ASEAN: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)
ASEAN flag |
|
| Hymn: The ASEAN Hymn | |
| Members |
Brunei Darussalam |
| Seat of Secretariat | Jakarta |
| Secretary General | Ong Keng Yong |
| Area (2005)[4] | 4,465,500 km² |
| Population (2005)[4] - Total |
558,812,200 |
| GDP (2005)[4] - Total (PPP) |
$2.755 trillion |
| HDI (2006) - HDI |
7.08 |
| Formation - Signed |
Bangkok Declaration |
| Currencies | Bruneian dollar (BND), rupiah (IDR), riel (KHR), kip (LAK), kyat (MMK), ringgit (MYR), piso (PHP), Singapore dollar (SGD), baht (THB), đồng(VND) |
| Time zones | UTC +6½ to +9 |
| edit | |
ASEAN[1], pronounced /'ɑ.si.ɑn/ ("AH-SEE-AHN") in English, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand[2] as a display of solidarity against communist expansion in Vietnam and insurgency within their own borders. Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace.[3]
In 2005, the bloc had a combined GDP (Nominal/PPP) of about USD$884 billion[4]/$2.755 trillion[4][5] growing at an average rate of around 4% per annum.[6]
Membership
- Further reference: List of members of the ASEAN
ASEAN was founded by five states, mostly from maritime Southeast Asia: the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The British protectorate of Brunei joined six days after the country became independent from the United Kingdom on January 8, 1984. The mainland states of Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar were later admitted. Vietnam joined on July 28, 1995, while Laos and Myanmar were admitted on July 23, 1997.[7] Cambodia became the newest member when it was admitted on April 30, 1999.[7]
The Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea has had observer status since 1976.[8] In July 23, 2006, Jose Ramos Horta, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, 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.[9][10] Australia is also interested in becoming a member,[11] although this is opposed by some members.[12][13]
History
ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand that was formed in 1961.
The bloc itself, however, was established on August 8, 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 R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand—are considered as the organization's Founding Fathers.[14]
In 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 January 8, 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on January 1.[15]
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[16] 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 APEC as well as in the Asian region as a whole.[17][18] This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States.[17][19]
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 tarrifs 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.
On July 28, 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member, Laos and Myanmar joined two years later in July 23, 1997. 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 April 30, 1999, following the stabilization of its government. This allowed the bloc to include all countries within Southeast Asia.[20]
At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental prospective. The organization 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.[21] 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 organization include the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security[22] and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both of which are responses to Global Warming and the negative effects of fossil fuel.
Through the Bali Concord 11 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 Mahatir Mohammad 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.[24] As a response, the organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.[25]
Meetings
ASEAN Summit
The organization 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.[26] 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.[26] 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.[27]
The formal summit meets for three days. The usual itinerary is as follows:
- Leaders of member states would hold an internal organization 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 Summit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Date | Country | Place |
| 1st | 1976 February 23 - February 24 | Indonesia | Bali |
| 2nd | 1977 August 4 - August 5 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur |
| 3rd | 1987 December 14 - December 15 | Philippines | Manila |
| 4th | 1992 January 27 - January 29 | Singapore | Singapore |
| 5th | 1995 December 14 - December 15 | Thailand | Bangkok |
| 6th | 1998 December 15 - December 16 | Vietnam | Hanoi |
| 7th | 2001 November 5 - November 6 | Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan |
| 8th | 2002 November 4 - November 5 | Cambodia | Phnom Penh |
| 9th | 2003 October 7 - October 8 | Indonesia | Bali |
| 10th | 2004 November 29 - November 30 | Laos | Vientiane |
| 11th | 2005 December 12 - December 14 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur |
| 12th | 2007 January 11 - January 14 (postponed in December 2006 because of Typhoon Seniang) | Philippines | Cebu |
| 13th | 2007 | Singapore | Singapore |
| 14th | 2008 | Thailand | |
| 15th | 2009 | Vietnam | |
[1] - originally scheduled December 10-December 14 but was rescheduled to January 2007.
During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to met "informally" in each of the two years between formal summits.[26]
| ASEAN Informal Summit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Date | Country | Place |
| 1st | 1996 November 30 | Indonesia | Jakarta |
| 2nd | 1997 December 14 - December 16 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur |
| 3rd | 1999 November 27 - November 28 | Philippines | Manila |
| 4th | 2000 November 22 - November 25 | Singapore | Singapore |
East Asia Summit
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. Russia has applied for membership and as of 2005, attends on observer status. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on December 14, 2005 and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.
