Introduction to the ASEAN

Sources

1. Chapter 1 of The Elgar Companion to ASEAN by Jörn Dosch and Frederick Kliem

Timeline

1. January 1959
   • The Southeast Asian Friendship and Economic Treaty was proposed as a result of the shared goal between Tunku Abdul Rahman and Carlos P. Garcia (a coordinated regional effort to fight against communists). Thanat Khoman supported this proposal.
2. 1961
   • Malaya, the Philippines, and Thailand formed the ASA, an association focused on promoting economic cooperation between these three regions.
3. 1963
   • Diosdado Macapagal arranged a summit meeting scheduled at this year, known as the MAPHILINDO. It aimed to unite the Malays into a political union.
     • The MAPHILINDO was inspired by Jose Rizal’s work that suggested that colonialism led to the division of the Malay people into Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia.
     • One major barrier to regional cooperation was the Konfrontasi—an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966, which stemmed from Indonesia’s disapproval of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.
4. 1967
   • President Sukarno of Indonesia was removed from power and replaced by President Suharto—a president with foreign policy conducive to regional cooperation.
   • End of Konfrontasi.
5. August 1967
   • Foreign ministers from various Southeast Asian countries gathered at Bangsaen, Thailand.
     1. Adam Malik of Indonesia
     2. Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines
     3. Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia
     4. S. Rajaratnam of Singapore
     5. Thanat Khoman of Thailand
6. August 08, 1967
   • After a number of meetings at Thanat Khoman‘s private residence, the founding document—the Bangkok Declaration or the ASEAN Declaration—of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was signed at the Department of Foreign Affairs Building in Bangkok.
     • Security was the main reason for creating this organization. The leaders were worried of threats emerging from the East and West (e.g. Vietnam War).
     • The South-East Asian political leaders shared an anti-communist sentiment. They believed that communism or the soviets was a potential threat to their national sovereignty and national development (national development heavily relies on regional order).
7. 1976
   • First ASEAN summit meeting, which was held in Bali, Indonesia.
8. February 1976
   • Establishment of a central secretariat in Indonesia.
9. 1977
   • Signing of a Preferential Trading Arrangement (PTA) between member states.
10. 1984
    • Brunei joined the ASEAN.
11. 1985
    • The US president, Ronald Raegan, participated in the PMC
12. 1992
    • ASEAN members agreed to gradually implement an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
13. 1995
    • Vietnam joined the ASEAN.
14. 1996
    • Founding of the Asia-Europe Meeting.
15. 1997
    • Laos and Myanmar joined the ASEAN.
16. 1999
    • Cambodia joined the ASEAN.
17. 2002
    • Timor-Leste achieved national independence but is not part of the ASEAN
18. 2003
    • There was a decision to create a ASEAN community and a need to reform the organizational structure and decision-making process.
19. 2005
    • Creation of the East Asia Summit
20. 2007
    • The AEC Blueprint produced a framework and roadmap for establishing the ASEAN as a single market and production base, while targeting 2015 as the implementation’s deadline.
21. December 2008
    • Implementation of the ASEAN Charter.
      • It defined the duties and rights of each member states.
      • It stated the roles and relationships of every ASEAN body.
      • It encouraged ASEAN summits.
22. October 2009
    • Establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.
23. 2010
    • ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement entered the force.
24. November 19, 2012
    • Signing of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
25. December 31, 2015
    • Redefining of the ASEAN at the ASEAN Community to be founded on three pillars:
      • ASEAN Political–Security Community (APSC)
      • ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
      • ASEAN Social–Cultural Community (ASCC)

Model of Cooperation

The decision-making process and cooperation found in the ASEAN emphasize the virtue of sovereignty, wherein members do not interfere with the domestic affairs of other members, conflicts are resolved peacefully, and every member is treated equally. Their process is founded on 3 principles: musyawarah (consultation), mukafat (agreement), and gotong royong (sense of community).

This method aims to avoid any contentions between its members, and, as such, issues are typically resolved through agreement on the lowest common denominator, as opposed to the very legalistic strategy used by the European Union (EU).

NOTE

• The majority principle were rejected by some members, thereby removing it from the decision-making process.
• As an intergovernmental organization, the ASEAN cannot have supranational structures.

Summits are held at the state of the current ASEAN chair. The chair changes each year, in the alphabetical order of the country names. That state also chairs the ACC, the three community councils, and the CPR.

