Association of Southeast Asian Nations - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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Association of Southeast Asian

Nations

Flag Emblem

Motto: "One Vision, One Identity, One Community"[1]

Anthem: The ASEAN Way

Headquarters Jakarta, Indonesiaa

Working language

Membership

Leaders

- Secretary General Le Luong Minh[2]

- Summit Presidency Myanmar

(Burma)[3]

Establishment

- Bangkok Declaration 8 August 1967

- Charter 16 December 2008

Area

- Total

Association of Southeast Asian NationsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations[5] (ASEAN

/si.n/ AH-see-ahn,[6] /zi.n/ AH-zee-ahn)[7][8] is ageo-political and economic organisation of ten countrieslocated in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and

Thailand.[9] Since then, membership has expanded to includeBrunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.Its aims include accelerating economic growth, socialprogress, cultural development among its members,protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities

for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.[10]

ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km, which is 3%of the total land area of Earth, and has a population ofapproximately 600 million people, which is 8.8% of theworld's population. The sea area of ASEAN is about threetimes larger than its land counterpart. In 2011, its combined

nominal GDP had grown to more than US$ 2 trillion.[11] IfASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the eighthlargest economy in the world.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Continued expansion

1.1.1 East Timor and Papua New

Guinea

1.2 Environment

1.3 ASEAN Plus Three

1.4 Free Trade

2 The ASEAN way2.1 Critical reception

3 Meetings

3.1 ASEAN Summits

3.2 East Asia Summit

3.3 Commemorative summit

3.4 Regional Forum

3.5 Other meetings

3.5.1 Another Three

3.5.2 AsiaEurope Meeting

3.5.3 ASEANRussia Summit

3.5.4 ASEAN Foreign Ministers

English

10 states

2 observers



4,479,210.5 km2

2,778,124.7 sq mi

Population

- 2011 estimate 602,658,000

- Density 135/km2

216/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate

- Total US$ 3.574 trillion[4]

- Per capita US$ 5,930

GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate

- Total US$ 2.356 trillion

- Per capita US$ 3,909

HDI (2012) 0.663b

medium

Currency

Time zone ASEAN(UTC+9 to +6:30)

Calling code

Internet TLD

Websitewww.asean.org (http://www.asean.org)

Address: Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.70A, South Jakarta.

Calculated using UNDP data from member states.

3.5.4 ASEAN Foreign Ministers

Meeting

4 Economic community

4.1 From CEPT to AEC

4.2 Comprehensive Investment Area

4.3 Trade in Services

4.4 Single Aviation Market4.5 Free-trade agreements with other

countries

4.6 ASEAN six majors

4.6.1 Development gap

4.7 From CMI to AMRO

4.8 Foreign Direct Investment

4.9 Intra-ASEAN travel

4.10 Intra-ASEAN trade

5 Charter

6 Cultural activities

7 ASEAN Media Cooperation

7.1 New media and social media7.2 SEA Write Award

7.3 ASAIHL7.4 Heritage Parks

7.4.1 ASEAN Heritage Sites7.5 Songs and music

8 Education and human development

8.1 School enrollment and participation8.1.1 Primary education

8.1.2 Secondary education8.2 Tertiary education

8.2.1 University Network8.3 Public efforts

8.3.1 Financial resources8.3.2 Scholarship

8.4 Education as a determinant of humandevelopment

8.4.1 Literacy rates

9 Sports9.1 Southeast Asian Games

9.2 ASEAN Para Games9.3 FESPIC Games / Asian Para Games

9.4 Football Championship9.5 ASEAN 2030 FIFA World Cup bid

10 ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration11 Criticism

12 ASEAN competitions

13 See also

10 currencies

10 codes

10 TLDs

a.

b.



v d e (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Template:Supranational_Asian_Bodies&action=edit)

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between

various Asian regional organizations.

13 See also

14 Literature15 References

16 External links

History

See also: Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASEAN was preceded by an organizationcalled the Association of Southeast Asia,commonly called ASA, an alliance consistingof the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand thatwas formed in 1961. The bloc itself, however,was established on 8 August 1967, whenforeign ministers of five countries Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, andThailand met at the Thai Department ofForeign Affairs building in Bangkok andsigned the ASEAN Declaration, morecommonly known as the BangkokDeclaration. The five foreign ministers AdamMalik of Indonesia, Narciso Ramos of thePhilippines, Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S.Rajaratnam of Singapore, and ThanatKhoman of Thailand are considered the

organisation's Founding Fathers.[12]

The motivations for the birth of ASEAN wereso that its members governing elite couldconcentrate on nation building, the commonfear of communism, reduced faith in ormistrust of external powers in the 1960s, anda desire for economic development.

The bloc grew when BruneiDarussalam became thesixth member on 8 January1984, barely a week aftergaining independence on 1

January.[13]

Continued expansion

See also: Enlargement

of Association of

Burma(Myanmar)Laos

VietnamThailand

Cam-bodia Philippines

BruneiMalaysiaMalaysia



Southeast Asian

Nations

On 28 July 1995, Vietnambecame the seventh

member.[14] Laos andMyanmar (Burma) joinedtwo years later on 23 July

1997.[15] Cambodia was tohave joined together withLaos and Burma, but wasdeferred due to thecountry's internal politicalstruggle. The country laterjoined on 30 April 1999,following the stabilisation of

its government.[15][16]

During the 1990s, the blocexperienced an increase inboth membership and drivefor further integration. In1990, Malaysia proposedthe creation of an East Asia

Economic Caucus[17]

comprising the thenmembers of ASEAN aswell as the People'sRepublic of China, Japan,and South Korea, with theintention ofcounterbalancing the growing influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and

in the Asian region as a whole.[18][19] This proposal failed, however, because of heavy opposition from the United

States and Japan.[18][20] Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration and ASEANPlus Three was created in 1997.

In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs andas a goal to increase the regions competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market.This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area. After the East Asian Financial Crisis of1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was established in Chiang Mai, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative,which calls for better integration between the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three countries

(China, Japan, and South Korea).[21]

Aside from improving each member state's economies, 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 with the intention ofturning Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. The treaty took effect on 28 March 1997 after all but

The member states of ASEAN

MalaysiaSingapore

I n d o n e s i a I n d o n e s i a

I n d o n e s i a



Satellite image of the 2006 haze over

Borneo.

one of the member states have ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June 2001, after the Philippines ratified it,

effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region.[22]

East Timor and Papua New Guinea

East Timor submitted a letter of application to be the eleventh member of ASEAN at the summit in Jakarta in

March 2011. Indonesia has shown a warm welcome to East Timor.[23][24][25]

Papua New Guinea was accorded Observer status in 1976 and Special Observer status in 1981.[26] Papua NewGuinea is a Melanesian state. ASEAN embarked on a programme of economic cooperation following the BaliSummit of 1976. This floundered in the mid-1980s and was only revived around 1991 due to a Thai proposal for aregional free trade area.

