Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nations

Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)

 

Seat of SecretariatJakarta, Indonesia 

Official languages

English
English
Malay
Burmese
Chinese (Mandarin)
Filipino
Indonesian
Khmer
Lao
Tamil
Thai
Vietnamese
Bikol
Cebuano
Hiligaynon
Ilokano
Kapampangan
Pangasinan
Tagalog
Waray-Waray
Arabic
Spanish

  Member states

10
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

Leaders
 - 
Secretary General
Surin Pitsuwan 

Area


 - 
Total
4,464,322 km² 
1,723,684 sq mi 

Population

 - 
2007 estimate
575.5 million 

 - 
Density
129/km² 
334.1/sq mi

GDP (PPP)
2007 estimate


 - 
Total
US$ 3,431.2 billion (2007) 

 - 
Per capita
US$ 5,962 

GDP (nominal)
2007 estimate


 - 
Total
US$ 1,281.9 billion (2007) 

 - 
Per capita
US$ 2,227 

Currency

10
Brunei dollar (BND)
 Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
 Cambodian riel (KHR)
 Lao kip (LAK)
 Myanma kyat (MMK)
 Malaysian ringgit (MYR)
 Philippine peso (PHP)
 Singapore dollar (SGD)
 Thai baht (THB)
 Vietnamese đồng (VND)
 

Time zone
 (UTC+6½ to +9)

Website
http://www.asean.org/

1
If considered as a single entity.
 
2
Selected key basic ASEAN indicators

3
Annual growth 1.6 percent

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,[1] commonly referred to as ASEAN, pronounced /ˈɑːsiːɑːn/ AH-see-ahn in English (the official language of the bloc)[2], is a political and economic membership organization of 10 countries in Southeast Asia, originally formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.[3] Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace.[4]
In 2005, the bloc had a combined GDP (Nominal/PPP) of about US$896.5 billion/$2.728 billion growing at an average rate of around 5.6 percent per annum. Nominal GDP had grown to $1,073.9 billion in 2006.

Contents

1 History
2 The ASEAN Way
3 ASEAN's agenda-setting and decisionmaking
4 Meetings

4.1 ASEAN Summit
4.2 East Asia Summit
4.3 Regional Forum
4.4 Other meetings

4.4.1 ASEAN Plus Three
4.4.2 Asia-Europe Meeting
4.4.3 Russia Summit




5 ASEAN Economic Community

5.1 ASEAN Free Trade Area
5.2 ASEAN Investment Area (AIA)
5.3 ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services
5.4 ASEAN Single Aviation Market


6 Cultural Activities

6.1 S.E.A. Write Award
6.2 ASAIHL
6.3 Heritage Parks

6.3.1 List


6.4 Scholarship
6.5 University Network


7 Sports

7.1 Southeast Asian Games
7.2 Football Championship
7.3 ParaGames


8 Criticisms
9 Comparison
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
13 Credits



The member states of ASEAN are growing in importance internationally in an era of Pacific Rim development. ASEAN has expanded in its dialogs to include in some meetings China, Japan and South Korea, and in others, even India, Australia and New Zealand, thus having great impact beyond Southeast Asia itself. If East Asia were to eventually follow the path of economic and political union, after the example of the European Union, ASEAN will have most likely laid the foundation for that goal.
In the realm of civil society, the member states of ASEAN tend to have strong cohesiveness based on the family ethic. However, the newer traditions of democracy and freedom bring new challenges.

History
 ██ ASEAN full members
 ██ ASEAN observers
 ██ ASEAN candidate members
 ██ ASEAN Plus Three
 ███ East Asia Summit
 █████ ASEAN Regional Forum

ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the Association of Southeast Asia, an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand that was formed in 1961. The bloc itself, however, was established on August 8, 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration, more commonly known as the Bangkok Declaration. The five foreign ministers – Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso Ramos of the Philippines, Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand – are considered the organization's Founding Fathers.[5]
The motivations for the birth of ASEAN were the desire for a stable external environment (so that its members’ governing elite could concentrate on nation-building), the common fear of communism, reduced faith in or mistrust of external powers in the 1960s, as well as the aspiration for national economic development. In addition to mutual interests, Indonesia was motivated by the ambition to become a regional hegemon and the hope on the part of Malaysia and Singapore to constrain Indonesia and bring it into a more cooperative framework. Unlike the Europe Union, ASEAN has been made to serve nationalism.[6]
In 1976, the Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer status.[7] Throughout the 1970s, the organization embarked on a program of economic cooperation, following the Bali Summit of 1976. This foundered in the mid-1980s and was only revived around 1991 due to a Thai proposal for a regional free trade area. The bloc then grew when Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member after it joined on January 8, 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on January 1.[8]
During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership as well as in the drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus[9] composing the then-members of ASEAN as well as the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing influence of the United States in the APEC as well as in the Asian region as a whole.[10] This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States.[11][12]
Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration. In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase the region’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market. This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area.