ASEAN’s Main Decision-Making Bodies

Name	Description
ASEAN Summit	- Highest policy-making body - Made up of the members states’ government or their heads - Held twice each year
ASEAN Coordinating Council	- Made up of the foreign ministers of member states - At least two annual meetings - Organize the implementation of decisions made during summit meetings - Assists in Community Council Activities - Reviews the annual reports submitted by the Secretary General
ASEAN Community Councils	- The three pillars of the ASEAN Community—the Security Council, the Economic Council, and the Socio-Cultural Council—have at least two meetings each year for the implementation of summit decisions pertinent to their areas of responsibility. - They make reports for the ASEAN Summit. - They provide recommendations to the ASEAN Summit. - They arrange the activities of ministerial bodies related to them.
ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies	They are responsible for the summit decision implementation pertinent to their area of responsibility.
ASEAN Secretariat	The secretariat facilitates the collaboration between the ASEAN organs and stakeholders.
Secretary General of ASEAN	- Supervises the implementation of joint member states’ decisions. - Attends the meetings of other bodies. - Presents the ASEAN policy. - After every five years, a new secretary is appointed by the ASEAN Summit. - Four deputies support them.
Committee of Permanent Representative to ASEAN	- Assists the activities of the Community Councils - Works with the National Secretariats and Secretary General - Promotes collaboration with ASEAN partners
ASEAN National Secretariats	Appointed by member states, they facilitate the Summit decision implementation at a national level
ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)	Promotes and protects human rights
ASEAN Foundation	- Promotes face to face interactions - Provides identity - Fosters close cooperation between different facets of society

• Track two activities assist in enhancing communication and socialization at a government level. Track one and track two activities are crucial means for the government and academics to facilitate intra-regional communication.
• The Association of Institutes for International and Strategic Studies serve as one of the ASEAN’s primary think tanks.
• The ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples Forum is held every year alongside the ASEAN Summit, ever since 2005.
• The ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 serves as the guideline document for the association.

Was ASEAN Successful?

Was ASEAN successful in their mission to maintain peace and stability?

Although wars between its members have not yet occurred, occasional skirmishes have happened in the past:

• Burmese ethnic conflicts that affected Thai territory; hence, their troops met at the border in 2001.
• Territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia from 2008 to 2011
• The conflict between Philippine militants and Malaysian security forces—also known as the Lahad Datu stand-off of 2013.

Luckily, the Southeast Asian conflict management strategies, often informal, aided in preserving the stability of the region and preventing the disputes from escalating. Various problems also demonstrate the readiness of ASEAN member states and the effectiveness of their conflict management strategies. The challenges they encountered include the following:

• Controversies involving the distribution of resources;
• Territorial disputes;
• Heated discussions over migration issues

Currently, the most high-profile ASEAN issue is the South China dispute, wherein a solution still does not exist and the conflict can still escalate.

Besides the informal conflict management mechanisms, ASEAN’s security agenda stressing the importance of being aware of non-traditional security led them to develop effective potential responses to all noteworthy challenges involving human security (e.g., terrorism, infectious diseases, natural disasters, etc.).

As a result of emphasizing security and stability, ASEAN greatly contributed to the rapid economic growth of its member states (therefore, cultivating a favorable investment climate), outpacing plenty of other regions in the world. This is evidenced by the leap of member states to at least medium level of development in the Human Development Index. In addition, the rise of the ASEAN’s share of global gross domestic product (GDP) from 0.8% in 1970 to 2.6% in 2015.

Despite the rapid economic growth, economic integration still evolved slowly. The signing of PTA to reinforce economic relations, even if having only a small effect, still signified the end of some member states’ resistance towards trade liberalization. Another major achievement in promoting economic integration was the implementation of the AFTA.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

• Currently, ASEAN members eliminated 98.6% of their tariff lines.
• Harmonization of product standards across the region helped in minimizing the technical barriers to trade
• Introduction of an electronic region-wide customs clearance system—the ASEAN Single Window.