Environment

At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to include a regionalapproach to the environment. The organisation started to discussenvironmental agreements. These included the signing of the ASEANAgreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as an attempt to

control haze pollution in Southeast Asia.[27] Unfortunately, this wasunsuccessful due to the outbreaks of the 2005 Malaysian haze and the2006 Southeast Asian haze. Other environmental treaties introduced bythe organisation include the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy

Security,[28] the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005,[29] andthe Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both ofwhich are responses to the potential effects of climate change. Climatechange is of current interest.

Through the Bali Concord II in 2003, ASEAN has subscribed to the notion of democratic peace, which means allmember 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.[30]

ASEAN Plus Three

Leaders of each country felt the need to further integrate the region. Beginning in 1997, the bloc began creatingorganisations within its framework with the intention of achieving this goal. ASEAN Plus Three was the first of theseand was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea. This wasfollowed by the even larger East Asia Summit, which now includes these countries as well as India, Australia, NewZealand, United States and Russia. This new grouping acted as a prerequisite for the planned East AsiaCommunity, which was supposedly patterned after the now-defunct European Community. The ASEAN EminentPersons Group was created to study the possible successes and failures of this policy as well as the possibility ofdrafting an ASEAN Charter.

In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.[31] As a response, the

organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.[32]

Free Trade



ASEAN members' flags in Jakarta.

In 2007, ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the

United States.[33] On 26 August 2007, ASEAN stated that it aims to complete all its free trade agreements withChina, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand by 2013, in line with the establishment of the

ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.[34][35] In November 2007 the ASEAN members signed the ASEANCharter, a constitution governing relations among the ASEAN members and establishing ASEAN itself as an

international legal entity.[citation needed] During the same year, the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Securitywas signed in Cebu on 15 January 2007, by ASEAN and the other members of the EAS (Australia, People'sRepublic of China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea), which promotes energy security by finding energy

alternatives to conventional fuels.[citation needed]

On 27 February 2009 a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN regional block of 10 countries and Australia andits close partner New Zealand was signed, it is estimated that this FTA would boost aggregate GDP across the 12

countries by more than US$48 billion over the period 20002020.[36][37] ASEAN members together with thegroups six major trading partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have beganthe first round of negotiations on 2628 February 2013 in Bali, Indonesia, on establishment of the Regional

Comprehensive Economic Partnership.[38]

The ASEAN way

Since the post-independence phases of Southeast Asianstates, efforts were made to implement regional foreignpolicies, but with a unifying focus to refrain frominterference in domestic affairs of member states.

There was a move to unify the region under what was calledthe ASEAN Way based on the ideals of non-interference,informality, minimal institutionalisation, consultation andconsensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation.ASEAN members (especially Singapore) approved of theterm ASEAN Way to describe a regional method ofmultilateralism.

Thus the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in

Southeast Asia adopted fundamental principles:[39]

Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all

nations

The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion

Non-interference in internal affairs

Settlement of differences or disputes in a peaceful mannerRenunciation of the threat or use of force

Effective regional cooperation

The ASEAN way is said to contribute durability and longevity within the organisation, by promoting regionalidentity and enhancing a spirit of mutual confidence and cooperation. ASEAN agreements are negotiated in a close,interpersonal process. The process of consultations and consensus is designed to engender a democratic approach



Royal Thai Embassy in Helsinki flying

the Asean flag as well as its own

national flag.

to decision making. These leaders are wary of any effort to legitimise efforts to undermine their nation or containregional co-operation.

Critical reception

The ASEAN way can be seen as divergent from the contextualcontemporary political reality at the formative stages of the association. Acritical distinction is made by Amitav Acharya, that the ASEAN Wayindicates a process of regional interactions and cooperation based ondiscreteness, informality, consensus building and non-confrontationalbargaining styles that contrasts with the adversarial posturing, majorityvote and other legalistic decision-making procedures in Western

multilateral organisations".[40]

However, critics argue that the ASEAN Way serves as the majorstumbling-block to it becoming a true diplomacy mechanism. Due to theconsensus-based approach every member has a veto, so contentiousissues must remain unresolved until agreements can be reached.Moreover, it is claimed that member nations are directly and indirectlyadvocating that ASEAN be more flexible and allow discourse on internalaffairs of member countries.

Additionally, the preference for informal discussions to adversarialnegotiations limits the leverage of diplomatic solutions within ASEAN.

Michael Yahuda,[41] explains, in his book International Politics of theAsia Pacific (2003) second and revised edition, the limitations of the ASEAN way. In summary of his argument,unlike the European Union, the ASEAN Way has made ASEAN members never aspired to an economic andpolitical union. It was designed to sustain the independence and sovereignty of member states and to encourageregional and national stability. ASEAN differed in assessment of external threat and they operated within conditionsin which legality and the rule of law were not generally consolidated within member states. ASEAN wasnt a rulemaking body subjecting its members to the discipline of adhering its laws and regulations. It was operated throughconsensus and informality. Also, the member states avoided to confront certain issues if they were to result in

conflicts.[42]

Meetings

ASEAN Summits

The organisation holds meetings, known as the ASEAN Summit, where heads of government of each member meetto discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other meetings with other countries outside of the blocwith 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.[43] Consequently, thefourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders again agreed to meet more frequently, deciding to

hold the summit every three years.[43] In 2001, it was decided to meet annually to address urgent issues affecting



A billboard in Jakarta welcoming ASEAN

Summit 2011 delegates.

the region. Member nations were assigned to be the summit host in alphabetical order except in the case of Burma

which dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United States and the European Union.[44]

By December 2008, the ASEAN Charter came into force and with it, the ASEAN Summit will be held twice in ayear.

The formal summit meets for three days. The usual itinerary is as follows:

Leaders of member states would hold an internal organisation

meeting.