 Satellite image of the 2006 Southeast Asian haze over Borneo.
On July 28, 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member; Laos and Myanmar joined two years later on July 23, 1997.[13] Cambodia was to have joined together with Laos and Myanmar, but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. The country later joined on April 30, 1999, following the stabilization of its government.[13]
At the turn of the twenty-first century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental prospective. The organization started to discuss environmental agreements. These included the signing of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as an attempt to control haze pollution in Southeast Asia.[14] Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful due to the outbreaks of the 2005 Malaysian haze and the 2006 Southeast Asian haze. Other environmental treaties introduced by the organization include the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security,[15] the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005,[16] and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both of which are responses to Global Warming and the negative effects of climate change.
Through the Bali Concord II in 2003, ASEAN has subscribed to the notion of democratic peace, which means all member countries believe democratic processes will promote regional peace and stability. Also the non-democratic members all agreed that it was something to which all member states should aspire.[17]
The leaders of each country, particularly Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, also felt the need to further integrate the region. Beginning in 1997, the bloc began creating organizations within its framework with the intention of achieving this goal. ASEAN Plus Three was the first of these and was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea. This was followed by the even larger East Asia Summit, which included these countries as well as India, Australia, and New Zealand. This new grouping acted as a prerequisite for the planned East Asia Community, which was supposedly patterned after the now-defunct European Community. The ASEAN Eminent Persons Group was created to study the possible successes and failures of this policy as well as the possibility of drafting an ASEAN Charter.
In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.[18] As a response, the organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.[19] Furthermore, in July 23 that year, José Ramos-Horta, then Prime Minister of East Timor, signed a formal request for membership and expected the accession process to last at least five years before the then-observer state became a full member.[20][21]
In 2007, ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.[22]
On August 26, 2007, ASEAN also stated that it aims to complete all its free trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand by 2013, in line with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.[23][24]
In November 2007 the ASEAN members signed the ASEAN Charter, a constitution governing relations among the ASEAN members and establishing ASEAN itself as an international legal entity.

The ASEAN Way
In the 1960s, the push for decolonization promoted the sovereignty of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, among others. Since nation-building is often messy and vulnerable to foreign intervention, the governing elite wanted to be free to implement independent policies with the knowledge that neighbors would refrain from interfering in their domestic affairs. Territorially small members such as Singapore and Brunei were consciously fearful of force and coercive measures from much bigger neighbors such as Indonesia and Malaysia. As a result, non-interference, consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation became the key principles of the organization.
The process of consultations and consensus is purportedly a democratic approach to decisionmaking, but the ASEAN process has been managed through close interpersonal contacts among the top leaders only, who often share a reluctance to institutionalize and legalize cooperation which can undermine their regime’s control over the conduct of regional cooperation.
All of these features, namely non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalization, consultation and consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation have constituted what is called the ASEAN Way.
Since the late 1990s, many scholars have argued that the principle of non-interference has blunted ASEAN efforts in handling the problem of Myanmar, human rights abuses and haze pollution in the region. Meanwhile, with the consensus-based approach, every member in fact has a veto and decisions are usually reduced to the lowest common denominator. There has been a widespread belief that ASEAN members should have a less rigid view on these two cardinal principles when they wish to be seen as a cohesive and relevant community.