ASEAN Regional Forum
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is an informal multilateral dialogue of 25 members whose objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.[28] The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: ASEAN, Australia, Canada, People's Republic of China, European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, and the United States. Bangladesh was added to ARF as the 26th member, starting from July 28, 2006.[29]
Other meetings
Aside from the ones above, other regular[30] meetings are also held.[31] These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting[32] as well as other smaller committees, such as the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.[33] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as defense[30] or the environment,[30][34] and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.
ASEAN Plus Three
The ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, the People's Republic of 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, bringing together the European Union and the ASEAN Plus Three groupings.[35]
ASEAN-Russia Summit
The ASEAN-Russia Summit is a meeting between leaders member states and the President of Russia.
ASEAN Free Trade Area
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 January 28, 1992 in Singapore. 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.
Cultural activities
The organization hosts cultural activities in an attempt to further integrate the region. These include sports and educational activities as well as writing awards. An example of these include the ASEAN University Network 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 honored vary and have included poetry, short stories, novels, plays, folklore as well as scholarly and religious works. Ceremonies are held in Bangkok and is 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 organization 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.
ASEAN Heritage Parks
ASEAN Heritage Parks[36] 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 th Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Kinabalu National Park.[37].
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 Football Championship
The ASEAN Football Championship is a biennial international 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 ParaGames
The ASEAN ParaGames 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 Paralympics, includes mobility disabilities, amputees, visual disabilities, and those with cerebral palsy.
Criticisms
Western countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar.[38] 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.[39] International observers view it as a "talk shop",[40] which implies that the organization is "big on words but small on action".[41]
During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several militant groups staged anti-globalization and anti-Arroyo rallies.[42] Accoding to the militants, the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and would cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs.[43] They also viewed the organization as "imperialistic" that threatens the country's sovereignty.[43] A human rights lawyer from New Zealand was also present to protest about the human rights situation in the region in general.[44]
Comparison
| Regional bloc 1 |
Area (km²) | Population | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member states 1 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in millions | per capita | ||||
| EU | 4,325,675 | 496,198,605 | 12,025,415 | 24,235 | 27 |
| SAARC | 5,136,740 | 1,467,255,669 | 4,074,031 | 2,777 | 8 |
| CSN | 17,339,153 | 370,158,470 | 2,868,430 | 7,749 | 10 |
| ASEAN | 4,400,000 | 553,900,000 | 2,172,000 | 4,044 | 10 |
| NAFTA | 21,588,638 | 430,495,039 | 15,279,000 | 35,491 | 3 |
| EurAsEC | 20,789,100 | 208,067,618 | 1,689,137 | 8,118 | 6 |
| ECOWAS | 5,112,903 | 251,646,263 | 342,519 | 1,361 | 15 |
| SACU | 2,693,418 | 51,055,878 | 541,433 | 10,605 | 5 |
| GCC | 2,285,844 | 35,869,438 | 536,223 | 14,949 | 6 |
| COMESA | 3,779,427 | 118,950,321 | 141,962 | 1,193 | 5 |
| Agadir | 1,703,910 | 126,066,286 | 513,674 | 4,075 | 4 |
| CEMAC | 3,020,142 | 34,970,529 | 85,136 | 2,435 | 6 |
| CARICOM | 462,344 | 14,565,083 | 64,219 | 4,409 | 14+1 3 |
| EAC | 1,763,777 | 97,865,428 | 104,239 | 1,065 | 3 |
| CACM | 422,614 | 37,816,598 | 159,536 | 4,219 | 5 |
| PARTA | 528,151 | 7,810,905 | 23,074 | 2,954 | 12+2 3 |
| EFTA | 529,600 | 12,233,467 | 471,547 | 38,546 | 4 |
| Reference blocs and countries 2 |
Area (km²) | Population | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Political divisions |
|
| in millions | per capita | ||||
| UN | 133,178,011 | 6,411,682,270 | 55,167,630 | 8,604 | 192 |
| Germany | 357,050 | 82,438,000 | 2,585,000 | 31,400 | 16 |
| Japan | 377,873 | 128,085,000 | 4,220,000 | 33,100 | 47 |
| Canada | 9,984,670 | 32,507,874 | 1,165,000 | 35,200 | 13 |
| Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 234,300,000 | 935,000 | 4,000 | 33 |
| Brazil | 8,514,877 | 187,560,000 | 1,616,000 | 8,600 | 27 |
| Russia | 17,075,200 | 143,782,338 | 1,723,000 | 12,100 | 89 |
| India | 3,287,590 | 1,102,600,000 | 4,042,000 | 3,700 | 35 |
| China (PRC) 4 | 9,596,960 | 1,306,847,624 | 10,000,000 | 7,600 | 33 |
| USA | 9,631,418 | 300,000,000 | 12,980,000 | 43,500 | 50 |
| 1 Including data only for full and most active members 2 The first five states in the World by area, population and GDP (PPP) regions administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan). smallest value among the blocs compared largest value among the blocs compared During 2004. Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database |
|||||
Notes
- ↑ ASEAN Name and Logo. Retrieved March 16, 2007
- ↑ Bankok Declaration. Wikisource. Retrieved March 14, 2007
- ↑ Overview, ASEAN Secretariat official website. Retrieved June 12, 2006
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Selected key basic ASEAN indicators
- ↑ Rank Order - GDP (purchasing power parity). CIA Factbook. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ Rank Order - GDP - real growth rate. CIA Factbook. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Carolyn L. Gates, Mya Than (2001). ASEAN Enlargement: impacts and implications. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9812300813.