Leaders of member states would hold a conference togetherwith 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).[citation needed]

ASEAN Formal Summits

No Date Country Host Host leader

1st

2324

February

1976

Indonesia Bali Soeharto

2nd45 August

1977 Malaysia

Kuala

LumpurHussein Onn

3rd1415

December

1987 Philippines

ManilaCorazon

Aquino

4th2729

January 1992 Singapore Singapore Goh Chok Tong

5th

1415

December

1995

Thailand BangkokBanharn Silpa-

archa

6th1516

December

1998

Vietnam Hanoi Phan Vn Khi

7th

56

November

2001

BruneiBandar Seri

Begawan

Hassanal

Bolkiah

8th

45

November

2002 Cambodia

Phnom Penh Hun Sen



9th78 October

2003 Indonesia BaliMegawati

Soekarnoputri

10th

2930

November

2004

Laos VientianeBounnhang

Vorachith

11th

1214

December2005

MalaysiaKuala

Lumpur

Abdullah

Ahmad Badawi

12th

1114

January

20071 Philippines2

Cebu

Gloria

Macapagal-

Arroyo

13th

1822

November2007

Singapore SingaporeLee Hsien

Loong

14th3

27 February

1 March

2009

1011 April2009

Thailand

Cha Am,

Hua Hin

Pattaya Abhisit

Vejjajiva

15th23 October

2009 Thailand

Cha Am,

Hua Hin

16th389 April

2010 Vietnam Hanoi

Nguyn TnDng

17th

2831

October

2010

Vietnam Hanoi

18th478 May

2011 Indonesia Jakarta

Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyono19th4

1419

November2011

Indonesia Bali

20th34 April

2012 CambodiaPhnom Penh

Hun Sen

21st

1720

November

2012 Cambodia

Phnom Penh

22nd2425 April

2013 Brunei

Bandar Seri

Begawan

HassanalBolkiah

23rd

910

October BruneiBandar Seri



Participants of the East Asia Summit.

ASEAN

ASEAN Plus Three

ASEAN Plus Six

Observer

2013 Begawan

1 Postponed from 1014 December 2006 due to Typhoon Utor.

2 hosted the summit because Burma backed out due to enormouspressure from US and EU

3 This summit consisted of two parts.The first part was moved from 1217 December 2008 due to the 2008Thai political crisis.The second part was aborted on 11 April due to protesters enteringthe summit venue.

4 Indonesia hosted twice in a row by swapping years with Brunei, as it will play host to APEC (and the possibility of hosting theG20 summit which ultimately fell to Russia) in 2013.

During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:[43]

ASEAN Informal Summits

No Date Country Host Host leader

1st 30 November 1996 Indonesia Jakarta Soeharto

2nd1416 December

1997 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Mahathir Mohamad

3rd2728 November

1999 Philippines Manila Joseph Estrada

4th2225 November

2000 Singapore Singapore Goh Chok Tong

East Asia Summit

Main article: East Asia Summit

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a pan-Asian forum held annually bythe leaders of 16 countries in East Asia and the region, withASEAN in a leadership position. The summit has discussed issuesincluding trade, energy and security and the summit has a role inregional community building.

The members of the summit are all 10 members of ASEAN plusChina, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.These nations represent nearly half of the world's population. InOctober 2010, Russia and the United States were formally invitedto participate as full members, with presidents of both countries to

attend the 2011 summit.[45]



The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2005 and subsequent meetings have been held afterthe annual ASEAN Leaders Meeting.

Meeting Country Location Date Note

First EAS Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 14 December 2005 Russia attended as a guest.

Second

EAS PhilippinesCebu City 15 January 2007

Rescheduled from 13 December 2006.

Cebu Declaration on East Asian EnergySecurity

Third EAS Singapore

Singapore 21 November 2007

Singapore Declaration on Climate

Change, Energy and the Environment[46]

Agreed to establish Economic ResearchInstitute for ASEAN and East Asia

Fourth EAS ThailandCha-am and Hua

Hin25 October 2009

The date and location of the venue was

rescheduled several times, and then a

Summit scheduled for 12 April 2009 at

Pattaya, Thailand was cancelled when

protesters stormed the venue. The

Summit has been rescheduled forOctober 2009 and transferred again from

Phuket[47] to Cha-am and Hua Hin.[48]

Fifth EAS Vietnam Hanoi30 October

2010[49]

Officially invited the US and Russia to

participate in future EAS as full-fledged

members[45]

Sixth EAS Indonesia

Bali 19 November 2011The United States and Russia to join the

Summit.

SeventhEAS Cambodia

Phnom Penh 20 November 2012

Eighth EAS BruneiBandar Seri

Begawan10 October 2013

Ninth EAS Burma

(Myanmar)Naypyidaw TBA

Commemorative summit

Main article: ASEAN Free Trade Area

A commemorative summit is a summit hosted by a non-ASEAN country to mark a milestone anniversary of theestablishment of relations between ASEAN and the host country. The host country invites the heads of governmentof ASEAN member countries to discuss future cooperation and partnership.



ASEAN full members.

ASEAN observers.

ASEAN candidate members.

ASEAN Plus Three.

East Asia Summit.

ASEAN Regional Forum.

Meeting Host Location Date Note

ASEANJapan CommemorativeSummit

Japan Tokyo11, 12

December 2003

To celebrate the 30th

anniversary of the establishment

of relations between ASEAN

and Japan. The summit was alsonotable as the first ASEAN

summit held between ASEAN

and a non-ASEAN countryoutside the region.

ASEANChina CommemorativeSummit

China Nanning30, 31 October

2006


anniversary of the establishmentof relations between ASEAN

and China

ASEANRepublic of Korea

Commemorative Summit

Republic

of KoreaJeju-do 1, 2 June 2009

To celebrate the 20thanniversary of the establishment

of relations between ASEANand Republic of Korea

ASEANIndia CommemorativeSummit

IndiaNewDelhi

20, 21December 2012


anniversary of the establishmentof relations between ASEAN

and India.

Regional Forum

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, multilateraldialogue in Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it consists of 27participants. ARF objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation,and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the

region.[50] The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The currentparticipants in the ARF are as follows: all the ASEAN members,Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, theEuropean Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea,Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia,

East Timor, United States and Sri Lanka.[51] The Republic of China(also known as Taiwan) has been excluded since the establishmentof the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait are neitherdiscussed at the ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman'sStatements.

Other meetings

Aside from the ones above, other regular[52] meetings are also held.[53] These include the annual ASEAN

Ministerial Meeting[54] as well as other smaller committees.[55] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as

defence[52] or the environment,[52][56] and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.



Another Three

The ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea, and is primarily heldduring each ASEAN Summit. Until now China, Japan and South Korea have not yet formed Free Trade Area

(FTA), the meeting about FTA among them will be held at end of 2012.[57]

AsiaEurope Meeting

The AsiaEurope Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996 with the intention ofstrengthening cooperation between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially members of the European Union

and ASEAN in particular.[58] ASEAN, represented by its Secretariat, is one of the 45 ASEM partners. It alsoappoints a representative to sit on the governing board of Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), a socio-culturalorganisation associated with the Meeting.

ASEANRussia Summit

The ASEANRussia Summit is an annual meeting between leaders of member states and the President of Russia.

ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting

The 44th annual meeting was held in Bali on 16 to 23 July 2011. Indonesia proposed a unified ASEAN travel visa

to ease travel within the region for citizens of ASEAN member states.[59] The 45th annual meeting was held inPhnom Penh, Cambodia. For the first time in the history of ASEAN there was no diplomatic statement issued bythe bloc at the end of the meeting. This was due to tensions over China's claim of ownership over near the entiretyof the South China Sea and the counterclaim to such ownership by neighbouring states.

