:

Post-conflict peace building seeks to create the conditions necessary for a
sustainable peace in conflict-torn areas and to prevent the resurgence of conflict. It
is a process involving broad-based inter-agency cooperation and coordination
across a wide range of issues. ASEAN activities related to post-conflict peace
building shall include the establishment of appropriate mechanism and
mobilization of resources. As an ASEAN family members should assist each other
in post-conflict peace building effort to, such as humanitarian relief assistance,
reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Development and Achievements:

1. Defense and security policy dialogue:

Defense dialogue and cooperation in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was
elevated with the convening of the 1st ARF security policy conference (ASPC) in
November 2004 in Beijing. The ASPC recommended exploring and developing
ways and means of bilateral and multilateral cooperation on various areas. These
included:
 Intelligence and information sharing

 Capacity building

 Training programmers

 The sharing of experiences on the legal aspects of the role of the armed
forces in dealing with non-traditional security threats.

2. Non-traditional security issues:

At the ARF seminar on Enhancing Cooperation in the field of non-
traditional security issues shared their best practices and experiences in
coping with non-traditional security threats, such as-
 Terrorism

 Illicit drugs

 Piracy

 People smuggling and human trafficking

  HIV /AIDS, and

 Cyber crime.

3. Maritime security:
The ARF workshop on Maritime security in September 2004 in
Kualalampur was important in forging a general consensus among ARF
participants on the reality of threats to maritime security. ARF participants
also agreed on the need to take collective efforts to address maritime threats
and agreed to share their efforts in such sections:
 Fostering information sharing

 Establishing maritime domains awareness

 Initiating joint maritime security exercise

 Co operating on consequence management and

 Sustaining capacity building initiatives

4. Intelligence exchange and Document integrity and security:

The 3rd ARF ISM on country-terrorism and transactional crime , co-
chaired by Thailand on information sharing and intelligence exchange ,
the ISM agreed on the need to balance the timely, effective, and
systematic sharing of information and exchange of intelligence with the
appropriate protection for the sources of information, privacy and
human rights.
5. Treaty of amity and cooperation in Southeast Asia:
The 1976 treaty of amity and cooperation in Southeast Asia is
legally –binding instrument to promote perpetual peace, everlasting
amity and cooperation in the region. This treaty has been accepted
 by a growing number of countries outside Southeast Asia. This
treaty is the sign of-
 Peaceful coexistence

 Friendly consultation

 Resolution of conflict through peaceful way.

6. Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-free Zone:

ASEAN started activity exploring the control of Southeast Asia as a nuclear
weapons-free zone in the mid-1980s. The 1995 treaty in the Southeast Asia
nuclear weapon-free zone is crucial to both confidence building in Southeast Asia
and to worldwide nuclear disarmament. China a nuclear weapons state supported
them.
7. Counter-terrorism:
The Vientiane Action Program (VAP) adopted at the 10th ASEAN summit
contained several measures to guide ASEANS efforts in countering terrorism from
2005-2010. These measures form the preparatory steps towards the conclusion of
an ASEAN convention on counterterrorism and the establishment of an ASEAN
extradition treaty as envisaged by the ASC plan of action.
Environmental security and ASEAN:
A ministerial meeting on the environment, held in April 1994, approved an
ASEAN strategic plan of Action on the environmental quality and standards for
the ASEAN region and aimed to enhance joint action to address environmental
concerns to achieve durable peace. At the same time the ministers adopted
standards for air quality and river water which were to be achieved by all ASEAN
member countries by 2010. In June 1995 ministers also agreed to co-operate in
order to counter the problems of trans-boundary pollutions.
ASEAN: Realities and Future Challenges:

ASEAN: some realities

None can deny the extreme reality of present international political and economic
recession. ASEAN is called “Unity of Diversity” (Yong: 2003). ASEAN as an
organization of 10 states with multi ethnic and religion background have potentials
for conflict but fortunately or with charismatic leadership this did not happen. But
the storm came from other sides.

In the mid 1997 a financial crisis swept the region. Crisis affected the economies
of each member state and the other Asian countries. This crisis made people
understand that “miracle age” is over (Tay: 2001). This led the leaders of each
country particularly Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia to further integration of the
region. ASEAN Plus Three was the first step. But the USA and Japan opposes that
plan. Now the question is how far this will be able to go in such a situation of
balancing and counter balancing in world trade between the USA and China?

Beside this devastating Indonesian forest fire in 1997 and 1998 blanketed the
region with haze pollution. Since the haze pollution is an important environmental
issue. At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to involve a more
environmental perspective. Member states signed a treaty ASEAN Agreement on
Trans-boundary Haze Pollution in 2002 to deal with haze pollution. But due to
outbreak of the 2005 Malaysian haze and 2006 Southeast Asian haze this
agreement and organization could not fulfill its agenda (www.wikipedia.com).

ASEAN region is a comparatively peaceful region (Young: 2003). Governments

of member states of ASEAN are known to adopt reserved attitude to the idea of
Pacific Economic Co-operation (PEC) (Soesastro: 1983). In recent time peace and
security of ASEAN region is obscure where there is a country with WMD. Though
on 15 December 1995, the Southeast Asian Nuclear Free Zone Treaty was signed,
situation between North Korea and South Korea might affect in this region.

Another thing is ASEAN countries often been leveled ‘soft authoritarian states’
(Tay: 2001). A long Mahathir Regime in Malaysia about 4 decades, 32 years of
power of President Suharto in Indonesia, Mayanmar Janta rule and recent Thailand
political crisis emerged as new challenges foe further development and success of
ASEAN.

