Preface

The stated aims and purposes of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
are: (1) to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the
region; and (2) to promote regional peace and stability through showing respect for justice
and the rule of law among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the
United Nations Charter.

Political scientists generally attribute the establishment of ASEAN in 1967 to the five
founding member states’ desire for a stable external political and military environment to
thwart the spread of communism; the need to pursue national and regional economic
development; and to check Indonesia’s ambition in the late 1960s to become a regional power
through its confrontation with Malaysia and Singapore.

ASEAN currently consists of ten member states. The five founding member states in
1967 included Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei joined
in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Lao P.D.R. and Burma (Myanmar) in 1997, and Cambodia in
1999. In 2013, ASEAN agreed to allow Timor Leste to "participate" in future meetings, and
the country's Strategic Development Plan 2011- 2030 says it will "pursue [ASEAN]
membership as a priority foreign policy goal". Although Malaysis has been a top proponent of
Timor Leste's membership in ASEAN, it still does not appear to be imminent.

ASEAN faces challenges on the political front. The ASEAN Intergovernmental

Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which was established as ASEAN’s human rights
commission in October 2009, is perceived to be “toothless.” Similarly, the ASEAN
Declaration on Human Rights, which was signed and adopted in November 2012, fails to
meet minimum international standards and could erode fundamental freedoms. In particular,
civil society organizations (CSOs) criticize the Declaration for violating the principle of the
universality of human rights by allowing an exception for governments to consider human
rights "in the regional and national context."

In 2017, which was ASEAN's 50th birthday, the chair turned to the Philippines.
Negative trends in the region were discussed at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference and
ASEAN People's Forum (ACSC/APFP), which met in the Philippines from November 10-14,
2017. ACSC/APFP stressed that the protection of basic human rights in the region remains
"inadequate." Earlier in the year, CSOs on the sidelines of the 30th ASEAN Summit in
Manila in April 2017 proposed to ASEAN ministers to prepare the ground for the
establishment of an independent regional court to promote and protect human rights and
prosecute abuses by member states. Such a court would be modeled on the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights founded in 1979, and the African Court on Human and People's
Rights founded in 2004.

Prior to the Philippines' hosting of the chair, for the last several years, CSOs have been
concerned about repeats of 2012, when Cambodia was the ASEAN chair and undermined
civil society by cancelling CSO workshops during the ASEAN Summit and only selecting
CSOs closely connected to the Cambodian government to participate meaningfully in ASEAN
events. The ASEAN Summit in Yangon, Myanmar in 2014, similarly, was a test for Myanmar
when it was chair. Although there were no outcries against Myanmar's actions during the
ASEAN Summit like with Cambodia in 2012, attention still focused on whether the country
could deliver on its theme of "Moving Forward in Unity for a Peaceful and Prosperous
Community." This proved to be elusive for Myanmar, with its domestic instability and other
regional security tensions, such as the South China Sea dispute, overshadowing any progress
that Myanmar could claim to have made.

In 2015, the chair was Malaysia, whose overall theme was "Our People, Our
Community, Our Vision," reflecting its leadership's focus on "bringing ASEAN closer to the
people". However, ASEAN observers were quick to dismiss this as paradoxical. They noted
that Southeast Asia continued to be dominated by authoritarian and semi-authoritarian
regimes that often restrict civil society and that activities of ASEAN are often known to only
political leaders, government officials, and elites, while little information is disseminated to
the citizens and concerned stakeholders and CSOs. As chair, Malaysia did not bring many
tangible benefits for either the region's business community or civil society in part because it
was unable to bring all member-states into consensus on their prior commitments. In 2016,
when Laos became the chair of ASEAN, it duplicated Cambodia’s leadership example by
undermining the voice of CSOs. For example, Laotian civil society representatives attending
an annual meeting during the ASEAN summit were unable to address human rights issues in
Laos because the only CSOs allowed to speak were those selected by the Government of
Laos.

In 2017, the ASEAN agenda ended up largely focusing on defense and security issues
and managing great power rivalries despite efforts by CSOs to make their voices heard. In
2018, the ASEAN chair turned to Singapore but the same trend occurred with CSOs
struggling to have their voices heard. The Chairman's Statement of the 32nd ASEAN Summit
in April 2018, for example, did not include mention of "civil society" or "human rights." In
addition, the reported atrocities against the Rohingyas of Myanmar continued to be a human
rights crisis weighing on ASEAN, with CSOs calling for an international response. However,
ASEAN still maintained that Myanmar must "exercise responsibility" for the crisis. In 2019,
the chair turned to Thailand, which has been pushing an agenda focused on economic
cooperation and regional security. However, civil society's concerns have again not been
prioritized. For example, at the 34th ASEAN summit in Bangkok in June 2019, civil society
organizations were denied an interface meeting with ASEAN leaders.

 
 Contents

THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATION...............................................................................1

1 History of ASIAN..............................................................................................................................1
1.1 Founding..................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Expansion.................................................................................................................................1
1.3 Nascent Economic Cooperation................................................................................................2
1.4 Nuclear Free ASEAN.............................................................................................................2
1.5 The ASEAN Charter.................................................................................................................2
2 The ASEAN Way...........................................................................................................................3
3 Structure........................................................................................................................................3
3.1 AEC Blueprint............................................................................................................................4
3.2 APSC Blueprint......................................................................................................................6
3.3 ASCC Blueprint.......................................................................................................................7
4 Economy.........................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Internal market.....................................................................................................................10
4.2 Monetary union....................................................................................................................10
4.3 Free trade..............................................................................................................................11
4.4 Tourism.................................................................................................................................12
5 Foreign relations..........................................................................................................................13
6 Environment................................................................................................................................14
7 Education....................................................................................................................................15
8 Culture........................................................................................................................................16
8.1 Media.....................................................................................................................................16
8.2 Music.....................................................................................................................................18
8.3 Sports.....................................................................................................................................18
9 Global influence and reception...................................................................................................18
9.1 Economic integration...........................................................................................................19
9.2 Territorial disputes...............................................................................................................21
10 Objectives of ASEAN..................................................................................................................21
11 ASEAN Political – Security Community......................................................................................21
 THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATION

1 History of ASIAN
1.1 Founding
ASEAN was preceded by an organization
formed on 31 July 1961 called the Association
of Southeast Asia (ASA), a group consisting
of Thailand, the Philippines, and the
Federation of Malaya. ASEAN itself was
created on 8 August 1967, when the foreign
ministers of five countries: Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and
Thailand, signed the ASEAN Declaration. As
set out in the Declaration, the aims and
purposes of ASEAN are to accelerate
economic growth, social progress, and
cultural development in the region, to promote regional peace, collaboration and mutual
assistance on matters of common interest, to provide assistance to each other in the form of
training and research facilities, to collaborate for better utilization of agriculture and industry
to raise the living standards of the people, to promote Southeast Asian studies and to maintain
close, beneficial co-operation with existing international organizations with similar aims and
purposes.

