ASEAN

Dr Punita Pathak

Assistant Professor

Dept of Political Science

VCW, Rajghat, Varanasi

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (more commonly known as ASEAN) is an intergovernmental organization aimed primarily at promoting economic, political, educational, socio-cultural growth and regional stability among its members.

• Motto- One vision, one identity, one community
• Secretariat- Jakarta
• Founding Members- Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
• Currently 10 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.

• Observers- Papua New Guinea, East Timor
• Establishment- Bangkok Declaration- 8^th Aug 1967
• Preceded by an organisation formed on 31^st July 1961 called the Association of South East Asia (ASA)

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• Regional cooperation was further extended with the creation of the ASEAN Plus Three forum in 1997, which included China, South Korea and Japan.
• And then the East Asia Summit, which began taking place in 2005 and has expanded to include India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

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�AIMS AND PURPOSES�

• To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations.

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• To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;

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• To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
• To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;

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• To promote Southeast Asian studies
• To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.

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�FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES�

• Fundamental principles are known as Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of 1976:
• 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

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• 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.

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Function

• To promote collaboration and cooperation among member states, as well as to advance the interests of the region as a whole, including economic and trade growth.
• Free trade agreement among member states and with other countries such as China, as well as eased travel in the region for citizens of member countries.

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• In 2015, it established the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a major milestone in the organization’s regional economic integration agenda.
• The AEC envisions the bloc as a single market with free flow of goods, services, investments and skilled labour, and freer movement of capital across the region.

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• Strives towards peace and stability in the region
• Members have signed a treaty pledging not to develop nuclear weapons
• Agreed for counter-terrorism pact, which includes sharing intelligence and easing the extradition process of terror suspects.

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• To promote technical and research cooperation among its members.
• The ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award is presented every three years to recognize nationally and internationally acclaimed achievements in the field.
• Areas of research include safeguarding the region’s environment and wildlife.

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• In the field of education, the ASEAN University Network was founded in 1995 to promote academic and youth cooperation between member states.
• As part of this initiative, the University Games have been held every two years since 1981.

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Economic Status

• If ASEAN were a country, it would be the seventh-largest economy in the world
• Combined GDP of $2.6 trillion in 2014.
• By 2050 it's projected to rank as the fourth-largest economy.

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• Home to more than 622 million people
• Region has a larger population than the European Union or North America.
• It also has the third-largest labour force in the world, behind China and India.

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�Political Cooperation�

• The TAC stated that ASEAN political and security dialogue and cooperation should aim to promote regional peace and stability by enhancing regional resilience.
• Regional resilience shall be achieved by cooperating in all fields based on the principles of self-confidence, self-reliance, mutual respect, cooperation, and solidarity, which shall constitute the foundation for a strong and viable community of nations in Southeast Asia.

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• Some of the major political accords of ASEAN are as follows:
• ASEAN Declaration, Bangkok, 8 August 1967
• Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality Declaration, Kuala Lumpur, 27 November 1971

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• Declaration of ASEAN Concord, Bali, 24 February 1976
• Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, Bali, 24 February 1976
• ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea, Manila, 22 July 1992
• Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, Bangkok, 15 December 1997

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• ASEAN Vision 2020, Kuala Lumpur, 15 December 1997
• Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, 5 November 2001
• Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, Bali, 7 October 2003
• ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (ACCT), 11 January 2007
• Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015, 11 January 2007

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• ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, 5 November 2001; and
• Joint Declaration of the ASEAN Defence Ministers on Promoting Defence Cooperation for a Dynamic ASEAN Community, 25 May 2016.
• ASEAN security function, with a long-discussed program for confidence-building measures and for establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia,

• Implementation of ASEAN’s 1971 Declaration on a Zone of Peace,
• Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN)
• Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), which would be a component of ZOPFAN

Recent Issue & Concerns

• Territorial and jurisdictional disputes in the south China sea.
• Self determination for East Timor
• Nuclear Non Proliferation in North East Asia &
• Weapons of mass destruction
• Impacts of globalisation

• ASEAN states became concerned with environmental issue
• ASEAN agreement on Transboundary Haze pollution in 2002
• Cebu declaration on East Asia Energy Security
• ASEAN wildlife enforcement Network 2005
• The asia pacific partnership on clean development and climate

• ASEAN also suffered from the ambivalent app to address human rights & democracy issues in the Junta led Myanmar
• Despite global outrage of the military crack down on peaceful protess at yangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Myanmar as a member and had rejected the economic sanctions against the regime ( Because of this EU rejected the free trade negotiation)
• During 12^th ASEAN Cebu summit several activists staged an anti globalisation & anti arroyo rallies against the agenda of economic integration.