ASEAN's agenda-setting and decisionmaking
Apart from consultations and consensus, ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decisionmaking processes can be usefully understood in terms of so-called Track I and Track II diplomacy. Track I refers to the practice of diplomacy between official government channels. The participants stand as representatives of their respective states and reflect the official positions of their governments during negotiations and discussions. All official decisions are made in Track I. However, Track II refers to diplomatic activities that are unofficial and includes participants from both government and non-government institutions such as the academic, economic communities and NGOs. This track enables governments to discuss controversial issues and test new ideas without making official statements or binding commitments, and, if necessary, backtrack on positions.
Although Track II dialogs are sometimes cited as examples of the involvement of civil society in regional decisionmaking process by governments and other second track actors, NGOs rarely have access to this track. Participants from the academic community include a dozen think-tanks, which, in most cases, are very much extensions of their respective governments, and dependent on government funding for their academic and policy-relevant activities. Their recommendations, especially on economic integration, are often closer to ASEAN’s decisions than the rest of civil society’s positions.
The track that acts as a forum for civil society in Southeast Asia is called Track III, which is essentially people-to-people diplomacy undertaken mainly by CSOs (civil society organizations). Track III networks claim to represent communities and people who are largely marginalized from political power centers and unable to achieve positive change without outside assistance. This track tries to influence government policies indirectly by lobbying, generating pressure through the media. Third-track actors also organize and/or attend meetings as well as conferences to get access to Track I officials.
While Track II meetings and interactions with Track I actors have increased and intensified, rarely has the rest of civil society had the opportunity to interface with Track II. Interactions with Track I have been even rarer. Thus, the majority of CSOs has been excluded from ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decisionmaking.
Until now, ASEAN has been run by government officials who, as far as ASEAN matters are concerned, are accountable only to their governments and not directly to the people. In a lecture on the occasion of ASEAN’s 38th anniversary, the incumbent Indonesian President Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted:


All the decisions about treaties and free trade areas, about declarations and plans of action, are made by Heads of Government, ministers and senior officials. And the fact that among the masses, there is little knowledge, let alone appreciation, of the large initiatives that ASEAN is taking on their behalf.


Meetings
ASEAN Summit
The organization holds meetings, known as the ASEAN Summit, where heads of state and government of each member state meet to discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other meetings with other countries outside of the bloc with the intention of promoting external relations.
The ASEAN Leaders' Formal Summit was first held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976. Its third meeting was held in Manila in 1987 and during this meeting, it was decided that the leaders would meet every five years.[25] Consequently, the fourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders again agreed to meet more frequently, deciding to hold the summit every three years.[25] In 2001, it was decided to meet annually to address urgent issues affecting the region. Member nations were assigned to be the summit host in alphabetical order except in the case of Myanmar which dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United States and the European Union.[26]
The formal summit meets for three days. The usual itinerary is as follows:

Leaders of member states would hold an internal organization meeting.
Leaders of member states would hold a conference together with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
A meeting, known as ASEAN Plus Three, is set for leaders of the three Dialogue Partners (People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea)
A separate meeting, known as ASEAN-CER, is set for another set of leaders of two Dialogue Partners (Australia, New Zealand).


ASEAN Formal Summits

Date
Country
Host

1st
February 23–24, 1976
 Indonesia
Bali
2nd
August 4–5, 1977
 Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
3rd
December 14–15, 1987
 Philippines
Manila
4th
January 27–29, 1992
 Singapore
Singapore
5th
December 14–15, 1995
 Thailand
Bangkok
6th
December 15–16, 1998
 Vietnam
Hanoi
7th
November 5–6, 2001
 Brunei
Bandar Seri Begawan
8th
November 4–5, 2002
 Cambodia
Phnom Penh
9th
October 7–8, 2003
 Indonesia
Bali
10th
November 29–30, 2004
 Laos
Vientiane
11th
December 12–14, 2005
 Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
12th
January 11–14, 200711
 Philippines
Cebu
13th
November 18–22, 2007
 Singapore
Singapore
14th
2008
 Thailand

15th
2009
 Vietnam


1 Postponed from December 10–14, 2006 due to Typhoon Seniang.


2 hosted the summit because Myanmar backed out, due to enormous pressure from US and EU.

During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:[25]



ASEAN Informal Summits

Date
Country
Host

1st
November 30, 1996
 Indonesia
Jakarta
2nd
December 14-16, 1997
 Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
3rd
November 27-28, 1999
 Philippines
Manila
4th
November 22-25, 2000
 Singapore
Singapore

East Asia Summit
 Participants of the East Asia Summit: ██ ASEAN ██ ASEAN Plus Three ██ Additional members ██ Observer

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a pan-Asian forum held annually by the leaders of 16 countries in East Asia and the region, with ASEAN in a leadership position. The summit has discussed issues including trade, energy and security and it has a role in regional community building.
The members of the summit are all 10 members of ASEAN together with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand who combined represent almost half of the world's population. Russia has applied for membership of the summit and in 2005 was a guest for the First EAS at the invitation of the host - Malaysia.[27]
The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on December 14, 2005 and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.