The creation of ASEAN was motivated by a common fear of communism. The group
achieved greater cohesion in the mid-1970s following a change in the balance of power after
the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The region's dynamic economic growth during the 1970s
strengthened the organization, enabling ASEAN to adopt a unified response to Vietnam's
invasion of Cambodia in 1979. ASEAN's first summit meeting, held in Bali, Indonesia in
1976, resulted in an agreement on several industrial projects and the signing of a Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation, and a Declaration of Concord. The end of the Cold War allowed
ASEAN countries to exercise greater political independence in the region, and in the 1990s
ASEAN emerged as a leading voice on regional trade and security issues.

1.2 Expansion

In 1984, Brunei became ASEAN's sixth

member and on 28 July 1995, Vietnam
joined as the seventh member. Laos and
Myanmar joined two years later on 23
July 1997. Cambodia was to join at the
same time as Laos and Myanmar, but an

1
internal political struggle delayed its entry. It then joined on 30 April 1999 following the
stabilization of its government.

1.3 Nascent Economic Cooperation

In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus composed
of the members of ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea. It intended to counterbalance the
growing US influence in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Asia as a whole.
However, the proposal failed because of strong opposition from the US and Japan. Work for
further integration continued, and the ASEAN Plus Three, consisting of ASEAN, China,
Japan and South Korea, was created in 1997. In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential
Tariff (CEPT) scheme was adopted as a schedule for phasing out tariffs 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 (AFTA), which is an agreement
by member states concerning local manufacturing in ASEAN. It was signed on 28 January
1992 in Singapore. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a revival of the Malaysian proposal,
known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, was put forward in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It called for
better integration of the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three.

1.4 Nuclear Free ASEAN

The bloc also focused on peace and stability in the region. On 15 December 1995, the
Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty was signed to turn Southeast Asia into a
nuclear-weapon-free zone. The treaty took effect on 28 March 1997 after all but one of the
member states had ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June 2001 after the Philippines
ratified it, effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region. A similar treaty was signed
in 2017; however, Singapore abstained from the vote.

1.5 The ASEAN Charter

On 15 December 2008, member states met in Jakarta to launch a charter, signed in
November 2007, to move closer to "an EU-style community". The charter turned ASEAN into
a legal entity and aimed to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 500
million people. President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated: "This is a
momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating, and transforming itself
into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and
global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift".
Referring to climate change and economic upheaval, he concluded: "Southeast Asia is no
longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s".

The financial crisis of 2007–2008 was seen as a threat to the charter's goals, and also
set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in
February 2009. This proposition caused controversy, as the body would not have the power to
impose sanctions or punish countries which violated citizens' rights and would, therefore, be
limited in effectiveness. The body was established later in 2009 as the ASEAN
Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). In November 2012, the
commission adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.

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 2 The ASEAN Way
The "ASEAN Way" refers to a methodology or approach to solving issues that respects
the cultural norms of Southeast Asia. Masilamani and Peterson summarize it as "a working
process or style that is informal and personal. Policymakers constantly utilize compromise,
consensus, and consultation in the informal decision-making process... it above all prioritizes
a consensus-based, non-conflictual way of addressing problems. Quiet diplomacy allows
ASEAN leaders to communicate without bringing the discussions into the public view.
Members avoid embarrassment that may lead to further conflict. It has been said that the
merits of the ASEAN Way might "be usefully applied to global conflict management".
However, critics have argued that such an approach can be only applied to Asian countries, to
specific cultural norms and understandings notably, due to a difference in mindset and level of
tension.

Critics object, claiming that the ASEAN Way's emphasis on consultation, consensus, and
non-interference forces the organization to adopt only those policies which satisfy the lowest
common denominator. Decision-making by consensus requires members to see eye-to-eye
before ASEAN can move forward on an issue. Members may not have a common conception
of the meaning of the ASEAN Way. Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos emphasize non-
interference while older member countries focus on co-operation and co-ordination. These
differences hinder efforts to find common solutions to particular issues, but also make it
difficult to determine when collective action is appropriate in a given situation.

ASEAN Plus Three was the first of attempts for further integration to improve existing
ties with China, Japan, and South Korea. This was followed by the even larger East Asia
Summit (EAS), which included ASEAN Plus Three as well as India, Australia, and New
Zealand. This group 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. In 2006,
ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. In response, the
organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the UN.

The group became ASEAN Plus Six with Australia, New Zealand and India, and
stands as the linchpin of Asia Pacific's economic, political, security, socio-cultural
architecture, as well as the global economy. Codification of the relations between these
countries has seen progress through the development of the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership, a proposed free-trade agreement involving the 16 countries of ASEAN
Plus Six. RCEP would, in part, allow the members to protect local sectors and give more time
to comply with the aim for developed country members.

3 Structure
Beginning in 1997, heads of each member state adopted the ASEAN Vision 2020
during the group's 30th anniversary meeting held in Kuala Lumpur. This vision, as a means
for the realization of a single ASEAN community, provides provisions on peace and stability,
a nuclear-free region, closer economic integration, human development, sustainable
development, cultural heritage, being a drug-free region, environment among others. The
vision also aimed to "see an outward-looking ASEAN playing a pivotal role in the

3
international flora, and advancing ASEAN's common interests". It was formalized and made
comprehensive through the Bali Concord II in 2003. Three major pillars of a single ASEAN
community were established: Political-Security Community (APSC), Economic Community
(AEC) and Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). To fully embody the three pillars as part of
the 2015 integration, blueprints for APSC and ASCC were subsequently adopted in 2009 in
Cha-am, Thailand.[54] The ASEAN Community, initially planned to commence by 2020, was
accelerated to begin by 31 December 2015. It was decided during the 12th ASEAN Summit in
Cebu in 2007.

At the 23rd ASEAN Summit on November 2013, leaders decided to develop a post-
2015 Vision and created the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) that consists of ten high-level
representatives from all member states. The Vision was adopted at the 27th Summit on
November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur. The ASEAN community would revise and renew its vision
every ten years to provide a framework for continuous development and further integration.
The terms in the Vision are divided into four subcategories, namely APSC, AEC, ASCC, and
Moving Forward. APSC issues are covered under articles 7 and 8. The former generally states
the overall aspiration of the community aiming for a united, inclusive and resilient
community. It also puts human and environmental security as crucial points. Deepening
engagement with both internal and external parties are also stressed to contribute to
international peace, security and stability. The "Moving Forward" subcategory implies the
acknowledgement of weaknesses of the institution's capacity to process and coordinate
ASEAN work. Strengthening ASEAN Secretariat and other ASEAN organs and bodies is
therefore desired. There is also a call for a higher level of ASEAN institutional presence at the
national, regional and international levels.

3.1 AEC Blueprint

The AEC aims to "implement economic integration initiatives" to create a single
market for member states. The blueprint that serves as a comprehensive guide for the
establishment of the community was adopted on 20 November 2007 at the 13th ASEAN
Summit in Singapore. Its characteristics include a single market and production base, a highly
competitive economic region, a region of fair economic development, and a region fully
integrated into the global economy. The areas of cooperation include human resources
development, recognition of professional qualifications, closer consultation economic
policies, enhanced infrastructure and communications connectivity, integrating industries for
regional sourcing, and strengthening private sector involvement. Through the free movement
of skilled labor, goods, services and investment, ASEAN would rise globally as one market,
thus increasing its competitiveness and opportunities for development.