Economic community

ASEAN has emphasised regional cooperation in the three pillars, which are security, sociocultural integration, and

economic integration.[60] The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration by creating an

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.[61] The average economic growths of ASEAN's member nationsduring 19892009 was Singapore with 6.73 percent, Malaysia with 6.15 percent, Indonesia with 5.16 percent,Thailand with 5.02 percent, and the Philippines with 3.79 percent. This economic growth was greater than the

average Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic growth, which was 2.83 percent.[62]

From CEPT to AEC

A Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN lead to

the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).[61] The AFTA is an agreement by the member nations of ASEANconcerning local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in

Singapore.[63] 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 Burma in 1997,and Cambodia in 1999. The latecomers have not fully met the AFTA's obligations, but they are officially consideredpart 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.[64]



The next step is ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with main objectives are to create a:

single market and production base

highly competitive economic regionregion of equitable economic development

region fully integrated into the global economy

Since 2007, the ASEAN countries gradually lower their import duties among them and targeted will be zero for

most of the import duties at 2015.[65]

Since 2011, AEC has agreed to strengthen the position and increase the competitive edges of small and medium

enterprises (SME) in the ASEAN region.[66]

Comprehensive Investment Area

The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Area (ACIA) will encourage the free flow of investment within ASEAN.

The main principles of the ACIA are as follows[67]

All industries are to be opened up for investment, with exclusions to be phased out according to schedulesNational treatment is granted immediately to ASEAN investors with few exclusions

Elimination of investment impedimentsStreamlining of investment process and procedures

Enhancing transparencyUndertaking investment facilitation measures

Full realisation of the ACIA with the removal of temporary exclusion lists in manufacturing agriculture, fisheries,forestry and mining is scheduled by 2010 for most ASEAN members and by 2015 for the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao

PDR, Burma, and Vietnam) countries.[67]

Trade in Services

An ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in

December 1995.[68] Under AFAS, ASEAN Member States enter into successive rounds of negotiations toliberalise trade in services with the aim of submitting increasingly higher levels of commitments. The negotiationsresult in commitments that are set forth in schedules of specific commitments annexed to the FrameworkAgreement. These schedules are often referred to as packages of services commitments. At present, ASEAN has

concluded seven packages of commitments under AFAS.[69]

Single Aviation Market

The ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASEAN-SAM), is the region's major aviation policy geared towards thedevelopment of a unified and single aviation market in Southeast Asia by 2015. The aviation policy was proposedby the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and

endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers.[70] The ASEAN-SAM is expected to fully liberalise air travelbetween member states in the ASEAN region, allowing ASEAN countries and airlines operating in the region todirectly benefit from the growth in air travel around the world, and also freeing up tourism, trade, investment and

services flows between member states.[70][71] Since 1 December 2008, restrictions on the third and fourth



freedoms of the air between capital cities of member states for air passengers services have been removed,[72]

while from 1 January 2009, full liberalisation of air freight services in the region took effect.[70][71] On 1 January

2011, full liberalisation on fifth freedom traffic rights between all capital cities took effect.[73]

The ASEAN Single Aviation Market policy will supersede existing unilateral, bilateral and multilateral air servicesagreements among member states which are inconsistent with its provisions.

Free-trade agreements with other countries

ASEAN has concluded free trade agreements with China (expecting bilateral trade of $500 billion by 2015),[74]

Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India.[75] ASEAN-India bilateral trade crossed the $ 70 billion target

in 2012 (target was to reach the level only by 2015).[citation needed] The agreement with People's Republic ofChina created the ASEANChina Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which went into full effect on 1 January 2010. In

addition, ASEAN is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union.[76] Republic of China(Taiwan) has also expressed interest in an agreement with ASEAN but needs to overcome diplomatic objections

from China.[77]

ASEAN six majors

ASEAN six majors refer to the six largest economies in the area with economies many times larger than theremaining four ASEAN countries.

Country GDP (nominal) GDP (PPP)

Indonesia895,854,000,000 1,211,000,000,000

Thailand376,989,000,000 602,216,000,000

Malaysia307,178,000,000 447,980,000,000

Singapore267,941,000,000 314,906,000,000

Philippines257,890,000,000 416,678,000,000

Vietnam137,681,000,000 320,450,000,000

Development gap

When Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia joined ASEAN in the late 1990s, concerns were raised about acertain developmental divide regarding a gap in average per capita GDP between older and the newer members. Inresponse, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) was formed by ASEAN as a regional integration policy withthe principle goal of bridging this developmental divide, which, in addition to disparities in per capita GDP, ismanifested by disparities in dimensions of human development such as life expectancy and literacy rates. Other than



the IAI, other programmes for the development of the Mekong Basin - where all four newer ASEAN members arelocated - that tend to focus on infrastructure development have been effectively enacted. In general, ASEAN doesnot have the financial resources to extend substantial grants or loans to the new members. Therefore, it usuallyleaves the financing of these infrastructure projects to international financial institutions and to developed countries.Nevertheless, it has mobilised funding from these institutions and countries and from the ASEAN-6 (Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, and Thailand) themselves for areas where the developmentgap needs to be filled through the IAI programme. Other programmes intended for the development of theASEAN-4 take advantage of the geographical proximity of the CLMV countries and tend to focus on infrastructure

development in areas like transport, tourism, and power transmission.[78]

From CMI to AMRO

Due to Asian financial crisis of 1997 to 1998 and long and difficult negotiations with International Monetary Fund,ASEAN+3 agreed to set up a mainly bilateral currency swap scheme known as the 2000 Chiang Mai Initiative(CMI) to anticipate another financial crisis or currency turmoil in the future. In 2006 they agreed to make CMI withmultilateralisation and called as CMIM. On 3 May 2009, they agreed to make a currency pool consist ofcontribution $38.4 billion each by China and Japan, $19.2 billion by South Korea and totally $24 billion by all of

ASEAN members, so the total currency pool was $120 billion.[79] A key component has also newly been added,

with the establishment of a surveillance unit.[80]

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic and Research Office (AMRO) started its operation in Singapore in May

2011.[81] It performs a key regional surveillance function as part of the $120 billion of Chiang Mai InitiativeMultilateralisation (CMIM) currency swap facility that was established by Finance Minister and Central Bank

Governors of ASEAN countries plus China, Japan and South Korea in December 2009.[82]

According to some analysts, the amount of $120 billion is relatively small (cover only about 20 percent of needs),

so coordination or help from International Monetary Fund is still needed.[83] On 3 May 2012 ASEAN+3 finance

ministers agreed to double emergency reserve fund to $240 billion.[84]

Foreign Direct Investment

In 2009, realised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was $37.9 billion and increase by two-fold in 2010 to$75.8 billion. 22 percent of FDI came from the European Union, followed by ASEAN countries themselves by 16percent and then followed by Japan and US.