Beside economic and environmental issues, state of human security, protection of

human rights and fundamental freedom of expression more space for media and
public involvement equal political participation in intrastate level ,
democratization , cope up with militancy and radical religious campaigns all are
the determining factors of the future of ASEAN as I stated before.

Future of ASEAN: Challenges and Recommendations

As world entered into a new century, ASEAN phased new challenges from
different sides. It has made a significant effort to indicate regional and
international willingness to deal with the grouping seriously. However, there are
so many remaining challenges faced by ASEAN. There are at least five challenges
faced by the ASEAN: democracy, the development gap in ASEAN, economic
liberalization, human security and domestic and regional security ( Shedden paper:
2003).
One of the major challenges for the ASEAN to fulfill mandates stated in its charter
signed in November 2007. This charter should be implemented carefully so that
ASEAN can be more people oriented and more away from being state centric as is
largely the case at this moment (Wanandi 2006).

Here I’ll describe the future challenges of ASEAN.

1. Democratization: Democracy will not necessarily be a factor that all
states will welcome nor will it solve every states every problem (Tay:
2001). Furthermore, it is a fact that no universal values of democracy
should be applicable to all countries (Shedden Paper: 2003). Our
experience about ASEAN is a well democratic environment in member
states particularly in the case of Indonesia aggravated the organization
to come out from financial crisis. In future the more democratic the
block will be the better opportunity will be ensured.
2. Maintaining external economic linkages: Separately each state of
ASEAN is too small in economic terms. So that highest priority is given
to maintain foreign relation. Collectively ASEAN is the fourth biggest
trader of the world (Young: 2003). So future expansion of economic
opportunity of ASEAN is largely depends on the cooperation with other
actors like, China, EU, USA and so on.
3. Economic liberalization: One of the major challenges for the ASEAN
member states to liberalize their internal economic system so that more
foreign investment can be drawn. During 1997 crisis these states shared
views. By subjecting the information to peer review, countries hoped
discourage policies that might lead to another devaluation and crisis. For
example, Malaysia a very open economy, experimented with controls
over capital flows and currency rate ( Tay: 2001). Once the economic
recession has passed some countries tried seek to greater control over it
their economy like, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. On the
other hand Thailand and Singapore are following the IMF prescription.
In such a situation, it potentially becomes harder for the group to
achieve greater co-operation, trade and financial policies.
4. Mitigating development gap: Development gap between the six old
members and four new members in widening. Bridging development
 gap in ASEAN members to catch up with rest and join them in
advancing the association into a more meaningful and more prosperous
economic community.
5. Human security: Human security situation in member countries are
diversified. Due to economic recession many people lost their job and
fell below the poverty line. In such situation tension may arise among
people. On the other hand it can give rise to many criminal activities
such as violence, riots, robbery or even terrorism. This will be a
challenge for ASEAN countries, which hare generally failed to provide
social safety nets, especially for countries with large population, huge
disputes between urban and rural areas and also small elite group that
have tended to monopolies wealth.
6. Maintenance of security: One of the major challenges for the V is how
efficiently will it be able to maintain its security by combating against
supranational and intrastate security threats. The emergence of ARF
membership has showed as that the world community needs ASEAN.
The war on terrorism has compelled ASEAN to be much more pro-
active in dealing with regional security.
7. Peace and stability: Maintaining peace and stability in this region is
dependent on effective mechanism to settle interstate boarder disputes,
strengthening implementation of ASEAN Charter and so on. It has been
stated that. The charter should strengthen ASEAN identity among the
people in the region as well as contribute to international and regional
affairs. In this way, ASEAN will strengthen peace and security
(Wanandi: 2006).

Combating with extremism and radical practice:

One of the major security threats of each country of the world is to combat with
intra or supra non state violet groups. In response to this challenges the Secretary
General of ASEAN states “intensifying the presence and voice of the moderate
force, especially those with religion influence , so that radical elements do not turn
the multi-racial and multi-religious characteristics of ASEAN into anti-
establishment advantages( Young:2003).
Highest co-operation should be ensured in the arena. ASEAN threats posed by
international terrorism can answer this challenge adequately only when regional
powers like China and India co-operate warmly (Wanandi: 2006).
Recommendations to cope with these challenges
I find it important to recommend something that may or may not be helpful to
overcome these multi-dimensional challenges.
I. Resolving all by lateral and multilateral disputes threaten regional and
global security through diplomacy, under existing framework of the UN
and ASEAN Charter.

II. Effectiveness of ASEAN plans in economic, political and environmental

areas should be analyzed and reviewed from peoples perspective.

III. Introducing track III diplomacy beside rack I and track II diplomacy to
ensure consensus.

IV. Ensuring sustainable natural and human environmental development

V. ASEAN should pressurize Myanmar and Thailand to restore democracy

within a given time.

VI. ASEAN member states have to take immediate steps to develop human
rights situation in Myanmar.

VII. This regional forum shall come forward to stop political exclusion and
marginalization in member countries.

VIII. Countries can ensure freedom of media so that they can criticize ASEAN ,
this will help it to modify its role
Conclusion:
Regional forum like ASEAN, SAARC etc. are facing enormous challenges due to
emergence of regional superpowers and inevitable clash between or among big
powers. However, ASEAN, members maintained their response for non-
interference and territorial status quo for a long period. But it hardly can deter
clash of exclusive national interest of small or big powers.