2020 ASEAN Banking Integration Framework

As trade is liberalized with the integration in 2015, the need arises for ASEAN
banking institutions to accommodate and expand their services to an intra-ASEAN market.
Experts, however, have already forecast a shaky economic transition, especially for smaller
players in the banking and financial services industry. Two separate reports by Standard &
Poor's (S&P) outline the challenges that ASEAN financial institutions face as they prepare for
the 2020 banking integration. The reports point out that overcrowded banking sector in the

4
Philippines is expected to feel the most pressure as the integration welcomes tighter
competition with bigger and more established foreign banks. As a result, there needs to be a
regional expansion by countries with a small banking sector to lessen the impact of the post-
integration environment. In a follow-up report, S&P recently cited the Philippines for
"shoring up its network bases and building up capital ahead of the banking integration –
playing defence and strengthening their domestic networks".

Financial integration roadmap

The roadmap for financial integration is the latest regional initiative that aims to
strengthen local self-help and support mechanisms. The roadmap's implementation would
contribute to the realization of the AEC. Adoption of a common currency, when conditions
are ripe, could be the final stage of the AEC. The roadmap identifies approaches and
milestones in capital market development, capital account and financial services
liberalization, and ASEAN currency cooperation. Capital market development entails
promoting institutional capacity as well as the facilitation of greater cross-border
collaboration, linkages, and harmonization between capital markets. Orderly capital account
liberalization would be promoted with adequate safeguards against volatility and systemic
risks. To expedite the process of financial services liberalization, ASEAN has agreed on a
positive list modality and adopted milestones to facilitate negotiations. Currency cooperation
would involve the exploration of possible currency arrangements, including an ASEAN
currency payment system for trade in local goods to reduce the demand for US dollars and to
help promote stability of regional currencies, such as by settling intra-ASEAN trade using
regional currencies.

In regards to a common currency, ASEAN leaders agreed in November 1999 to create

the establishment of currency swaps and repurchase agreements as a credit line against future
financial shocks. In May 2000, ASEAN finance ministers agreed to plan for closer
cooperation through the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI). The CMI has two components, an
expanded ASEAN Swap Arrangement (ASA), and a network of bilateral swap arrangements
among the ASEAN Plus Three. The ASA preceded the 1997 Asian financial crisis and was
originally established by the monetary authorities of the five founding member states to help
meet temporary liquidity problems. The ASA now includes all ten member states with an
expanded facility of US$1 billion. In recognition of the economic interdependence of East
Asia, which has combined foreign exchange reserves amounting to about US$1 trillion, a
network of bilateral swap arrangements and repurchase agreements among the ASEAN Plus
Three has been agreed upon. The supplementary facility aims to provide temporary financing
for member states with balance-of-payments difficulties. In 2009, 16 bilateral swap
arrangements (BSAs) were concluded with a combined amount of about US$35.5 billion. The
CMI was signed on 9 December 2009 and took effect on 20 March 2014 while the amended
version, the multilateralisation of CMI (CMIM), was on 17 July 2014. The CMIM is a
multilateral currency swap arrangement governed by a single contractual agreement. In
addition, an independent regional surveillance unit called the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic
Research Office (AMRO) was established to monitor and analyze economies and to support
the CMIM decision-making process. The amendments would allow access for the ASEAN
Plus Three and Hong Kong to an enhanced CMIM package, which includes, among others,

5
the doubling of the fund size from US$120 billion to US$240 billion, an increase in the level
of access not linked to an IMF program from 20%–30%, and the introduction of a crisis
prevention facility. These amendments are expected to fortify CMIM as the region's financial
safety net in the event of any potential or actual liquidity difficulty.

During peacetime, the AMRO would conduct annual consultations with individual
member economies and prepare quarterly-consolidated reports on the macroeconomic
assessment of the ASEAN+3 region and individual member countries. In a time of crisis, the
AMRO would prepare recommendations on any swap request based on macroeconomic
analysis of a member state and monitor the use and impact of funds once an application is
approved. AMRO was officially incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in Singapore
on 20 April 2011. Governance of AMRO is being exercised by the Executive Committee (EC)
and its operational direction by the Advisory Panel (AP). AMRO is currently headed by Dr
Yoichi Nemoto of Japan, who is serving his second two-year term until 26 May 2016.

Food security

Member states recognize the importance of strengthening food security to maintain

stability and prosperity in the region. As ASEAN moves towards AEC and beyond, food
security would be an integral part of the community-building agenda. Strengthened food
security is even more relevant in light of potentially severe risks from climate change with
agriculture and fisheries being the most affected industries.

Part of the aim of ASEAN integration is to achieve food security collectively via trade
in rice and maize. Trade facilitation measures and the harmonization/equivalency of food
regulation and control standards would reduce the cost of trade in food products. While
specialization and revealed comparative and competitive indices point to complementarities
between trade patterns among the member states, intra-ASEAN trade in agriculture is quite
small, something that integration could address. The MARKET project would provide flexible
and demand-driven support to the ASEAN Secretariat while bringing more private-sector and
civil-society input into regional agriculture policy dialogue. By building an environment that
reduces barriers to trade, ASEAN trade would increase, thereby decreasing the risk of food
price crisis.

3.2 APSC Blueprint

During the 14th ASEAN Summit, the group adopted the APSC Blueprint. This
document is aimed at creating a robust political-security environment within ASEAN, with
programs and activities outlined to establish the APSC by 2016. It is based on the ASEAN
Charter, the ASEAN Security Community Plan of Action, and the Vientiane Action Program.
The APSC aims to create a sense of responsibility toward comprehensive security and a
dynamic, outward-looking region in an increasingly integrated and interdependent world.

The ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration (ADIC) was proposed at the 4th ASEAN
Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) on 11 May 2010 in Hanoi. It has the purpose, among
others, to reduce defence imports from non-ASEAN countries by half and to further develop
the defence industry in the region. It was formally adopted on the next ADMM on 19 May
2011, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The main focus is to industrially and technologically boost the

6
security capability of ASEAN, consistent with the principles of flexibility and non-binding
and voluntary participation among the member states. The concept revolves around education
and capability-building programs to develop the skills and capabilities of the workforce,
production of capital for defence products, and the provision of numerous services to address
the security needs of each member state. It also aims to develop an intra-ASEAN defence
trade. ADIC aims to establish a strong defence industry relying on the local capabilities of
each member state and limit annual procurement from external original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs). Countries like the US, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, UK, China,
South Korea, Israel, and the Netherlands are among the major suppliers to ASEAN. ASEAN
defence budget rose by 147% from 2004 to 2013 and is expected to rise further in the future.
Factors affecting the increase include economic growth, ageing equipment, and the plan to
strengthen the establishment of the defence industry. ASEANAPOL is also established to
enhance cooperation on law enforcement and crime control among police forces of member
states.

However, the unequal level of capabilities among the member states in the defence
industry and the lack of established defence trade pose challenges. Before the adoption of the
ADIC concept, the status of the defence industry base in each of the member states was at a
different level. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand are among the top member
states with an established defence industry base, but they possess different levels of capacity.
The remaining member states have yet to develop and enhance their capabilities. Indonesia
and Singapore are among the most competitive players; the former is the only one recognized
as one of the top 100 global defence suppliers from between 2010 and 2013.[84][85] ASEAN
member states purchase virtually no defence products from within ASEAN. Singapore
purchases products from Germany, France, and Israel. Malaysia purchased only 0.49% from
ASEAN, Indonesia 0.1%, and Thailand 8.02%.

The ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism (ACCT) serves as a framework for

regional cooperation to counter, prevent, and suppress terrorism and deepen counter-terrorism
cooperation. It was signed by ASEAN leaders in 2007. On 28 April 2011, Brunei ratified the
convention and a month later, the convention came into force. Malaysia became the tenth
member state to ratify ACCT on 11 January 2013.

3.3 ASCC Blueprint

The ASCC was also adopted during the 14th ASEAN Summit. It envisions an
"ASEAN Community that is people-centred and socially responsible with a view to achieving
enduring solidarity and unity among the countries and peoples of ASEAN by forging a
common identity and building a caring and sharing society which is inclusive and harmonious
where the well-being, livelihood, and welfare of the peoples are enhanced". Among its focus
areas include human development, social welfare and protection, social justice and rights,
environmental sustainability, building the ASEAN identity, and narrowing the development
gap.

To track the progress of the AEC, a compliance tool called the AEC Scorecard was
developed based on the EU Internal Market Scorecard. It is the only one in effect and is
expected to serve as an unbiased assessment tool to measure the extent of integration and the

7
economic health of the region. It is expected to provide relevant information about regional
priorities, and thus foster productive, inclusive, and sustainable growth. It makes it possible to
monitor the implementation of ASEAN agreements, and the achievement of milestones
indicated in the AEC Strategic Schedule. The scorecard outlines specific actions that must be
undertaken collectively and individually to establish AEC by 2015. To date, two official
scorecards have been published, one in 2010, and the other in 2012. However, the scorecard is
purely quantitative, as it only examines whether a member state has performed the AEC task
or not. The more "yes" answers, the higher the score.

While Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have
eliminated 99.65% of their tariff lines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam have
decreased tariffs on 98.86% of their lines to the 0-5% tariff range in 2010, and are projected to
eliminate tariffs on these goods by 2015, with the ability to do so for a few import duty lines
until 2018. A recent study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited has projected that five of the
top fifteen manufacturing locations in the world will be in ASEAN by 2018. Furthermore, by
2050, ASEAN is expected to be the fourth-largest economy in the world (after the European
Union, the US, and China).

The AEC envisions the free flow of overseas labour. However, receiving countries
may require would-be workers to take licensing examinations in those countries regardless of
whether or not the worker has a professional license from their home country. Singapore is a
major destination for skilled migrants from other ASEAN countries, mostly from Malaysia
and the Philippines. Total employment there doubled between 1992 and 2008 from 1.5
million to three million, and the number of foreign workers almost tripled, from fewer than
400,000 to nearly 1.1 million. High-skilled foreign talents (customer service, nursing,
engineering, IT) earn at least several thousand US dollars a month and with a credential
(usually a college degree) receive employment passes. In recent years, Singapore has been
slowly cutting down the number of foreign workers to challenge companies to upgrade their
hiring criteria and offer more jobs to local residents.

Narrowing the Development Gap (NDG) is the framework for addressing disparities
among, and within, member states where pockets of underdevelopment exist. Under NDG,
ASEAN has continued to coordinate closely with other sub-regional cooperation frameworks
(e.g., BIMP-EAGA, IMT-GT, GMS, Mekong programs), viewing them as "equal partners in
the development of regional production and distribution networks" in the AEC, and as a
platform to "mainstream social development issues in developing and implementing projects"
in the context of the ASCC.

The six-year Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plans have been developed
to assist Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, as well as other sub-regions to ensure quick
growth. The First IAI Work Plan was implemented from 2002 to 2008. The second plan
(2009-2015) supports the goals of the ASEAN Community and is composed of 182
prescribed actions, which includes studies, training programs, and policy implementation
support, conducted through projects supported by older ASEAN member states, and
ASEAN's Dialogue partners and external parties. The IAI Work Plan is patterned after and
supports the key program areas in the three ASEAN Community Blueprints: ASPC, AEC, and

8
ASCC. The IAI Task Force, composed of representatives of the Committee of Permanent
Representatives and its working group from all member states, is in charge of providing
general advice and policy guidelines and directions in the design and implementation of the
plan. All member states are represented in the IAI Task Force, chaired by representatives of
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam. The ASEAN Secretariat, in particular through the IAI
and NDG Division, supports the implementation and management of the IAI Work Plan and
coordinates activities related to sub-regional frameworks. The division works closely with the
Dialogue Partners, and international agencies, to develop strategies and programs to assist in
promoting and implementing IAI and NDG activities in ASEAN.

ASEAN's planned integration has challenged its citizens to embrace a regional

identity. It delivers a challenge to construct dynamic institutions and foster sufficient amount
of social capital. The underlying assumption is that the creation of a regional identity is of
special interest to ASEAN and the intent of the 2020 Vision policy document was to reassert
the belief in a regional framework designed as an action plan related to human development
and civic empowerment. Accordingly, these assumptions will be the basis for
recommendations and strategies in developing a participatory regional identity.

4 Economy
The group sought economic
integration by creating the AEC by the
end of 2015 that established a single
market. The average economic growth
of member states from 1989 to 2009 was
between 3.8% and 7%. This was greater
than the average growth of APEC,
which was 2.8%. The ASEAN Free
Trade Area (AFTA), established on 28
January 1992, includes a Common
Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) to
promote the free flow of goods between
member states. ASEAN had only six
members when it was signed. The new member states (Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia)
have not fully met AFTA's obligations, but are officially considered part of the agreement as
they were required to sign it upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames to
meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations. The next steps are to create a single market and
production base, a competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development,
and a region that is fully integrated into the global economy. Since 2007, ASEAN countries
have gradually lowered their import duties to member states, with a target of zero import
duties by 2016.

ASEAN countries have many economic zones (industrial parks, eco-industrial parks,
special economic zones, technology parks, and innovation districts) (see reference for
comprehensive list from 2015). In 2018, eight of the ASEAN members are among the world's
outperforming economies, with positive long-term prospect for the region. ASEAN's

9
Secretariat projects that the regional body will grow to become the world's fourth largest
economy by 2030.

4.1 Internal market

By the end of 2015, ASEAN plans to establish a single market based upon the four
freedoms. It will ensure free flow of goods, services, skilled labour, and capital. Until the end
of 2010, intra-ASEAN trade was still low as trade involved mainly exports to countries
outside the region, with the exception of Laos and Myanmar, whose foreign trade was
ASEAN-oriented. In 2009, realized foreign direct investment (FDI) was US$37.9 billion and
increased two-fold in 2010 to US$75.8 billion. 22% of FDI came from the European Union,
followed by ASEAN countries (16%), and by Japan and the United States. The ASEAN
Framework Agreement on Trade in Services (AFAS) was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in
Bangkok in December 1995. Under the agreement, member states enter into successive
rounds of negotiations to liberalized trade in services with the aim of submitting increasingly
higher levels of commitment. At present, ASEAN has concluded seven packages of
commitments under AFAS. Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) have been agreed upon
by ASEAN for eight professions: physicians, dentists, nurses, architects, engineers,
accountants, surveyors, and tourism professionals. Individuals in these professions will be
free to work in any ASEAN states after the AEC goes into effect on 31 December 2015. In
addition, six member states (Malaysia, Vietnam (2 exchanges), Indonesia, Philippines,
Thailand, and Singapore) has collaborated on integrating their stock exchanges, which
includes 70% of its transaction values with the goal to compete with international exchanges.