Intra-ASEAN travel

With the institutionalisation of visa-free travel between ASEAN member states, intra-ASEAN travel has boomed, asign that endeavours to form an ASEAN Community shall bear fruit in years to come. In 2010, 47 percent or 34

million out of 73 million tourists in ASEAN member-states were from other ASEAN countries.[85]

Intra-ASEAN trade

Until end of 2010, Intra-Asean trade were still low which mainly of them were mostly exporting to countries outsidethe region, except Laos and Myanmar were ASEAN-oriented in foreign trade with 80 percent and 50 percent

respectively of their exports went to other ASEAN countries.[86]



The Secretariat of ASEAN at Jalan

Sisingamangaraja No.70A, South Jakarta, Indonesia.

Charter

Main article: ASEAN Charter

On 15 December 2008, the members of ASEAN met inthe Indonesian capital of Jakarta to launch a charter, signedin November 2007, with the aim of moving closer to "an

EU-style community".[87] The charter turns ASEAN into alegal entity and aims to create a single free-trade area forthe region encompassing 500 million people. President ofIndonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that "This is amomentous development when ASEAN is consolidating,integrating and transforming itself into a community. It isachieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role inAsian and global affairs at a time when the internationalsystem is experiencing a seismic shift", he added, referringto climate change and economic upheaval, and concluded"Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-tornregion it was in the 1960s and 1970s". The fundamental

principles include:

a) respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all ASEANMember States;

b) shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity;

c) renunciation of aggression and of the threat or use of force or other actions in any manner inconsistent withinternational law;

d) reliance on peaceful settlement of disputes;

e) non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States;

f) respect for the right of every Member State to lead its national existence free from external interference,subversion and coercion;

g) enhanced consultations on matters seriously affecting the common interest of ASEAN;

h) adherence to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government;

i) respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of socialjustice;

j) upholding the United Nations Charter and international law, including international humanitarian law, subscribedto by ASEAN Member States;

k) abstention from participation in any policy or activity, including the use of its territory, pursued by an ASEANMember State or non-ASEAN State or any non-State actor, which threatens the sovereignty, territorial integrity orpolitical and economic stability of ASEAN Member States;



l) respect for the different cultures, languages and religions of the peoples of ASEAN, while emphasising theircommon values in the spirit of unity in diversity;

m) the centrality of ASEAN in external political, economic, social and cultural relations while remaining activelyengaged, outward-looking, inclusive and non-discriminatory; and

n) adherence to multilateral trade rules and ASEAN's rules-based regimes for effective implementation of economiccommitments and progressive reduction towards elimination of all barriers to regional economic integration, in a

market-driven economy.[88]

However, the ongoing global financial crisis was stated as being a threat to the goals envisioned by the charter,[89]

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 who violate citizens' rights and would therefore be limited in effectiveness.[90] The body was establishedlater in 2009 as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). In November 2012, theCommission adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.

Cultural activities

The organisation hosts cultural activities in an attempt to further integrate the region. These include sports andeducational activities as well as writing awards. Examples of these include the ASEAN University Network, theASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, the ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award, and the Singapore-sponsored ASEAN Scholarship.

ASEAN Media Cooperation

The ASEAN Media Cooperation (AMC) set digital television standards, policies and create in preparation forbroadcasters to transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, better promote media collaboration andinformation exchange to enhance voice, understanding, and perspective between ASEAN people on theinternational stage.

The ASEAN member countries aim media sector towards digitalisation and further regional media coaction. AMCestablishes partnerships between ASEAN news media, and cooperate on information sharing, photo swapping,technical cooperation, exchange programmes, and facilitating joint news coverage and exchange of news footage.

The concept was stressed during the 11th AMRI Conference[91] adopting the theme: Media Connecting Peoplesand Bridging Cultures Towards One ASEAN Nation. ASEAN Ministers believed that the new and traditionalmedia are important mediums to connect ASEAN people and bridging the cultural gap.

Accessing information towards the goal of creating a One ASEAN nation requires participation among the nation

members and its citizens. During the 18th ASEAN Summit[92] in May 2011, the Chair stated the important role of aparticipatory approach among people and stakeholders of ASEAN towards a people-oriented , people centredand rule-based ASEAN.

Several key initiatives that were initiated under the AMC:[93]

ASEAN Media Portal (http://www.aseanmedia.net/SitePages/MDAHome.aspx), The new ASEAN Media



Portal[94] was launched 16 November 2007 by the ASEAN Secretary-General, Mr Ong Keng Yong, andwitnessed by Singapores Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang. The

said portal aims to provide a one-stop site that contains documentaries, games, music videos, and multimediaclips on the culture, arts and heritage of the ASEAN countries to showcase the rich ASEAN culture and the

capabilities of its media industry.ASEAN NewsMaker Project (http://www.aseanmedia.net/SitePages/ContentList.aspx?

Category=ASEAN%20NewsMaker%20Project), an initiative launched in 2009 that trains students andteachers to produce informational video clips about the lifestyle in their country. The project was initiated bySingapore to work closely with 500 primary and secondary students, aging from 9 to 16 years old, along

with their mentors from the 10 ASEAN countries to produce informative videos promoting their respectivecountrys culture. Students underwent training for the NewsMaker software use, video production and

responsible internet use and hope to develop the language skills and story narration among the said students.Engaging the youth using new media is an approach to create a One Asean Community as stressed by Dr

Soeung Rathchavy, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community: RaisingASEAN awareness amongst the youth is part and parcel of our efforts to build the ASEAN Community by2015. 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.[95]

ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting, an annual forum for ASEAN members to set digital televisionstandards and policies, and to discuss progress in the implementation of the blueprint to switchover from

analogue to digital TV broadcasting by 2020. During the 11th ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting,[96]

members updated the status on DTV implementation and agreed to inform ASEAN members on the

Guidelines for ASEAN Digital Switchover.[97] An issue was raised on the availability and affordability of SetTop Boxes (STB), thus ASEAN members were asked to make policies to determine funding for the STB,

methods of allocation, subsidies and rebates and other methods for the allocation of STB. It was also agreedin the meeting to form a task force to develop STB specifications for DVB-T2 to ensure efficiency.