Meeting

Country

Location

Date

Note


First EAS

 Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

December 14, 2005

Russia attended as a guest.


Second EAS

 Philippines

Cebu City

January 15, 2007

Rescheduled from December 13, 2006.

Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security



Third EAS

 Singapore

Singapore

November 21, 2007

Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment[28]

Agreed to establish Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia



Fourth EAS

 Thailand

TBC

TBC

TBC

Regional Forum
 ██ ASEAN full members
 ██ ASEAN observers
 ██ ASEAN candidate members
 ██ ASEAN Plus Three
 ███ East Asia Summit
 ██████ ASEAN Regional Forum

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, multilateral dialog in the Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it consisted of 27 participants. ARF objectives are to foster dialog and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.[29] The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: all ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Timor-Leste, United States and Sri Lanka. The Republic of China (also known as Taiwan) has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait are neither discussed at the ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman's Statements.

Other meetings
Aside from the ones above, other regular[30] meetings are also held.[31] These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting[32] as well as other smaller committees, such as the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.[33] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as defense[30] or the environment,[30][34] and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.

ASEAN Plus Three
Begun in 1997 and formalized in 1999 after the Asan Financial Crisis, ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, and is primarily held during each ASEAN Summit. However, the signifiance of this gathering is that it represents almost all of the nations of East Asia.

Asia-Europe Meeting
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialog process initiated in 1996, bringing together the European Union and the ASEAN Plus Three groupings.[35]

Russia Summit
The ASEAN-Russia Summit is a meeting between leaders of member states and the President of Russia.

ASEAN Economic Community
ASEAN has emphasized regional cooperation in the “three pillars” of security, sociocultural and economic integration. The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration, aiming to create an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015. The AEC would have a combined population of over 566 million and a GDP exceeding US$ 1.173 trillion.

ASEAN Free Trade Area
The foundation of the AEC is the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a common external preferential tariff scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on January 28, 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The latecomers have not fully met the AFTA's obligations, but they are officially considered part of the AFTA as they were required to sign the agreement upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.

ASEAN Investment Area (AIA)
The AIA will encourage the free flow of investment within ASEAN. The main principles of the AIA are as follows:

All industries are to be opened up for investment, with exclusions to be phased out according to schedules
National treatment is granted immediately to ASEAN investors with few exclusions
Elimination of investment impediments
Streamlining of investment process and procedures
Enhancing transparency
Undertaking investment facilitation measures
Full realization of the AIA 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 countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam).

ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services
An ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in December 1995. Under the agreement, ASEAN members are negotiating intra-regional services liberalization in several sectors, including air transport, business services, construction, financial services, maritime transport, telecommunications and tourism. Although some sectors have liberalized faster, such as air transport, other sectors remain subject to continued negotiation. Efforts to expand the scope of the Framework Agreement also remain subject to continued negotiations.

ASEAN Single Aviation Market
The ASEAN Single Aviation Market (SAM), proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers, will introduce an open-sky arrangement to the region by 2015. Not only will the ASEAN SAM be expected to fully liberalize air travel between its member states, it is also expected that SAM will further enhance tourism, trade, investment and services flows between them. Beginning January 1, 2009, there will be full liberalization of air freight services in the region, as well as removal of third and fourth freedom restrictions between capital cities of member states for air passengers services. By January 1, 2011, there will be liberalization of fifth freedom: traffic rights between all capital cities.

Cultural Activities
The organization hosts cultural activities in an attempt to further integrate the region. These include sports and educational activities as well as writing awards. Examples of these include the ASEAN University Network and the Singapore-sponsored ASEAN Scholarship.