Single market will also include the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASEAN-SAM),
the region's aviation policy geared towards the development of a unified and single aviation
market in Southeast Asia. It was proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group,
supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN
Transport Ministers. It is expected to liberalize air travel between member states allowing
ASEAN airlines to benefit directly from the growth in air travel, and also free up tourism,
trade, investment, and service flows. Since 1 December 2008, restrictions on the third and
fourth freedoms of the air between capital cities of member states for air passenger services
have been removed, while from 1 January 2009, full liberalization of air freight services in the
region took effect. On 1 January 2011, full liberalization on fifth freedom traffic rights
between all capital cities took effect. This policy supersedes existing unilateral, bilateral, and
multilateral air services agreements among member states which are inconsistent with its
provisions.

4.2 Monetary union

The concept of an Asian Currency Unit (ACU) started in the middle of the 1990s,
prior to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It is a proposed basket of Asian currencies, similar to
the European Currency Unit, which was the precursor of the Euro. The Asian Development
Bank is responsible for exploring the feasibility and construction of the basket. Since the
ACU is being considered to be a precursor to a common currency, it has a dynamic outlook of
the region. The overall goal of a common currency is to contribute to the financial stability of
a regional economy, including price stability. It means lower cost of cross-border business

10
through the elimination of currency risk. Greater flows of intra-trade would put pressure on
prices, resulting in cheaper goods and services. Individuals benefit not only from the lowering
of prices, they save by not having to change money when travelling, by being able to compare
prices more readily, and by the reduced cost of transferring money across borders.

However, there are conditions for a common currency: the intensity of intra-regional
trade and the convergence of macroeconomic conditions. Substantial intra-ASEAN trade
(which is growing, partly as a result of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the ASEAN
Economic Community.) and economic integration is an incentive for a monetary union.
Member states currently trade more with other countries (80%) than among themselves
(20%). Therefore, their economies are more concerned about currency stability against major
international currencies, like the US dollar. On macroeconomic conditions, member states
have different levels of economic development, capacity, and priorities that translate into
different levels of interest and readiness. Monetary integration, however, implies less control
over national monetary and fiscal policy to stimulate the economy. Therefore, greater
convergence in macroeconomic conditions is being enacted to improve conditions and
confidence in a common currency. Other concerns include weaknesses in the financial
sectors, inadequacy of regional-level resource pooling mechanisms and institutions required
to form and manage a currency union, and lack of political preconditions for monetary co-
operation and a common currency.

4.3 Free trade

Free trade initiatives in ASEAN are spearheaded by the implementation of the
ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the Agreement on Customs. These
agreements are supported by several sector bodies to plan and to execute free trade measures,
guided by the provisions and the requirements of ATIGA and the Agreement on Customs.
They form a backbone for achieving targets of the AEC Blueprint and establishing the
ASEAN Economic Community by the end of 2015. On 26 August 2007, ASEAN stated its
aims of completing free trade agreements (FTA) with China, Japan, South Korea, India,
Australia, and New Zealand by 2013, which is in line with the start of the ASEAN Economic
Community by 2015. In November 2007, ASEAN states signed the ASEAN Charter, a
constitution governing relations among member states and establishing the group itself as an
international legal entity. During the same year, the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy
Security was signed by ASEAN and the other members of the EAS (Australia, China, India,
Japan, New Zealand, South Korea), which pursues energy security by finding energy
alternatives to conventional fuels.

On 27 February 2009, an FTA with Australia and New Zealand was signed. It is
believed that this FTA would boost combined GDP across the 12 countries by more than
US$48 billion over the period between 2000 and 2020. Bilateral trade with India crossed the
US$70 billion target in 2012 (target was to reach the level only by 2015).[128] The agreement
with China created the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which went into full effect
on 1 January 2010. In addition, ASEAN is currently negotiating an FTA with the European
Union.[129] Taiwan has also expressed interest in an agreement with ASEAN but needs to
overcome diplomatic objections from China. ASEAN, together with its six major trading
partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea), began the first round of
11
negotiations on 26–28 February 2013, in Bali, Indonesia on the establishment of the RCEP,
which is an extension of ASEAN Plus Three and Six that covers 45% of the world's
population and about a third of the world's total GDP.

In 2019, Reuters highlighted the circuitous route that ships from the United States
must take to avoid the up to 70% tariff on ethanol produced in the United States unless it is
mixed with at least 40% Asian-produced fuel.

4.4 Tourism
With the institutionalisation of visa-free
travel between ASEAN member states,
intra-ASEAN travel has boomed. In
2010, 47% or 34 million out of 73 million
tourists in ASEAN member-states were
from other ASEAN countries.
Cooperation in tourism was formalized in
1976, following the formation of the Sub-
Committee on Tourism (SCOT) under the
ASEAN Committee on Trade and
Tourism. The 1st ASEAN Tourism
Forum was held on 18–26 October 1981 in Kuala Lumpur. In 1986, ASEAN Promotional
Chapters for Tourism (APCT) were established in Hong Kong, West Germany, the United
Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand, Japan, and North America.

Tourism has been one of the key growth sectors in ASEAN and has proven resilient
amid global economic challenges. The wide array of tourist attractions across the region drew
109 million tourists to ASEAN in 2015, up by 34% compared to 81 million tourists in 2011.
As of 2012, tourism was estimated to account for 4.6% of ASEAN GDP—10.9% when taking
into account all indirect contributions. It directly employed 9.3 million people, or 3.2% of
total employment, and indirectly supported some 25 million jobs. In addition, the sector
accounted for an estimated 8% of total capital investment in the region. In January 2012,
ASEAN tourism ministers called for the development of a marketing strategy. The strategy
represents the consensus of ASEAN National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) on marketing
directions for ASEAN moving forward to 2015. In the 2013 Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Index (TTCI) report, Singapore placed 1st, Malaysia placed 8th, Thailand
placed 9th, Indonesia placed 12th, Brunei placed 13th, Vietnam placed 16th, Philippines
placed 17th, and Cambodia placed 20th as the top destinations of travelers in the Asia Pacific
region.

1981 The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) was established. It is a regional meeting of
NGOs, Ministers, sellers, buyers and journalists to promote the ASEAN countries as a single
one tourist destination. The annual event 2019 in Ha Long marks the 38th anniversary and
involves all the tourism industry sectors of the 10 member states of ASEAN: Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Viet Nam. It was organized by TTG Events from Singapore.

12
 5 Foreign relations

ASEAN maintains a global network of alliances, dialogue partners and diplomatic

missions, and is involved in numerous international affairs. The organization maintains good
relationships on an international scale, particularly towards Asia-Pacific nations, and upholds
itself as a neutral party in politics. It holds ASEAN Summits, where heads of government of
each member states meet to discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other
meetings with countries outside the bloc to promote external relations and deal with
international affairs. The first summit was held in Bali in 1976. The third summit was in
Manila in 1987, and during this meeting, it was decided that the leaders would meet every
five years. The fourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders decided to
meet more frequently, every three years. In 2001, it was decided that the organization will
meet annually to address urgent issues affecting the region. In December 2008, the ASEAN
Charter came into force and with it, the ASEAN Summit will be held twice a year. The formal
summit meets for three days, and usually includes internal organization meeting, a conference
with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum, an ASEAN Plus Three meeting and
ASEAN-CER, a meeting of member states with Australia and New Zealand.

