Association of Southeast Asian Nations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a geo-politicaland economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore and Thailand.Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
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ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km², which is 3% of the total land area of Earth, and has a population of approximately 600 million people, which is 8.8% of the world's population. The sea area of ASEAN is about three times larger than its land counterpart. In 2010, its combined nominal GDP had grown to US$1.8 trillion.If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the ninth largest economy in the world, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
| Motto: One Vision, One Identity, One Community |
| Anthem: The ASEAN Way |
History
ASEAN was preceded by an organization 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 ministersof five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building inBangkok 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 the organization's Founding Fathers.
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, and 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.
Papua New Guinea was accorded Observer status in 1976 and Special Observer status in 1981.[13] Papua New Guinea is a Melanesian state. ASEAN 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 grew when Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member on 8 January 1984, barely a week after gaining independence on 1 January.
Continued expansion
On 28 July 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member.Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joined two years later on 23 July 1997.Cambodia was to have joined together with Laos and Burma, but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. The country later joined on 30 April 1999, following the stabilization of its government.
During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership and drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus comprising 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) and in the Asian region as a whole.This proposal failed, however, because of heavy opposition from the United States and Japan.Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration and ASEAN Plus Three was created in 1997.
In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase theregion’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market. This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area. After the East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was established in Chiang Mai, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, which calls for better integration between the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three countries (China, Japan, and South Korea).
Aside from improving each member state's economies, the bloc also focused on peace and stability in the region. On 15 December 1995, theSoutheast 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.
East Timor submitted a letter of application to be the eleventh member of ASEAN at the summit in Jakarta in March 2011. Indonesia has shown a warm welcome to East Timor.
Environment and democracy
At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental perspective. The organization started to discuss environmental agreements. These included the signing of theASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as an attempt to control haze pollution in Southeast Asia.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,the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005, 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.
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 organizations 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.As a response, the organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.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.
In 2007, ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.On 26 August 2007, ASEAN stated that it aims to complete all itsfree trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand by 2013, in line with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.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 27 February 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.
The Secretariat of ASEAN at Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.70A, South Jakarta, Indonesia.
The ASEAN way
The flags of 10 ASEAN members at Jakarta.
In the 1960s, the push for promoted the independence and establishment of sovereign nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Since the beginning phases of these nations, efforts were made to implement independent policies with a unifying focus of refrain from interference in regional domestic affairs.
There was a move to unify the region under what was called the ‘ASEAN Way’ based on the ideals of non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalisation, consultation and consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation. ASEAN members (especially Singapore) approved of the term ‘ASEAN Way’ to describe a regional method of multilateralism.
Thus the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia adopted fundamental principles:
- 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 internal affairs
- Settlement of differences or disputes in a peaceful manner
- Renunciation of the threat or use of force
- Effective regional cooperation
The ‘ASEAN way’ is said to contribute durability and longevity within the organization, by promoting regional identity and enhancing a spirit of mutual confidence and cooperation. ASEAN agreements are negotiated in a close, interpersonal process. The process of consultations and consensus is designed to engender a democratic approach to decision making. These leaders are wary of any effort to legitimize efforts to undermine their nation or contain regional co-operation.
Critical reception
The ASEAN way can be seen as divergent from the contextual contemporary political reality at the formative stages of the association. A critical distinction is made by Amitav Acharya, that the ‘ASEAN Way’ indicates “a process of ‘regional interactions and cooperation based on discreteness, informality, consensus building and non-confrontational bargaining styles’ that contrasts with ‘the adversarial posturing, majority vote and other legalistic decision-making procedures in Western multilateral organizations.
However, critics argue that the ASEAN Way serves as the major stumbling-block to it becoming a true diplomacy mechanism. Due to the consensus-based approach every member has a veto, so contentious issues must remain unresolved until agreements can be reached. Moreover, it is claimed that member nations are directly and indirectly advocating that ASEAN be more flexible and allow discourse on internal affairs of member countries.