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

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

Heritage Parks
ASEAN Heritage Parks[36] is a list of nature parks launched 1984 and relaunched in 2004. It aims to protect the region's natural treasures. There are now 35 such protected areas, including the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Kinabalu National Park.[37]

List


ASEAN Heritage Sites


Site
Country

Site
Country


Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park
 Myanmar

Ao Phang-nga Marine National Park
 Thailand


Apo Natural Park
 Philippines

Ba Be National Park
 Vietnam


Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park
 Indonesia

Gunung Leuser National Park
 Indonesia


Gunung Mulu National Park
 Malaysia

Ha Long Bay
 Vietnam


Hoang Lien Sa Pa National Park
 Vietnam

Iglit-Baco National Park
 Philippines


Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary
 Myanmar

Inlé Lake Wildlife Sanctuary
 Myanmar


Kaeng Krachan National Park
 Thailand

Kerinci Seblat National Park
 Indonesia


Khakaborazi National Park
 Myanmar

Khao Yai National Park
 Thailand


Kinabalu National Park
 Malaysia

Komodo National Park
 Indonesia


Kon Ka Kinh National Park
 Vietnam

Lampi Marine National Park
 Myanmar


Lorentz National Park
 Indonesia

Meinmhala Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary
 Myanmar


Mu Ko Surin-Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park
 Thailand

Nam Ha Protected Area
 Laos


Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
 Vietnam

Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park
 Cambodia


Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park
 Philippines

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
 Singapore


Taman Negara National Park
 Malaysia

Tarutao Marine National Park
 Thailand


Tasek Merimbun Wildlife Sanctuary
 Brunei

Thung Yai-Huay Kha Khaeng National Park
 Thailand


Tubbataha Reef Marine Park
 Philippines

Ujung Kulon National Park
 Indonesia


Virachey National Park
 Cambodia




Keraton Yogyakarta
 Indonesia




Scholarship
The ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship program offered by Singapore to the nine 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.[38].

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.[39] Currently AUN comprises 21 Participating Universities.[40]

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

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

ParaGames
The ASEAN ParaGames is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. The games are participated by the 11 countries located in Southeast Asia. The games, patterned after the Paralympics, includes mobility disabilities, amputees, visual disabilities, and those with cerebral palsy.

Criticisms
Western countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy in military junta-led Myanmar.[41] Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on peaceful protesters in Yangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Myanmar as a member and also rejects proposals for economic sanctions.[42] 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.[43] International observers view it as a "talk shop",[44] which implies that the organization is "big on words but small on action".[45]
During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several militant groups staged anti-globalization and anti-Arroyo rallies.[46] According to the protesters, the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs.[47] They also viewed the organization as "imperialistic" which threatens the country's sovereignty.[47] A human rights lawyer from New Zealand was also present to protest about the human rights situation in the region in general.[48]

Comparison

Most active regional blocs
(as of 2004, except as noted)


Regional bloc1

Area

Population

GDP ($US)

Member
states1


km²

sq mi

in millions (PPP)

in millions (nominal)

per capita (PPP)

per capita (nominal)


AU

29,797,500

11,504,879

897,548,804

1,515,000

1,131,850

1,896

1,261

53


ASEAN (2007 est.)

4,497,493

1,736,000

566,500,000

3,115,480

1,173,000

5,541

2,041

10


CACM

422,614

163,172

37,816,598

159,536

84,792

4,219

2,242

5


CARICOM

462,344

178,512

14,565,083

64,219

24,020

4,409

1,649

(14+1)3


CCASG / GCC

2,285,844

882,569

35,869,438

536,223

717,800

14,949

20,011

6


CEFTA

298,148

115,116

28,929,682

222,041

122,001

7,675

4,217

(7+1)3


EU (2007 est.)

4,324,782

1,669,808

497,000,000

14,953,000

16,574,000

28,213

33,482

27


EurAsEC

20,789,100

8,026,720

208,067,618

1,689,137

1,125,528

8,118

5,409

6


EFTA (2007 est.)

529,600

204,480

12,660,623

567,500

743,300

44,828

60,000

4


GAFTA

9,421,946

3,637,834

280,727,416

1,341,298

N/A

4,778

N/A

(16+1)3


GUAM

810,506

312,938

63,764,600

456,173

106,469

7,154

1,670

4


NAFTA (2007 est.)

21,783,850

8,410,792

445,000,000

15,857,000

15,723,000

35,491

35,564

3


PARTA

528,151

203,920

7,810,905

23,074

N/A

2,954

N/A

(12+2)3


SAARC

5,136,740

1,983,306

1,467,255,669

4,074,031

N/A

2,777

N/A

8


Unasur / Unasul

17,339,153

6,694,684

370,158,470

2,868,430

N/A

7,749

N/A

12


UN and countries
for reference2

Area

Population

GDP ($US)

Units4


km²

sq mi

in millions (PPP)

in millions (nominal)

per capita (PPP)

per capita (nominal)


UN

133,178,011

51,420,318

6,411,682,270

55,167,630

48,245,198

8,604

7,524

192


Brazil (2007 est.)