- ↑ ASEAN secretariat
- ↑ "East Timor ASEAN bid", The Sun-Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2007-01-28.
- ↑ "East Timor Needs Five Years to Join ASEAN: PM", ASEAN Secretariat, Sunday, July 26, 2006. Retrieved on March 2, 2007.
- ↑ "Australia Seeks Free-Trade Accord, Asean Membership at Summit", Bloomberg, Saturday, January 13 2007.
- ↑ ASEAN divided over Australia's role. The Age. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
- ↑ Australia signs ASEAN treaty. ABC News Online. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
- ↑ Bernard Eccleston, Michael Dawson, Deborah J. McNamara (1998). The Asia-Pacific Profile. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0415172799.
- ↑ Background Note:Brunei Darussalam/Profile:/Foreign Relations. United States State Department. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ East Asia Economic Caucus. ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Whither East Asia? Asian Views. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
- ↑ Asia's Reaction to NAFTA Nancy J. Hamilton. CRS - Congressional Research Service. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
- ↑ Japan Straddles Fence on Issue of East Asia Caucus International Herald tribune. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
- ↑ Seiji F Naya, Michael G. Plummer (2005). The Economics of the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9812303359.
- ↑ ASEAN Secretariat. ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Extracted October 12 2006
- ↑ East Asian leaders to promote biofuel, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007.
- ↑ "Asean: Changing, but only slowly", BBC, Wednesday, 8 October, 2003.
- ↑ RP resolution for observer status in UN assembly OK’d, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007.
- ↑ Philippines to Represent Asean in Un Meetings in Ny, Geneva, Associated Press via Yahoo! News, March 13, 2007.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 ASEAN Structure, ASEAN Primer
- ↑ Denis Hew (2005). Roadmap to an Asean Economic Community. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9812303472.
- ↑ About Us, ASEAN Regional Forum official website. Retrieved June 12, 2006
- ↑ Bangladesh joins ASEAN Regional Forum, Hindustan Times, July 22, 2006.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 ASEAN Calendar of Meetings and Events November 2006, ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ BBC country profile/Asean leaders, BBC. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ [1], ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
- ↑ Malaysians have had enough of haze woes, The Malaysian Bar. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ Lay Hwee Yeo (2003). Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0415306973.
- ↑ [2] ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ http://www.aseanbiodiversity.org/AGP/sites_list.htm ASEAN's Greatest Parks], ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ "ADB president calls for building Asian economic integration", Peace Journalism, 2007-01-03. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ↑ Silp, Sai. "Burma an Issue in Asean-EU Trade Talks", The Irawaddy News Magazine Online Edition, 2007-02-15. Retrieved on March 3, 2007.
- ↑ "Malaysian foreign minister says ASEAN is no 'talk shop'", 2005-12-05. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ "BBC Country/Internatonal Organization Profile: Association of South-East Asian Nations", BBC News, 2007-01-11. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ "About 100 militants stage protest vs Asean Summit in Cebu", GMA News, 2007-01-13. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 "ASEAN protests in Cebu will also underscore massive opposition to Charter Change", Kilusang Mayo Uno, 2006-12-07. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ↑ "NZ rights lawyer to join protests at ASEAN summit", News and Press, 2006-12-07. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
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