Additionally, the preference for informal discussions to adversarial negotiations limits the leverage of diplomatic solutions within ASEAN.
Meetings
ASEAN Summit
A Billboard in Jakarta welcoming ASEAN Summit 2011 delegates.
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.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.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 Burma which dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United States and the European Union.
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 |
|---|
| No | Date | Country | Host | Host leader |
|---|
| 1st | 23–24 February 1976 |  Indonesia | Bali | Soeharto |
| 2nd | 4–5 August 1977 |  Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Hussein Onn |
| 3rd | 14–15 December 1987 |  Philippines | Manila | Corazon Aquino |
| 4th | 27‒29 January 1992 |  Singapore | Singapore | Goh Chok Tong |
| 5th | 14‒15 December 1995 |  Thailand | Bangkok | Banharn Silpa-archa |
| 6th | 15‒16 December 1998 |  Vietnam | Hanoi | Phan Văn Khải |
| 7th | 5‒6 November 2001 |  Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan | Hassanal Bolkiah |
| 8th | 4‒5 November 2002 |  Cambodia | Phnom Penh | Hun Sen |
| 9th | 7‒8 October 2003 | Indonesia | Bali | Megawati Soekarnoputri |
| 10th | 29‒30 November 2004 |  Laos | Vientiane | Bounnhang Vorachith |
| 11th | 12‒14 December 2005 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| 12th | 11‒14 January 20071 | Philippines2 | Cebu | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
| 13th | 18‒22 November 2007 | Singapore | Singapore | Lee Hsien Loong |
| 14th3 | 27 February – 1 March 2009
10–11 April 2009 | Thailand | Cha Am, Hua Hin
Pattaya | Abhisit Vejjajiva |
| 15th | 23 October 2009 | Thailand | Cha Am, Hua Hin |
| 16th3 | 8–9 April 2010 | Vietnam | Hanoi | Nguyễn Tấn Dũng |
| 17th | 28–31 October 2010 | Vietnam | Hanoi |
| 18th4 | 7–8 May 2011 | Indonesia | Jakarta | Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono |
| 19th4 | 14–19 November 2011 | Indonesia | Bali |
| 20th | 3–4 April 2012 | Cambodia | Phnom Penh | Hun Sen |
| 21st | 17–20 November 2012 | Cambodia | Phnom Penh |
| 1 Postponed from 10‒14 December 2006 due to Typhoon Utor. |
| 2 hosted the summit because Burma 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 11 April due to protesters entering the summit venue. |
| 4 Indonesia hosted twice in a row by swapping years with Brunei, as it will play host to APEC (and possibly the G20 summit) in 2013. |
During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:
| ASEAN Informal Summits |
|---|
| No | Date | Country | Host | Host leader |
|---|
| 1st | 30 November 1996 | Indonesia | Jakarta | Soeharto |
| 2nd | 14‒16 December 1997 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Mahathir Mohamad |
| 3rd | 27‒28 November 1999 | Philippines | Manila | Joseph Estrada |
| 4th | 22‒25 November 2000 | Singapore | Singapore | Goh Chok Tong |
East Asia Summit
Participants of the East Asia Summit:
ASEAN
ASEAN Plus Three
ASEAN Plus Six
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 plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. These nations represent nearly half of the world's population. In October 2010, Russia and the United States were formally invited to participate as full members, with presidents of both countries to attend the 2011 summit.
The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2005 and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.
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.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, East Timor, United States and Sri Lanka.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 meetings are also held.These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting as well as other smaller committees. Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as defence or the environment, and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.
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.
ASEAN Media Cooperation
The ASEAN Media Cooperation (AMC) set digital television standards, policies and create in preparation for broadcasters to transition from analog to digital broadcasting, better promote media collaboration and information exchange to enhance voice, understanding, and perspective between ASEAN peoples on the international stage.