8,514,877

3,287,612

183,888,841

1,804,000

1,067,706

10,073

6,842

27


Canada (2007 est.)

9,984,670

3,855,103

33,000,000

1,274,000

1,406,000

38,200

42,738

13


India (2007 est.)

3,287,590

1,269,346

1,120,000,000

4,726,000

1,089,000

4,182

1,004

35


Japan (2007 est.)

377,873

145,898

127,433,494

4,346,000

4,346,000

33,800

38,341

47


PR China5 (2007 est.)

9,596,960

3,705,407

1,321,851,888

7,043,000

3,420,000

5,300

2,800

33


Russia (2007 est.)

17,075,200

6,592,772

142,500,000

2,076,000

1,286,000

14,600

9,056

83


USA (2007 est.)

9,826,630

3,794,083

302,000,000

13,543,000

13,794,700

43,500

45,594

50



Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database, IMF nominal figures for 2006.
Legend██ smallest value among the blocs compared██ largest value among the blocs compared
Footnotes


1 Including data only for full and most active members.

2 Including the largest five countries by area, population (not #4), GDP (PPP) (not #5), and GDP (nominal) (not #3 or #5).

3 Including non-sovereign autonomous areas of other states.

4 Members or administrative divisions.

5 Data for the People's Republic of China does not include Hong Kong, Macau, or Republic of China (Taiwan).




Notes


↑ Overview

↑ ASEAN-10: Meeting the Challenges, by Termsak Chalermpalanupap, ASEAN Secretariat official website. Retrieved June 27, 2008

↑  Bangkok Declaration. Wikisource. Retrieved March 14, 2007

↑ Overview, ASEAN Secretariat official website. Retrieved June 12, 2006

↑ Bernard Eccleston, Michael Dawson, Deborah J. McNamara. The Asia-Pacific Profile. (London, UK: Routledge, 1998. ISBN 0415172799), [1]. 

↑ Muthiah Alagappa. Asian Security Practice: Material and Ideational Influences. (Stanford: Stanford University Press (US), 1998. ISBN 0804733473) [2]. 

↑ ASEAN secretariat

↑ Background Note Brunei Darussalam/Profile:/Foreign Relations United States State Department. accessdate 2007-03-06 

↑ East Asia Economic Caucus. ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 14, 2007.

↑ Asia's Reaction to NAFTA Nancy J. Hamilton. CRS - Congressional Research Service. Retrieved March 14, 2007.

↑ Whither East Asia? Asian Views. Retrieved March 14, 2007.

↑ Japan Straddles Fence on Issue of East Asia Caucus International Herald tribune. Retrieved March 14, 2007.

↑ 13.0 13.1 Carolyn L. Gates, Mya Than. ASEAN Enlargement: impacts and implications. (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001. ISBN 9812300813)

↑ ASEAN Secretariat. ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Extracted October 12 2006

↑ East Asian leaders to promote biofuel, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007.

↑ ASEAN Statement on Launching of the ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN)

↑ BBC News 2003-10-08, Asean: Changing, but only slowly 

↑ RP resolution for observer status in UN assembly OK’d, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 13, 2007.

↑ Philippines to Represent Asean in Un Meetings in Ny, Geneva. Yahoo! News, 2007-03-07. accessdate 2007-03-13 

↑  East Timor ASEAN bid. The Sun-Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2007-01-28. accessdate 2007-09-20 

↑ ASEAN Secretariat, Sunday, July 26, 2006. East Timor Needs Five Years to Join ASEAN: PM. accessdate 2007-03-03

↑ Pearl Forss, US and ASEAN seeking to enhance relationship: Dr Balaji. Channel NewsAsia, 2007-08-27. accessdate=2007-08-27

↑ ASEAN to complete free trade agreements by 2013 Forbes, 2007-08-26.

↑ Christine Ong, ASEAN confident of concluding FTAs with partners by 2013. [3]. Channel NewsAsia, 2007-08-27. accessdate 2007-08-27 

↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 ASEAN Structure, ASEAN Primer

↑ Denis Hew. Roadmap to an Asean Economic Community. (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005. ISBN 9812303472)

↑ Chairman's Statement of the First East Asia Summit Kuala Lumpur

↑ Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment

↑ About Us, ASEAN Regional Forum official website. Retrieved June 12, 2006

↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 ASEAN Calendar of Meetings and Events November 2006, ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 13, 2007.