ASEAN is a major partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, developing

cooperation model with the organization in the field of security, economy, finance, tourism,
culture, environmental protection, development and sustainability. Additionally, the grouping
has been closely aligned with China, cooperating across numerous areas, including economy,
security, education, culture, technology, agriculture, human resource, society, development,
investment, energy, transport, public health, tourism, media, environment, and sustainability.
It is also the linchpin in the foreign policy of Australia and New Zealand, with the three sides
being integrated into an essential alliance.

ASEAN also participates in the East Asia Summit (EAS), a pan-Asian forum held
annually by the leaders of eighteen countries in the East Asian region, with ASEAN in a
leadership position. Initially, membership included all member states of ASEAN plus China,
Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, but was expanded to include the
13
United States and Russia at the Sixth EAS in 2011. The first summit was held in Kuala
Lumpur on 14 December 2005, and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual
ASEAN Leaders' Meeting. The summit has discussed issues including trade, energy, and
security and the summit has a role in regional community building.

Other meetings include the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting that focus mostly on specific
topics, such as defence or the environment, and are attended by ministers. The ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), which met for the first time in 1994, fosters dialogue and
consultation, and to promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region. As
of July 2007, it consists of twenty-seven participants that include all ASEAN member states,
Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, North and South Korea,
Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, the United States,
and Sri Lanka. Taiwan has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues
regarding the Taiwan Strait are neither discussed at ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF
Chairman's Statements.

ASEAN also holds meetings with Europe during the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM),
an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996 with the intention of strengthening co-operation
between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially members of the European Union and
ASEAN in particular. ASEAN, represented by its secretariat, is one of the forty-five ASEM
partners. It also appoints a representative to sit on the governing board of Asia-Europe
Foundation (ASEF), a socio-cultural organization associated with the meeting. Annual
bilateral meetings between ASEAN and India, Russia and the United States are also held.

6 Environment
At the turn of the 21st century,
ASEAN began 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, arguably the region's
most high-profile
environmental issue.
Unfortunately, this was
unsuccessful due to the outbreaks of haze in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2015. As of 2015,
thirteen years after signing the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, the
situation with respect to the long term issue of Southeast Asian haze has not been changed for
50% of the ASEAN member states, and still remains as a crisis every two years during
summer and fall.

Trash dumping from foreign countries (such as Japan and Canada) to ASEAN has yet
to be discussed and resolved. Important issues include deforestation (with Indonesia recorded
the largest loss of forest in the region, more than other member states combined in the 2001-

14
2013 period), plastic waste dumping (5 member states were among the top 10 out of 192
countries based on 2010 data, with Indonesia ranked as second worst polluter), threatened
mammal species (Indonesia ranked the worst in the region with 184 species under threat),
threatened fish species (Indonesia ranked the worst in the region), threatened (higher) plant
species (Malaysia ranked the worst in the region).

ASEAN's aggregate economy is one of the fastest growing in the world. It is expected
to grow by 4.6% in 2019, and 4.8% in 2020, but at the cost of the release about 1.5 billion
tons of CO2 to the atmosphere every year. That makes ASEAN a greater source of
greenhouse gas emissions than Japan (1.3 billion tons per year) or Germany (796 million tons
per year). It is the only region in the world where coal is expected to increase its share of the
energy mix. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), "Since 2000 [ASEAN's]
overall energy demand has grown by more than 80% and the lion's share of this growth has
been met by a doubling in fossil fuel use... Oil is the largest element in the regional energy
mix and coal, largely for power generation, has been the fastest growing."

7 Education
While high performing Asian economies and the 6 oldest ASEAN member states have
invested heavily in public education at the primary and secondary levels, tertiary education
has been left largely to the private sector. Tertiary education in Southeast Asia is, in general,
relatively weak in terms of technological capacity and integration such as in credit transfer
schemes. Singapore and Malaysia is highly focused on innovation while the rest of the region
lags behind. In most cases, universities are focused on teaching and service to government
rather than academic research. Universities, both in terms of academic salaries and research
infrastructure (libraries, laboratories), tend to be poorly supported financially. Moreover,
regional academic journals cater to their local audiences and respond less to international
standards which makes universal or regional benchmarking difficult. Governments have a
vested interest in investing in education and other aspects of human capital infrastructure,
especially rapidly developing countries in the region. In the short run, investment spending
directly supports aggregate demand and growth. In the longer term, investments in physical
infrastructure, productivity enhancements, and provision of education and health services
determine the potential for growth.

To enhance regional co-operation in education, ASEAN education ministers have

agreed four priorities for education, promoting ASEAN awareness among ASEAN citizens,
particularly youth, strengthening ASEAN identity through education, building ASEAN
human resources in the field of education strengthening the ASEAN University Network. At
the 11th ASEAN Summit in December 2005, leaders set new direction for regional education
collaboration when they welcomed the decision of the ASEAN education ministers to
convene meetings on a regular basis. The annual ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting
oversees co-operation efforts on education at the ministerial level. With regard to
implementation, programs, and activities are carried out by the ASEAN Senior Officials on
Education (SOM-ED). SOM-ED also manages co-operation on higher education through the
ASEAN University Network (AUN). It is a consortium of Southeast Asian tertiary institutions
of which 30 currently belong as participating universities. Founded in November 1995 by 11
universities, the AUN was established to: promote co-operation among ASEAN scholars,
15
academics, and scientists, develop academic and professional human resources, promote
information dissemination among the ASEAN academic community, enhance awareness of a
regional identity and the sense of "ASEAN-ness" among member states.

The Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (SEED-Net)

Project was established as an autonomous sub-network of AUN in April 2001. It is aimed at
promoting human resource development in engineering. The network consists of 26 member
institutions selected by higher education ministries of each ASEAN member state, and 11
supporting Japanese universities selected by the Japanese government. This network is mainly
supported by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) and partially supported by the ASEAN Foundation. SEED-Net activities are
implemented by the SEED-Net secretariat with the support of the JICA Project for SEED-Net
now based at Chulalongkorn University.

ASEAN has a scholarship program offered by Singapore to the 9 other member states
for secondary school, junior college, and university education. It covers accommodation,
food, medical benefits and accident insurance, school fees, and examination fees. Its
recipients, who then perform well on the GCE Advanced Level Examination, may apply for
ASEAN undergraduate scholarships, which are tailored specifically to undergraduate
institutions in Singapore and other ASEAN member countries. Singapore has used this
program effectively to attract many of the best students from the ASEAN region over the past
several years, and scholars for the most part tend to remain in Singapore to pursue
undergraduate studies through the ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship program.

8 Culture
The organization 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
Centre for Biodiversity, ASEAN Heritage
Parks and the ASEAN Outstanding
Scientist and Technologist Award. In
addition, the ASEAN region has been
recognized as one of the world's most
diverse region ethnically, religiously and
linguistically.