The ASEAN member countries aim media sector towards digitalization and further regional media coaction. AMC establishes partnerships between ASEAN news media, and cooperate on information sharing, photo swapping, technical cooperation, exchange programs, and facilitating joint news coverage and exchange of news footage.
The concept was stressed during the 11th AMRI Conference adopting the theme: ”Media Connecting Peoples and Bridging Cultures Towards One ASEAN Nation.” ASEAN Ministers believed that the new and traditional media are important mediums to connect ASEAN people and bridging the cultural gap.
Accessing information towards the goal of creating a One ASEAN nation requires participation among the nation members and its citizens. During the 18th ASEAN Summit in May 2011, the Chair stated the important role of a participatory approach among people and stakeholders of ASEAN towards a “people-oriented , people centered and rule-based ASEAN”.
Several key initiatives that were initiated under the AMC:
- ASEAN Media Portal, The new ASEAN Media Portal was launched 16 November 2007 by the ASEAN Secretary-General, Mr Ong Keng Yong, and witnessed by Singapore’s Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang. The said portal aims to provide a one-stop site that contains documentaries, games, music videos, and multimedia clips on the culture, arts and heritage of the ASEAN countries to showcase the rich ASEAN culture and the capabilities of its media industry.
- ASEAN NewsMaker Project, an initiative launched in 2009 that trains students and teachers to produce informational video clips about the lifestyle in their country. The project was initiated by Singapore to work closely with 500 primary and secondary students, aging from 9 to 16 years old, along with their mentors from the 10 ASEAN countries to produce informative videos promoting their respective country’s culture. Students underwent training for the NewsMaker software use, video production and responsible internet use and hope to develop the language skills and story narration among the said students. Engaging the youth using new media is an approach to create a One Asean Community as stressed by Dr Soeung Rathchavy, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community: “Raising ASEAN awareness amongst the youth is part and parcel of our efforts to build the ASEAN Community by 2015. Using ICT and the media, our youths in the region will get to know ASEAN better, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the cultures, social traditions and values in ASEAN.”
- ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting, an annual forum for ASEAN members to set digital television standards and policies, and to discuss progress in the implementation of the blueprint to switchover from analog to digital TV broadcasting by 2020. During the 11th ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting, members updated the status on DTV implementation and agreed to inform ASEAN members on the Guidelines for ASEAN Digital Switchover.[98] An issue was raised on the availability and affordability of Set Top Boxes (STB), thus ASEAN members were asked to make policies to determine funding for the STB, methods of allocation, subsidies and rebates and other methods for the allocation of STB. It was also agreed in the meeting to form a task force to develop STB specifications for DVB-T2 to ensure efficiency.
- ASEAN’s Next Top Chef and The Legend of the Golden Talisman, two interactive games developed to raise awareness about ASEAN, and its people, places and cultures
New Media and Social Media
During the 11th ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ASEAN leaders recognized the emergence of new and social media as an important tool for communications and interaction in ASEAN today. The Ministers agreed that efforts should be made to leverage on social media to promote ASEAN awareness towards achieving an ASEAN community by 2015. Initially, ASEAN will consolidate the ASEAN Culture and Information Portal and the ASEAN Media Portal to incorporate new media elements.
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 inteaching, research, and public service, with the intention of cultivating a sense of regional identity and interdependence.
Heritage Parks
ASEAN Heritage Parks[99] 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 theTubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Kinabalu National Park.[100]
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,
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 in December 2006 in the 9th FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Games re-emerged as the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China. The 2010 Asian Para Games debuted 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.
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".
ASEAN 2030 FIFA World Cup bid
January 2011: As a result of ASEAN Foreign ministers at Lombok meeting, they agreed bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 as a single entity.
May 2011: ASEAN will go ahead with its bid for the FIFA 2030 World Cup. It was a follow up to the agreement reached in January before.
Credit from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asean