ASEANs Next Top Chef (http://www.aseanmedia.net/SitePages/ContentListDetail.aspx?MID=1096&Category=Games) and The Legend of the Golden Talisman(http://www.aseanmedia.net/SitePages/ContentListDetail.aspx?MID=1332&Category=Games), two

interactive games developed to raise awareness about ASEAN, and its people, places and cultures

New media and social media

During the 11th ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information meeting (http://www.asean.org/news/item/joint-media-statement-eleventh-conference-of-the-asean-ministers-responsible-for-information-11th-amri-and-second-conference-of-asean-plus-three-ministers-responsible-for-information-2nd-amri3-kuala-lumpur-1st-march-2012)held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ASEAN leaders recognised the emergence of new and social media as animportant tool for communications and interaction in ASEAN today. The Ministers agreed that efforts should bemade to leverage on social media to promote ASEAN awareness towards achieving an ASEAN community by2015. Initially, ASEAN will consolidate the ASEAN Culture and Information Portal and the ASEAN Media Portalto incorporate new media elements.

SEA Write Award



Logo of the SEA

Write Award.

The S.E.A. Write Award is a literary award given to Southeast Asian poets and writers annually since 1979. Theaward is either given for a specific work or as a recognition of an author's lifetime achievement. Works that arehonoured vary and have included poetry, short stories, novels, plays, folklore as well asscholarly and religious works. Ceremonies are held in Bangkok and are presided by amember of the Thai royal family.

ASAIHL

ASAIHL or the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1956 that strives to strengthen higher learninginstitutions, espescially in teaching, research, and public service, with the intention ofcultivating a sense of regional identity and interdependence.

Heritage Parks

ASEAN Heritage Parks[98] is a list of nature parks launched 1984 and relaunched in 2004. It aims to protect theregion's natural treasures. There are now 35 such protected areas, including the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and

the Kinabalu National Park.[99]

ASEAN Heritage Sites

Site Country Site Country

Alaungdaw Kathapa

National Park Burma

Ao Phang-nga Marine

National Park Thailand

Apo Natural Park Philippines

Imperial City, Hu Vietnam

Bukit Barisan SelatanNational Park Indonesia

Gunung Leuser NationalPark Indonesia

Gunung Mulu NationalPark Malaysia

Ha Long Bay Vietnam

Hoi An Ancient Town VietnamMounts Iglit-Baco National

Park Philippines

Indawgyi Lake WildlifeSanctuary

BurmaInl Lake WildlifeSanctuary

Burma

Kaeng Krachan NationalPark

ThailandKerinci Seblat NationalPark Indonesia

Khakaborazi National Park Burma Khao Yai National Park Thailand

Kinabalu National Park Malaysia

Komodo National Park Indonesia

Imperial Citadel of ThangLong

VietnamLampi Kyun WildlifeReserve

Burma



Lorentz National Park

Indonesia

Meinmhala Kyun Wildlife

Sanctuary

Burma

Mu Ko Surin-Mu Ko

Similan Marine NationalPark

Thailand Nam Ha Protected Area Laos

Phong Nha-Ke Bang

National Park Vietnam

Preah Monivong (Bokor)

National Park Cambodia

Puerto Princesa

Subterranean RiverNational Park

Philippines

Sungei Buloh Wetland

Reserve Singapore

Taman Negara National

Park Malaysia

Tarutao Marine National

Park Thailand

Tasek Merimbun WildlifeSanctuary

BruneiThung Yai-Huay KhaKhaeng National Park

Thailand

Tubbataha Reef MarinePark Philippines

Ujung Kulon National Park Indonesia

Virachey National Park Cambodia

Keraton Yogyakarta Indonesia

M Sn Vietnam Citadel of Ho Dynasty Vietnam

Mount Malindang Philippines

Vigan City Philippines

Taal Volcano Philippines

Mayon Volcano Philippines

Songs and music

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.

Education and human development

As the "collective entity to enhance regional cooperation in education", the ASEAN Education Ministers havedetermined four priorities that ASEAN efforts toward improved education would address: (1) Promoting ASEANawareness among ASEAN citizens, particularly youth; (2) Strengthening ASEAN identity through education; (3)Building ASEAN human resources in the field of education; and (4) Strengthening ASEAN university

networking.[100] Nations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines have experiencedrapid development over the past 20 years, and this has been visibly evident in their educational systems. Eachcountry has developed unique - yet interconnected through ASEAN initiatives - human and physical infrastructure



to provide youth education, a primary determinant in future capabilities and sustained economic growth for the

entire region.[101] Various programmes and projects have been and are currently in the process of being developed

to fulfil these directives and to reach these future goals.[100]

At the 11th ASEAN Summit in December 2005, ASEAN Leaders set new directions for regional educationcollaboration when they welcomed the decision of the ASEAN Education Ministers to convene the ASEANEducation Ministers Meetings (ASED) on a regular basis. The Leaders also called for ASEAN Education

Ministers to focus on enhancing regional cooperation in education.[102] The ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting,which meets annually, oversees ASEAN cooperation efforts on education at the ministerial level. With regard toimplementation, such programmes and activities resulting from such efforts are for the most part carried out by theASEAN Senior Officials on Education (SOM-ED), which reports to the ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting.SOM-ED also manages cooperation on higher education through the ASEAN University Network (AUN). TheAUN was established to assist ASEAN in (1) promoting cooperation among ASEAN scholars, academics, andscientists in the region; (2) developing academic and professional human resources in the region; (3) promotinginformation dissemination among the ASEAN academic community; and (4) enhancing the awareness of regional

identity and the sense of "ASEAN-ness" among members.[100]

Education indicators outlined hereafter belong to primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Primary education isgenerally defined as the level of education where children are provided with basic reading, writing, andmathematical skills together with elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science,social science, art, and music. Secondary education continues to build up on the knowledge provided by primaryeducation and aims at laying the foundations for lifelong learning and human development with more advancedmaterial and learning mechanisms. Tertiary education, whether or not leading to an advanced research qualification,requires minimally the successful completion of secondary education for admission and entails the level of education

within some college or university.[103]

School enrollment and participation

Participation in formal education is usually measured by the metric Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) and NetEnrollment Ratio (NER). The NER demonstrates the extent of participation in a given age-specific level ofeducation. The purpose of the GER is to show the total enrollment in a level of education regardless of age. TheGER is expressed as a percentage of the official school-age population corresponding to the same level of

education.[104]

Primary education

We can make a few observations based on reported data on primary education enrollment. Brunei Darussalam hadalmost reached 100% net enrollment by 2001, while Indonesia has slowly moved downward from close to thatenrolment percentage thereafter. The Philippines has been inching closer and closer to this target in recent years.The data indicate two groups of countries - one which has consistently attained a net enrollment ratio of more than90% (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore) and the other group with around 80%(Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar). Vietnam started in the lower group and has moved to the upper group in thelast few decades. Thailand has not provided data for both sexes, but the separate net enrolment ratio for girls andboys indicates that the overall ratio would be between 86% and 87%, and as such would be closer to the highergroup. The primary net enrolment ratios of boys were almost always higher than those of girls for all reporting



High school students in Laos

assemble a jigsaw puzzle map of

Southeast Asia. Laos is a member of

ASEAN but most students know little

about the other 9 member countries.