8.1 Media
On Culture and Information (COCI). Established in 1978, its mission is to promote
effective co-operation in the fields of information, as well as culture, through its various
projects and activities. It includes representatives from national institutions like the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Culture and Information, national radio and television
networks, museums, archives and libraries, among others. Together, they meet once a year to

16
formulate and agree on projects to fulfill their mission. On 14 November 2014, foreign
ministers of member states launched the ASEAN Communication Master Plan (ACPM). It
provides a framework for communicating the character, structure, and overall vision of
ASEAN and the ASEAN community to key audiences within the region and globally. The
plan seeks to demonstrate the relevance and benefits of the ASEAN through fact-based and
compelling communications, recognizing that the ASEAN community is unique and different
from other country integration models.

ASEAN Media Cooperation (AMC) sets digital television standards and policies in
preparation for broadcasters to transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. This
collaboration was conceptualized during the 11th ASEAN Ministers Responsible for
Information (AMRI) Conference in Malaysia on 1 March 2012 where a consensus declared
that both new and traditional media were keys to connecting ASEAN peoples and bridging
cultural gaps in the region. Several key initiatives under the AMC.

The ASEAN Media Portal was launched 16 November 2007. The 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 ASEAN culture
and the capabilities of its media industry.

The ASEAN Newsmakers Project, an initiative launched in 2009, trains students

and teachers to produce informational video clips about their countries. The project was
initiated by Singapore. Students trained in Newsmakers software, video production, together
with developing narrative storytelling skills. Dr. Soeung Rathchavy, Deputy Secretary-
General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community noted that: "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."

The ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting, is an annual forum for ASEAN

members to set digital television (DTV) standards and policies, and to discuss progress in the
implementation of the blueprint from analogue 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.[194] An issue was raised around the availability and affordability of set-top
boxes (STB), thus ASEAN members were asked to make policies to determine funding for
STBs, methods of allocation, subsidies and rebates, and other methods for the allocation of
STBs. It was also agreed in the meeting to form a task force to develop STB specifications for
DVB-T2 to ensure efficiency.

The ASEAN Post was launched on 8 August 2017 to commemorate ASEAN's 50th
Anniversary. It is an independent regional digital media company that is headquartered in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The focus of the company is to leverage-off new technologies and
future proof the media landscape. It was founded by former investment banker Rohan
Ramakrishnan.

17
 8.2 Music
Music plays a significant role in ASEAN affairs, as evidenced by the new music
composed for, and to be performed at, the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in June 2019.

Since ASEAN's founding, a number of songs have been written for the regional
alliance:

 "The ASEAN Way", the official regional anthem of ASEAN. Music by Kittikhun
Sodprasert and Sampow Triudom; lyrics by Payom Valaiphatchra.
 "ASEAN Song of Unity" or "ASEAN Hymn". Music by Ryan Cayabyab.
 "Let Us Move Ahead", an ASEAN song. Composed by Candra Darusman.
 "ASEAN Rise", ASEAN's 40th anniversary song. Music by Dick Lee; lyrics by
Stefanie Sun.
 "ASEAN Spirit", ASEAN's 50th anniversary song. Composed by Chino Toledo.
Lyrics by National Artist for Literature, Rio Alma. Performed by Christian Bautista;
video directed by Joaquin Pedro Valdes.

8.3 Sports

The main sporting event of ASEAN is the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial meet of
athletes from the ten member-states. A non-member state Timor Leste is now participating the
SEA Games.

9 Global influence and reception

ASEAN has been credited by many as among the world's most influential organizations
and a global powerhouse. The organization plays a prominent role in regional and
international diplomacy, politics, security, economy and trade. The ASEAN Free Trade Area
also stands as one of the largest and most important free trade areas in the world, and together
with its network of dialogue partners, drove some of the world's largest multilateral forums
and blocs, including APEC, EAS and RCEP. Being one of the world's forefront political,
economic and security meetings, the ASEAN Summit serves as a prominent regional (Asia)
and international (worldwide) conference, with world leaders attending its related summits
and meetings to discuss about various problems and global issues, strengthening cooperation,
and making decisions.

Critics have charged that ASEAN is too soft in its approach to promoting human rights
and democracy, particularly in junta-led Burma. Some scholars think that non-interference has
hindered ASEAN efforts to handle the Burma issue, human rights abuse, and haze pollution in
the area. Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on unarmed protesters in Yangon,
ASEAN has refused to suspend Burma as a member, and also rejects proposals for economic
sanctions. This has caused concern as the European Union has refused to conduct free trade
negotiations at a regional level for these political reasons. During a UN vote against the ethnic

18
cleansing of Rohingya, majority of member states voted to either abstain or against the
condemnation. Only Muslim-majority countries Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei voted in
favor of condemning the cleansing of Rohingya. Some international observers view ASEAN
as a "talk shop", stating that the organization is: "big on words, but small on action". "ASEAN
policies have proven to be mostly rhetoric, rather than actual implementation", according to
Pokpong Lawansiri, a Bangkok-based independent analyst of ASEAN. "It has been noted that
less than 50% of ASEAN agreements are actually implemented, while ASEAN holds more
than six hundred meetings annually".

The head of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Tim Huxley, cites the
diverse political systems present in the grouping, including many young states, as a barrier to
far-reaching co-operation outside the economic sphere. He also asserts that, in the absence of
an external threat to rally against with the end of the Cold War, ASEAN has begun to be less
successful at restraining its members and resolving border disputes such as those between
Burma and Thailand and Indonesia and Malaysia. During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu,
several activist groups staged anti-globalization protests, arguing that the agenda of economic
integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and would cause thousands of
Filipinos to lose their jobs.

Corruption remains a widespread issue, as "tea money" remains an important

requirement to grease business transactions and to receive public services. Following the
release of the Corruption Perceptions Index 2015 by Berlin-based graft watchdog
Transparency International on 27 January, its Asia Pacific director, Srirak Plipat, noted that:
"if there was one common challenge to unite the Asia-Pacific region, it would be corruption",
noting that: "from campaign pledges to media coverage to civil society forums, corruption
dominates the discussion. Yet despite all this talk, there's little sign of action."

9.1 Economic integration

The group's integration plan has raised concerns, in particular, the 2015 deadline.
Business and economy experts who attended the Lippo-UPH Dialogue in Naypyidaw cited
unresolved issues relating to aviation, agriculture, and human resources. Some panelists,
among them, Kishore Mahbubani, warned against high expectations at the onset. He stated:
"Please do not expect a big bang event in 2015 where everything is going to happen overnight
when the ASEAN Economic Community comes into being. We've made progress in some
areas and unfortunately regressed in some areas."