↑ BBC country profile/Asean leaders, BBC. Retrieved March 13, 2007.

↑ ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 13, 2007.

↑ [4], ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved March 16, 2007.

↑  Malaysians have had enough of haze woes. The Malaysian Bar. accessdate 2007-03-13

↑ Lay Hwee Yeo. Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM. (Routledge (UK) 2003. ISBN 0415306973)

↑ [5] ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007.

↑ ASEAN's Greatest Parks, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Retrieved March 13, 2007.

↑ Ministry of Education, Singapore: ASEAN Scholarships 

↑ AUN Agreement.

↑ AUN.

↑  ADB president calls for building Asian economic integration. Peace Journalism, 2007-01-03.

↑ Japan Cancels Myanmar Grant. The Associated Press, 2007-17-10 accessdate 2007-18-10 

↑ Sai Silp, Burma an Issue in Asean-EU Trade Talks [6]. The Irawaddy News Magazine Online Edition, 2007-02-15. accessdate 2007-03-04 

↑ Malaysian foreign minister says ASEAN is no 'talk shop' [7]. 2005-12-05, accessdate 2007-03-06 

↑ BBC Country/International Organization Profile: Association of South-East Asian Nations [8]. BBC News, 2007-01-11. accessdate 2007-03-06

↑ About 100 militants stage protest vs Asean Summit in Cebu. [9]. GMA News 2007-01-13. accessdate 2007-03-06 

↑ 47.0 47.1 ASEAN protests in Cebu will also underscore massive opposition to Charter Change. [10]. Kilusang Mayo Uno 2006-12-07. accessdate 2007-03-06 

↑ "NZ rights lawyer to join protests at ASEAN summit", News and Press, 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2007-03-06.



ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Alagappa, Muthiah (1998). Asian Security Practice: Material and Ideational Influences. Stanford: Stanford University Press (US). ISBN 0804733473
Eccleston, Bernard; Michael Dawson & Deborah J. McNamara (1998). The Asia-Pacific Profile. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0415172799
Gates, Carolyn L. & Mya Than (2001). ASEAN Enlargement: impacts and implications. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9812300813.
Hew, Denis (2005). Roadmap to an Asean Economic Community. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9812303472.
Yeo, Lay Hwee (2003). Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0415306973.
External links
All links retrieved November 8, 2021.

ASEAN Foundation
ASEAN Regional Forum
BBC Profile: Association of South East Asian Nations 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations   
 Brunei
 Malaysia


 Burma
 Philippines


 Cambodia
 Singapore


 Thailand
 Indonesia


 Laos
 Vietnam

ASEAN Day - ASEAN Common Time - ASEAN Hymn - ASEAN FlagObservers:  Papua New Guinea  East Timor


Supranationalism and World government topicsTheory Supranationalism ·  Federalism ·  Confederation ·  Intergovernmentalism ·  Anti-nationalism ·  Globalization ·  Democratic mundialization ·  Pax ·  Cosmopolitanism International bodies United Nations (UN) ·  Interpol ·  International Monetary Fund (IMF) ·  World Bank Group (WBG) ·  World Trade Organization (WTO) Regional bodies European Union (EU) ·  Arab League ·  African Union (AU) ·  Union of South American Nations (Unasur/Unasul) ·  Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ·  Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ·  Organization of American States (OAS) ·  South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) International
parliaments United Nations General Assembly ·  European Parliament ·  Arab Parliament  ·  Pan-African Parliament ·  Latin American Parliament ·  Central American Parliament ·  Inter-Parliamentary Union International courts International Criminal Court ·  International Court of Justice ·  International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ·  African Court of Justice ·  Central American Court of Justice ·  Caribbean Court of Justice ·  European Court of Justice ·  European Court of Human Rights Law and treaties International law (public ·  private ·  supranational) ·  United Nations Charter ·  Rome Statute ·  Kyoto Protocol ·  European Union treaties ·  European Union law History League of Nations ·  Permanent Court of International Justice ·  Nuremberg Trials ·  Permanent Court of Arbitration Proposals and
concepts World government ·  United Nations Parliamentary Assembly ·  Central Asian Union ·  Pacific Union ·  North American Union ·  Federal Europe Movements Federal Union ·  World Federalist Movement ·  Global citizens movement ·  World Union 

Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article
in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nations  history
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

History of "Association of Southeast Asian Nations"
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.