The map is one of many hands-on

activities offered by Big Brother

Mouse, a not-for-profit literacy and

education project.

countries except Malaysia. For Singapore and Indonesia since 1998, however, the net enrolment ratios for girls andboys were not significantly different. A marked widening of gender gap was noticeable in the Philippines in 1997

but in 1999 the net enrolment ratios for girls exceeded that for boys.[105]

It is also useful to look at retainment and efficiency rates in education throughout ASEAN. The effectiveness ofefforts to extend literacy depends on the ability of the education system to ensure full participation of school-agechildren and their successful progression to reach at least grade 5, which is the stage when they are believed to havefirmly acquired literacy and numeracy. The usual indicator to measure the level of this efficiency achievement is the

proportion of pupils starting grade 1 reaching grade 5 of primary education.[106]

Most reporting countries in ASEAN have steadily improved retention rates of pupils through 5th grade. At the topare Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, which have shown consistent survival rates of close to 100%, indicating avery high retention of children in school through at least 5th grade. Among the rest of the countries with ratesranging from 57% to 89% towards the end of the past century, Myanmar has maintained the largest improvements

over the years.[107]

Secondary education

By 2001, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, and thePhilippines had achieved improvements in net enrolment ratios forsecondary education of 11%-19% over those of 1990 or 1991. Vietnamexperienced the fastest growth rate in net enrolment between the years1993 and 1998. Singapore, the country with the highest overallachievement, has maintained consistently high net enrolment rates ofabove 90% since 1994. With regard to gender differences, the differencein the ratios of females to males ranges from 0.2%-6% (for the sixcountries for which these ratios are available: Indonesia, Malaysia,Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,and Vietnam). "The overall pattern isthat girls seem to exhibit appreciably higher net enrolment ratios forsecondary education, except in the case of Singapore where the ratiosfor girls and boys converged in the second half of the reporting

period."[108]

Tertiary education

While the HPAEs (High Performing Asian Economies) and ASEAN-6(the 6 oldest ASEAN members) have invested heavily in publiceducation, and, unlike many other developing nations, have concentrated

on primary and secondary schooling, tertiary education has been left largely to the private sector.[109] Tertiaryeducation in Southeast Asia is, in general, relatively weak. In most cases universities are focused on teaching andservice to government rather than academic research. Additionally, universities in Southeast Asia, both in terms ofacademic salaries and research infrastructure (libraries, laboratories), tend to be nancially handicapped and poorlysupported. Moreover, regional academic journals cater to their 'home' informed audiences and respond less to

international standards which makes universal or regional benchmarking difcult.[110]

University Network



The ASEAN University Network (AUN) is a consortium of Southeast Asian universities. It was originally

founded in November 1995 by 11 universities within the member states.[111] Currently AUN comprises 26

Participating Universities.[112]

The Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (SEED-NET) Project, was officiallyestablished as an autonomous sub-network of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) in April 2001'.AUN/SEED-Net (http://www.seed-net.org/) aimed at promoting human resources development in

engineering in ASEAN. The Network consists of 19 leading Member Institutions (http://www.seed-net.org/info_members.php) (selected by the Ministries in charge of higher education of respective countries)from 10 ASEAN countries with the support of 11 leading Japanese Supporting Universities(http://www.seed-net.org/info_jsuc.php) (selected by Japanese Government). AUN/SEED-Net is mainlysupported by the Japanese Government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and

partially supported by the ASEAN Foundation. AUN/SEED-Net activities are implemented by theAUN/SEED-Net Secretariat with the support of the JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net, now based atChulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Public efforts

Financial resources

Governments have a vested interest in investing in education and other aspects of human capital infrastructure,especially those governments of rapidly-developing nations such as those within ASEAN. In the short run,investment spending directly supports aggregate demand and growth. In the longer term, investments in physicalinfrastructure, in productivity enhancements by businesses, and especially in the public provision of education and

health services determine the potential for growth.[113]

To measure the investments in education by governments, we use the metrics of public current expenditure onprimary education as a percent of GDP and expenditure per pupil as a percent of GDP. These two indicators arebased on public current expenditure at all government levels on all public primary schools and subsidies to privateeducational institutions, teachers and pupils. In some instances regarding figures used in these calculations, data oncurrent public expenditure on education may refer only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries that

spend a part of their budget on educational activities.[103]

Primary education expenditure in the reporting ASEAN countries is usually lower than 3% of GDP, with theexception of Indonesia, which reported 5%. Two countries that show noticeable rising trends are the Philippinesand Lao PDR. Malaysia has experienced a gradual downward trend throughout the 1990s but stabilised around theyear 2000. Indonesia experienced a sharp decline in primary education expenditure as a percent of GDP between1995 and 1999 from almost 10% to 5%. Singapore has maintained a stable 0.6% up until 2000 and increased

slightly to 0.7% in 2001.[114]

While the public current expenditure on primary education as percentage of GDP can never be close to 100%, it istheoretically possible to have the public current expenditure per pupil as percentage of GDP per capita to reach orexceed 100%. Except for Singapore, this indicator fluctuates somewhat, but seems to have stabilised at around10% for two reporting countries of ASEAN at the end of the 1990s decade. Since 1996, the indicator has steadilyrisen in the Philippines reaching almost 14% by 1998. Upward or downward trend for this indicator can have many

causes which include sharp changes in enrolment rates of government expenditures on primary education.[114]



Scholarship

The ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship programme offered by Singapore to the 9 other member states forsecondary school, junior college, and university education. It covers accommodation, food, medical benefits &

accident insurance, school fees, and examination fees.[115] Scholarship recipients who then perform well in the GCEAdvanced Level Examination may apply for ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarships, which are tailored specifically

for undergraduate institutions in Singapore and in other ASEAN member countries.[116] Singapore has effectivelyused this programme to attract many of the best students from the ASEAN region over the past several years, andscholars for the most part tend to remain in Singapore to pursue undergraduate studies through the ASEAN

Undergraduate Scholarship programme.[117]

Education as a determinant of human development

Statistically, educational attainment (as measured by average years of schooling) strongly correlates with subsequentincome levels and development capabilities. An improvement in educational attainment will have a positive effect on

a country's income and human development (humanity) growth.[118]

It is therefore evident that "universal access to, and completion of, primary or basic education is a self-evident goalupon which the foundations for building the human capacity rests. Increased participation, regardless of sex, insecondary and tertiary levels of education is a necessary step to be able to move forward in the process of

achieving equity, capacity building, access to information, and strengthening science."[114]

Literacy rates

Literacy indicators provide us with a measure of the number of literate persons within the population who are

capable of using written words in daily and to continue to learn.[119] The literacy rate essentially reflects thecumulative accomplishment of education in spreading literacy. The literacy rate is usually linked to school enrolmentratios and school retainment rates (through at least grade 5) of primary education, both of which contribute to theliterate population.