Some panelists enumerated other matters to be dealt with for a successful launch.
Among them were the communications issues involving the 600 million citizens living in the
region, creating a heightened level of understanding in the business sector, current visa
arrangements, demand for specific skills, banking connections, and economic differences.
Former Philippine National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) Secretary General
Romulo A. Virola, said in 2012 that the Philippines does not appear to be ready to benefit
from the integration due to its "wobbly" economic performance compared to other member

19
states. According to Virola, the Philippines continues to lag behind in terms of employment
rate, tourism, life expectancy, and cellular subscriptions. Nestor Tan, head of BDO Unibank
Inc., said that while some businesses see the Asian Economic Blueprint (AEC) as an
opportunity, the integration would be more of a threat to local firms. Tan added that
protecting the Philippines' agricultural and financial services sectors, as well as the labour
sector, would be necessary for the implementation of AEC by 2015. Standard & Poor's also
believed that banks in the Philippines are not yet prepared for the tougher competition that
would result from the integration. In one of its latest publications, S&P said banks in the
country, although profitable and stable, operate on a much smaller scale than their
counterparts in the region.

The US Chamber of Commerce has highlighted widespread concern that the much-
anticipated AEC could not be launched by the 2015 deadline. In January 2014, former
ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo C. Severino, wrote: "while ASEAN should not be
condemned for its members' failure to make good on their commitments, any failure to deliver
will likely lead to a loss of credibility and could mean that member states fall further behind
in the global competition for export markets and foreign direct investment (FDI)". This is not
the first time that AEC faces a probable delay. In 2012, the commencement of the AEC was
postponed to 31 December 2015 from the original plan of 1 January. Despite Secretary-
General Surin Pitsuwan's firm reassurance that "[t]here will be no more delays and that all ten
ASEAN countries will participate", even the most fervent proponents of AEC worried that
AEC would not be delivered on time as December 2015 neared.

An article published by Vietnam News echoed some of the challenges and opportunities
that Vietnam faces in preparation for the AEC. The article said that the deputy head of the
Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Tran Thanh Hai, was
concerned about local enterprises' lack of knowledge of the AEC. It was said that 80% of
local enterprises surveyed acknowledged that they have little information about the interests
and challenges available for them in the ASEAN market. The article also noted that the
general secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association, Chu Duc Khai, said that most of the local
steel making enterprises lack information about doing business in the ASEAN market; they
have not had a chance to study it, and have only exported small amounts of steel to ASEAN
countries. Another challenge is the need to compete with other countries in the ASEAN
market to export raw products since the country had mainly exported raw products. The Asian
Development Bank also has doubts about Cambodia's ability to meet the AEC deadline. The
leading economist of ADB, Jayant Menon, said that Cambodia needs to speed up its customs
reform and to press ahead with automating processes to reduce trade costs and minimize the
opportunities for corruption and be ready for the implementation of its National Single
Window by 2015.

Despite an ASEAN Economic Community goal of significant economic integration as

laid out in the AEC Blueprint 2025, ASEAN continues to face challenges towards integration.
[233] A report published by the Asian Trade Centre in 2019 identified multiple sectors that
face challenges towards integration due to non-tariff barriers that still exist in the region. The

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report stated that the goals of the AEC 2025 would not be accomplished if ASEAN fails to
address the issues of non-tariff measures and eliminate non-tariff barriers in the region.

9.2 Territorial disputes

Several territorial disputes has affected the unity of ASEAN such as the Cambodian–
Thai border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, the North Borneo dispute between the
Philippines and Malaysia, and the South China Sea dispute which includes Vietnam, Brunei,
the Philippines, Malaysia, and possibly Indonesia.

10 Objectives of ASEAN

1. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the
region through joint endeavors.

2. To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the
rule of law.

3. To encourage active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common

interest in Economic, Social, Cultural, Technical, Scientific and Administrative fields.

4. To provide assistance to each other in terms of training and research facilities in the
educational, professional, technical and administrative areas.

5. To work together for a greater utilization of agriculture and industries in order to To

study the problems of international community trade, the improvement of their
transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of
the nations.

6. To promote Southeast Asian studies.

7. To maintain close and positive co-operation with existing international and regional
organizations with similar aims and purposes.

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 11 ASEAN Political – Security Community

To build on what has been constructed over the years in the field of political and
security cooperation, the ASEAN Leaders have agreed to establish the ASEAN Political-
Security Community (APSC). The APSC shall aim to ensure that countries in the region live
at peace with one another and with the world in a just, democratic and harmonious
environment.

The members of the Community pledge to rely exclusively on peaceful processes in

the settlement of intra-regional differences and regard their security as fundamentally linked
to one another and bound by geographic location, common vision and objectives. It has the
following components: political development; shaping and sharing of norms; conflict
prevention; conflict resolution; post-conflict peace building; and implementing mechanisms.

The APSC Blueprint envisages ASEAN to be a rules-based Community of shared

values and norms; a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region with shared responsibility
for comprehensive security; as well as a dynamic and outward-looking region in an
increasingly integrated and interdependent world.

The APSC Blueprint is guided by the ASEAN Charter and the principles and purposes
contained therein. It provides a roadmap and timetable to establish the APSC by 2015. It also
leaves room for flexibility to continue programs/activities beyond 2015 in order to retain its
significance and have an enduring quality.

The APSC Blueprint was adopted by the ASEAN Leaders at the 14th ASEAN Summit
on 1 March 2009 in Cha-am/Hua Hin, Thailand.

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

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 The Ultimate Questions On ASEAN

True or False Answer

Are these sentences true or false?

Brunei Darussarlam is so small that it has no Central Park.

o True 
o False

Bangkok is the world’s most expensive to live in 2014.

o True
o False  “ Singapore ”
Indonesia has the largest economy of Southeast Asia.

o True 
o False

Singapore has the highest GDP per capital in Southeast Asia.

o True
o False  “ Indonesia ”

Cambodia was ranked number ten as the world’s largest rice exports.
o True
o False

The motto of Asian is “One vision, One Identity, One Culture”

o True
o False  “One vision, One Identity, One Community”

The Asian secretariat is based in Indonesia.

o True 
o False

There are ten countries belong to ASEAN today.

o True 

o False
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 Bangkok is the capital of Loa.
o True

o False  Bangkok is the capital of Thailand.

ASEAN was created in 1961.

o True

o False  ASEAN was created in 1967.

Multiple choice questions and answer:

How many countries belong to ASEAN today?

o 9
o 10 
o 11
o 14
ASEAN is the Association of ________________.

o North East Asia

o South East Asia 
o North Asia
o South Asia

ASEAN's Theme is   “One Vision, One Identity, One

________________”  

o Community 
o Nation
o Country

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 o People

How will people in ASEAN countries benefit? Pick the INCORRECT

answer below.

o Keeping environment clean and green

o Help each other when disasters strike
o Learn ways to disengage one another 
o Work together to fight global diseases

.  What is the capital of Cambodia?

o Bangkok
o Jakarta
o Ha Noi
o Phnom Penh 

When was ASEAN founded?

o 1961
o 1967 
o 1947
o 1979

When is the Independence Days of Cambodia?

o November 9 1953 
o November 10 1954
o December 21 1991
o April 17 1975

The found member-state of ASEAN are:

o Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand

o Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam
o Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand 

Which country does this flag belong to?

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 o Indonesia
o Cambodia 
o Malaysia
o Singapore

ASEAN wants to keep region safe from __________, pirates and drugs. 

o Smuggler
o Terrorists 
o Illegal immigrants
o Political offenders

When was the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

formed?
o 8 August 1957 by Indonesia
o 8 August 1957 by Philippines
o 8 August 1967 by Indonesia 
o 8 August 1967 by Philippines


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