ASEAN and Relations Outside of the Region

• In the early 1970s, ASEAN became more interactive with actors outside of the region.
  1. Establishment of the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC), currently with dialogue partners composing of the EU and 9 states: Australia, Canada, India, Japan, New Zealand, People’s Republic of China, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.
     • As a well-established and coherent organization, the PMC was given a crucial role in the Asia-Pacific cooperation process.
  2. From the outside perspective, the ASEAN is a poltico-diplomatic coalition
• With their strengthened ties and prominent dialogue mechanisms, the ASEAN have enhanced their confidence and chance of succeeding when bargaining with countries outside of the region.
• The ASEAN amplifies the collective bargaining power of its member states within international forums and organizations.
• The ASEAN published an Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AIOP) in 2019, wherein it recognizes that attention shifted globally from Asia-Pacific to the Indo-Pacific region, and, as such, the ASEAN aims to promote their perspective within this region.¹
  • In this publication, they prove their determination to maintain their centrality and diminish the region’s growing polarization.
• ASEAN weakened the Northeast Asia multilateral dominance and expanded their own towards the Indo-Pacific by introducing the East Asia Summit in 2005, inviting Australia, India, and New Zealand. This led to it being the center of the Asian multilateral region.

US and the ASEAN

• In 2011, President Obama supported ASEAN’s regional centrality by pivoting the US foreign policy to include its endorsement of ASEAN centrality.² This was elevated to strategic partnership in 2016, and further to comprehensive strategic partnership during Joe Biden’s administration.
• In a practical sense, ASEAN welcomes the US contributions to the peace and stability of the region. This is because the US can heavily influence the threats and opportunities that affect Southeast Asia, and also their international relationships.

China and the ASEAN

• In the early 1990s, the relationship between China and Southeast Asia has shifted from mutual hostility (as a result of the cold war and ideological differences) to normalized relations.
• The ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement was a testament to the mutually advantageous economic relationship between China and Southeast Asia; nonetheless, the benefits varied for each member states (Malaysia benefitted the most, while it negatively impacted Vietnam’s economy).
• Potential threats to the Sino-ASEAN relations:
  • South China Sea disputes
  • US-China conflict
• Periods describing the state of their relationship:
  1. suspicion
  2. alignment
  3. normalized engagement
  4. common cooperation
  5. contradiction
  6. stabilization
• Events marking China’s support towards Southeast Asia:
  • China aiding ASEAN during COVID-19;
  • China assisting the Southeast Asia domestic infrastructure projects;
  • and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership of 2020, which was used to stabilize regional supply chains during the pandemic.

Japan and the ASEAN

• Because of the significance of Southeast Asian stability to Japan, Australia, and India, these middle powers are interested in increasing their engagement with the region, especially Japan.
• Tokyo gradually strengthened their position in Southeast Asia through developmental aid and emphasis on economic relations, even their relationship had a lukewarm beginning.

Europe and the ASEAN

• High points of the relationship:
  • The founding of the Asia-Europe Meeting in 1996.
• Low points of the relationship:
  • Suspension of the inter-regional free trade negotiations in 2009.
  • Diplomatic issue with Myanmar’s ASEAN membership, with Europe’s concern over the oppressive military regime occurring in the country before its liberalization in 2011, and, similarly, after the military coup in 2021.
• Although the EU, specifically the European Commission, seems like they would reasonably be partners with the ASEAN, The 3rd ASEAN Reader—the latest academic papers compilation covering Southeast Asia regionalism—did not even include a single chapter about EU-ASEAN relations or Europe’s role in the region.
  • Nonetheless, Europe has a considerable role in Southeast Asia, often viewed as a soft power—the normative influence a group has over the international system without the use of military force—in the region.
• Yeo Lay believes that EU wants to be more than the ASEAN’s most important economic partner: they also want to have an important role in ASEAN politics and security, as these are tied to EU’s prosperity.

Relevance of International Relations Theories

• The foundation of ASEAN demonstrates neorealist thought, in that it was inspired by the need to balance power for the security of small and medium sized states against communism (symbolized by the Soviet Union), as some Southeast Asian nations were already sided with a superpower (United States).
  • The economic state of Southeast Asia were contingent on external powers (e.g., US, EU, etc.), thereby proving the neorealist view that stability is achieved through power dominance.
  • Foreign policy was a form of self-help and military power.
• Neorealism fails to explain the effect of institutional building on regional peace and stability; as a result, Liberal institutionalists challenge this view and argue that regional cooperation led to lesser uncertainties and hostilities and better trust and transparency within the region.

Footnotes

1. It is important to note that the ASEAN is located at the center of the Indo-Pacific region. ↩

2. In this context, ASEAN centrality referred to ASEAN’s lead role in institutions like the ARF, East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus. ↩