The data of literacy rates in reporting countries of 15 to 24 years old reflect outcomes of the basic educationprocess and is therefore considered an accepted measure of the effectiveness of that country's education system'sinvestment in children. Among the eight ASEAN countries reporting six have made significant progress towards100% literacy by 2000. This progress is comprable with member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an impressive accomplishment. Overall, there is not much disparity betweenmale and female literacy with the exceptions of Cambodia and Lao PDR, where the literacy rate for females isabout 10% lower than that of males in 1999. The results of overall improvement in literacy rates, though, indicate

positive effectiveness of the primary education systems of these countries throughout the 1990s.[120][121]



CountryYear(most

recent)

Adult (15+)Literacy Rate

Total

Adult

Men

Adult

Women

Youth (15-24)Literacy Rate

Total

Youth

Men

Youth

Women

Brunei 2009 95% 97% 94% 100% 100% 100%

Cambodia2008 78% 85% 71% 87% 89% 86%

Indonesia2008 92% 95% 89% 99% 100% 99%

Laos 2005 73% 82% 63% 84% 89% 79%

Malaysia2009 92% 95% 90% 99% 98% 99%

Burma 2009 92% 95% 90% 96% 96% 95%

Philippines2008 95% 95% 96% 98% 97% 98%

Singapore2009 95% 97% 92% 100% 100% 100%

Thailand2005 94% 96% 92% 98% 98% 98%

Vietnam2009 93% 95% 91% 97% 97% 96%

Looking at adult (defined as the entire population 15 and older) literacy rates, we can see that most reportingcountries have made significant progress in this demographic as well. All but two reporting countries reached adultliteracy rates of around 90% or better. Looking at the differences in literacy rates by sex, we can see a visiblegender gap. This gap is most apparent in Cambodia and Laos, with percentage differences between adult men and

adult women literacy rates of 14% and 19%, respectively.[122]

Sports

Southeast Asian Games

The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involvingparticipants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games is under regulation of the Southeast AsianGames Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council ofAsia.

ASEAN Para Games

The ASEAN Para Games is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games for athletes withphysical disabilities. The games are participated by the 11 countries located in Southeast Asia. The Games,patterned after the Paralympic Games, are played by physically challenged athletes with mobility disabilities, visualdisabilities,



Logo of the ASEAN Para Games.

FESPIC Games / Asian Para Games

The FESPIC Games, also known as the Far East and South Pacific Games for the persons with disability, was thebiggest multi-sports games in Asia and South Pacific region. The

FESPIC Games were held nine times and bowed out, a success[123] inDecember 2006 in the 9th FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.The Games re-emerged as the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou,China. The 2010 Asian Para Games debuted shortly after the conclusionof the 16th Asian Games, using the same facilities and venue madedisability-accessible. The inaugural Asian Para Games, the parallel eventfor athletes with physical disabilities, is a multi-sport event held every fouryears after every Asian Games.

Football Championship

The ASEAN Football Championship is a biennial Football competition organised by the ASEAN FootballFederation, accredited by FIFA and contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia nations. It was inauguratedin 1996 as Tiger Cup, but after Asia Pacific Breweries terminated the sponsorship deal, "Tiger" was renamed"ASEAN".

ASEAN 2030 FIFA World Cup bid

January 2011: As a result of ASEAN Foreign ministers at Lombok meeting, they agreed bid to host the FIFA

World Cup in 2030 as a single entity.[124]

May 2011: ASEAN will go ahead with its bid for the FIFA 2030 World Cup. It was a follow up to the agreement

reached in January before.[125]

ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration

Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have established defence industries. To cut cost and plan to be self-sufficient by 2030, Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to promote the creation of the ASEAN Defence Industry

Collaboration (ADIC).[126] The United States military reportedly has said that ADIC could have additional benefitsbeyond cost savings for ASEAN members, including facilitating a set of standards, similar to NATO, that willimprove interoperability among ASEAN and U.S. militaries and increase the effectiveness of regional response to

threats to Asia-Pacific peace and stability.[127]

Criticism

Non-ASEAN countries have criticised ASEAN for being too soft in its approach to promoting human rights and

democracy in the junta-led Burma.[128] Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on unarmed protesters inYangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Burma as a member and also rejects proposals for economic

sanctions.[129] 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.[130] International observers view it as a "talk



shop",[131] which implies that the organisation is "big on words but small on action".[132][133] However, leaders such

as the Philippines' Foreign Affairs Secretary, Alberto Romulo, said it "is a workshop not a talk shop".[134] Others

have also expressed similar sentiment.[135]

Head of the International Institute of Strategic Studies Asia, Tim Huxley cites the diverse political systems presentin the grouping, including many young states, as a barrier to far-reaching cooperation 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 hasbegun to be less successful at restraining its members and resolving border disputes such as those between Burma

and Thailand and Indonesia and Malaysia.[136]

During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several activist groups staged anti-globalisation protests.[137] Accordingto these communist activists, the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines

and would cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs.[138]

ASEAN competitions

SEA GamesASEAN University GamesASEAN School GamesASEAN Para GamesASEAN Football Championship

Miss ASEAN

See also

ASEANIndia Commemorative SummitASEAN-India Car Rally 2012ASEAN Common Time

ASEAN ExchangesASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)Asia Pacific ForumASEAN kecilAsian Monetary Unit

Chiang Mai InitiativeComprehensive Economic Partnership for East AsiaList of ASEAN countries by GDP (nominal)Mekong-Ganga Cooperation

Southeast Asia Treaty OrganisationBlue card system, the ASEAN motor insurance scheme.ASEAN FoundationRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Literature

ASEAN Community in Figures (ACIF) 2012



(http://www.asean.org/images/2013/resources/publication/2013_ACIF_2012%20Mar.pdf), Jakarta:

Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 2012, ISBN 978-602-7643-22-2Acharya, Amitav (2009), Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and theproblem of regional order (2nd ed.), Abingdon Oxon/New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-41428-9

Collins, Allan (2013), Building a People-oriented Security Community the ASEAN Way, AbingdonOxon/New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-46052-1Fry, Gerald W. (2008), The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, New York: Chelsea House,ISBN 978-0-7910-9609-3

Lee, Yoong Yoong, ed. (2011), ASEAN Matters! Reflecting on the Association of Southeast AsianNations, Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, ISBN 978-981-4335-06-5Haacke, Jrgen; Morada, Noel M., eds. (2010), Cooperative Security in the Asia-Pacific: The ASEANRegional Forum, Abingdon Oxon/New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-46052-1Severino, Rodolfo (2008), ASEAN, Singapore: ISEAS Publications, ISBN 978-981-230-750-7

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