ABSTRACT ON ASEAN

• ASA (Association of Southeast Asia) turned into ASEAN (1967) - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand + Brunei (1984), Burma (Myanmar) (1997), Cambodia (1999), Laos (1997), and Vietnam (1995)

• Aimed at assuring sovereignty and independence as the region was affected by the cold war interventions destabilizations in a moment of descolonization
• Suffers US pression through APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Forum), having the EAEC (East Asia Economic Caucus) initiative (1990) suppressed due this reason
• The ASEAN way – economically aimed, not-intervein, is criticized for being to tolerant with Burma
• Is organized through track I, II and III neglecting civil society to the III one, which is more observantive than deliberative
• Summits were originally from 5 to 5 years, in 1992 turned to 3 to 3, since 2001 it happens every year, and since 2009 twice a year + the informal and comemorative meetings; the EAS (East Asia Summit); ARF (Asia Regional Forum); ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting); and Asia-Russia meeting
  • ASEAN + 3 and ASEAN + CER (Australia and New Zeland) happen along with the ASEAN Summit.

• CEPT (common effective preferential tariff) (1992) was proposed in 1992, and would later be developed after the 1997 economic crisis. Since 2007 to AEC (Asean Economic Comunity) aiming free zone area untill 2015. It includes the following measures:
  • Comprehensive Investment Areas
  • Trade in Services
  • Single aviation market
  • Free trade agreements with other countries – China, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most recently India. Is negotiating also with the European Union (most of those since 2010).
  • shift from CMI (Chiang Mai Initiative) – proposed in 2000 to create a multinational bank to prevent further economic crisis – to ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic and Research Office (AMRO), which will also survey to prevent crisis.
    • Operates since 2011, and aims at doubling its resources to inspire more confidence
  • FDI, however China has 3 years of high inflation and Japan is recovering from Tsunami, what challenge investors – most of them from the EU.
  • Intra-Asean travel, is of 40% and is about to have common passport.
  • Intra-ASEAN trade, which is week since just Laos and Burma (Myamar) have regional-oriented export-import policies
• In 1995 a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone was propsed, and finally concluded in 2001
• ASEAN + 3 (China + Japan + South Korea) (1997), also an attempt to balance the USA intervention presence, an attempt to get countries which hate each other together through a new space.
• Since 2006 East Timor is in process of admission, and the formal letter was forwarded in 2011
• In 2008 it launched a charter shifting to a more integrative organization, almost like the shift from European Community to European Union, however with much less deepening. Anyway, there's still central concern of preserving sovereignty.
  • Some say it was due to pressures, mostly European, to increase humanitarian and democratic umbrella, what is directly aimed at Myamar.
• Many critics say its just a talk shop since it's stimulus, the cold war, is gone. Others criticize its neoliberal aspect.