ASEAN INFO

WHAT IS ASEAN?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in
Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the
Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and
Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten
Member States of ASEAN.

MAP OF ASEAN MEMBER STATES

AIMS AND PURPOSES
As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:

1. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region;
2. To promote regional peace and stability;
3. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest;
4. To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities;
5. To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization 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;
6. To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
7. To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional
organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer
cooperation among themselves.

BRIEF HISTORY
 8 August 1967 – Creation of ASEAN
 28 January 1992 – Signing of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff – framework for the
ASEAN Free Trade Area
 15 December 1995 – The Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty was signed
 December 1997 – Expansion of ASEAN + 3 (China, Japan and South Korea)
 10 June 2002 – Signing of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution
 2006 – ASEAN was given “observer status at the United Nations General Assembly”
 2007 – ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic
relations with the United States
 15 January 2007 – The Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security was signed, marking
a collective commitment to ensuring the regional energy security.
 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.
 27 February 2009 – A Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN regional block of 10 countries
and Australia and its close partner New Zealand was signed
 March 2011 – East Timor’s accession
  26–28 February 2013 – ASEAN members together with the group’s six major trading partners
– Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea – have begun the first round of
negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, on establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership
 31 December 2015 – The ASEAN Community, initially planned to commence by 2020, was
accelerated and pronounced

UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2017. will be updated soon.

ROLE OF VIETNAM IN THE ASEAN COMMUNITY

On regional security level

As an ASEAN member, Vietnam has shown its constant contribution to the process of handling
various matters of the region, notably conflict settlement and peacekeeping.

Acknowledging the cultural diversity, the political differences and the divergence of history
background of each member country, Vietnam has played a significant role in putting an end to the
confrontation between the Indochinese block and ASEAN by being the first Indochinese country to
join ASEAN. In addition, it has been working closely with ASEAN partners in settling international
issues with non-regional players such as China, Russia, India and the EU.

Vietnam’s effort in ensuring regional security can also be seen through its signing of the Treaty on
the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. Furthermore, recognizing the ultimate need of
international communication between ASEAN and other nations in the world, Vietnam together with
six ASEAN ministers and seven “Dialogue Partners” (Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, South
Korea, New Zealand, and the United States) founded the ASEAN Regional Forum.

On economic level

Since its accession to ASEAN, Vietnam has actively adopted a wide range of measures in different
aspects of the regional and national economy.

Prior to the 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Vietnam submitted its initiatives in narrowing the
development gap in the sub-region, improving the vulnerable economic situation and strengthening
the economy of the whole region. This proposal was then passed as “The Hanoi Declaration on
narrowing Developing Gaps”

Well aware of the growth trends and the necessity of truly becoming a market economy down the
road, Vietnam has steadily been making changes to its domestic situation in an endeavor to
integrate itself with the grouping over the last 20 years, including the restructuring of its
administrative apparatus and banking system.

The effectiveness of these changes and Vietnam’s success story is reflected in the growth of
Vietnam–ASEAN trade. As Louis Taylor, CEO of the Standard Chartered Bank in Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia, argues: “ASEAN is the third-largest export market for Vietnam, accounting for more than
10 per cent of the country’s total exports … [and] the second-largest supplier to the country,
accounting for 20 per cent of the nation’s total imports”.

https://evbn.org/asean-info/
 ESTABLISHMENT

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August

1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok
Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR
and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is
today the ten Member States of ASEAN.

https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview/
History

ASEAN was created on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded

by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. On December 15,
2008, ASEAN approved a new charter, giving the organization status as a
legal entity. All member countries must ratify it.

ASEAN 3

ASEAN+3 is the term that refers to the countries of ASEAN plus China, Japan,
and South Korea. It was formed in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial
crisis. The East Asia Vision Group was formed to create a vision for cooperation
among all 13 countries to prevent another crisis from happening again.

ASEAN Summit

Each year, ASEAN holds a summit hosted by one of its members. On June 23,
2019, Bangkok hosted the 34nd summit. The ASEAN leaders asked the United
States and China to resolve their trade war. They warned that U.S protectionism
is not good for them or international trade in general. The trade war is a key tool
in President Donald Trump's economic policies.

Members continue to be concerned about China's threat to ASEAN countries'

maritime rights in the South China Sea. China has been extending its reach by
building islands.

The South China Sea runs right through ASEAN's territory. It is a hotly contested
group of tiny islands that are sitting on potential reserves of 5.4 billion barrels of
oil and 55.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. It is also one of the richest fisheries
in the world.

Most important to the United States is the South China shipping lane. Through it
goes half of the world's merchant fleet tonnage, representing $5.3 trillion in global
trade. Of that, $1.2 trillion winds up at U.S. ports. In addition, one-third of the
world's crude oil is also shipped through the Sea.

On February 15, 2016, President Barack Obama held a historic U.S.-ASEAN

Summit. He pledged U.S. support for ASEAN rights in the South China Sea. In
2010, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared at the 2010 ASEAN
Summit that the freedom of navigation through the Sea was of national interest.
Many fear that rivalry over competing claims in the South China Sea could lead
to armed conflict in the region.
ASEAN and China

China is ASEAN's largest external trading partner. In 2017, it received 14.1% of

ASEAN's exports. The EU came next at 12.0%, followed by the United States at
10.8%.

The nations though are also wary of China's ability to dominate the area. They
don't want cooperation to lead to their absorption by their neighbor.

RCEP

ASEAN is negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with

Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. It is an economic
cooperation and trade agreement that began on May 2013.

On July 4, 2019, China hosted the RCEP ministerial conference. The 27th round
of negotiations followed later that month. It is eager to conclude negotiations by
the end of 2019.

https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-asean-3305810