1

1. INTRODUCTION
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a geo-
political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast
Asia, which was formed on 8th August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Since then, membership has
expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and
Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress,
cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and
stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences
peacefully.
ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km, which is 3% of the
total land area of Earth, and has a population of approximately 600 million
people, which is 8.8% of the world's population. The sea area of ASEAN is
about three times larger than its land counterpart. In 2011, its
combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$ 2 trillion. If ASEAN
were a single entity, it would rank as the eighth largest economy in the
world.
ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the Association of
Southeast Asia, commonly called ASA, an alliance consisting of the
Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand that was formed in 1961. The bloc itself,
however, was established on 8 August 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
2

Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand are considered the
organisation's Founding Fathers.
The motivations for the birth of ASEAN were 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,
and a desire for economic development. The bloc grew when Brunei
Darussalam became the sixth member on 8 January 1984, barely a week
after gaining independence on 1 January. On 28 July 1995, Vietnam became
the seventh member. Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joined two years later on
23 July 1997. Cambodia was to have joined together with Laos and Burma,
but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. The country
later joined on 30 April 1999, following the stabilisation of its government.
During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership and
drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of
an East Asia Economic Caucus comprising 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 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. Despite this failure, member states
continued to work for further integration and ASEAN Plus Three was
created in 1997.
In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme
was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as 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
3

Area. After the East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, 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).

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 of turning Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. The
treaty took effect on 28 March 1997 after all but 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.











4

2. THE FOUNDING of ASEAN
On 8 August 1967, five leaders the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand sat down together in the
main hall of the Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok,
Thailand and signed a document. By virtue of that document, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was born. The five
Foreign Ministers who signed it Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R.
Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of
Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand would subsequently be hailed
as the Founding Fathers of probably the most successful inter-governmental
organization in the developing world today. And the document that they
signed would be known as the ASEAN Declaration.
It was a short, simply-worded document containing just five articles. It
declared the establishment of an Association for Regional Cooperation
among the Countries of Southeast Asia to be known as the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and spelled out the aims and purposes of
that Association. These aims and purposes were about cooperation in the
economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other fields, and in the
promotion of regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice
and the rule of law and adherence to the principles of the United Nations
Charter. It stipulated that the Association would be open for participation by
all States in the Southeast Asian region subscribing to its aims, principles
and purposes. It proclaimed ASEAN as representing the collective will of
the nations of Southeast Asia to bind themselves together in friendship and
cooperation and, through joint efforts and sacrifices, secure for their peoples
and for posterity the blessings of peace, freedom and prosperity.
5

It was while Thailand was brokering reconciliation among Indonesia,
the Philippines and Malaysia over certain disputes that it dawned on the four
countries that the moment for regional cooperation had come or the future of
the region would remain uncertain. Recalls one of the two surviving
protagonists of that historic process, Thanat Khoman of Thailand: At the
banquet marking the reconciliation between the three disputants, I broached
the idea of forming another organization for regional cooperation with Adam
Malik. Malik agreed without hesitation but asked for time to talk with his
government and also to normalize relations with Malaysia now that the
confrontation was over. Meanwhile, the Thai Foreign Office prepared a draft
charter of the new institution. Within a few months, everything was ready. I
therefore invited the two former members of the Association for Southeast
Asia (ASA), Malaysia and the Philippines, and Indonesia, a key member, to
a meeting in Bangkok. In addition, Singapore sent S. Rajaratnam, then
Foreign Minister, to see me about joining the new set-up. Although the new
organization was planned to comprise only the ASA members plus
Indonesia, Singapores request was favorably considered.
And so in early August 1967, the five Foreign Ministers spent four
days in the relative isolation of a beach resort in Bang Saen, a coastal town
less than a hundred kilometers southeast of Bangkok. There they negotiated
over that document in a decidedly informal manner which they would later
delight in describing as sports-shirt diplomacy. Yet it was by no means an
easy process: each man brought into the deliberations a historical and
political perspective that had no resemblance to that of any of the others. But
with goodwill and good humor, as often as they huddled at the negotiating
table, they finessed their way through their differences as they lined up their
6

shots on the golf course and traded wisecracks on one anothers game, a
style of deliberation which would eventually become the ASEAN ministerial
tradition.
Now, with the rigors of negotiations and the informalities of Bang
Saen behind them, with their signatures neatly attached to the ASEAN
Declaration, also known as the Bangkok Declaration, it was time for some
formalities. The first to speak was the Philippine Secretary of Foreign
Affairs, Narciso Ramos, a one-time journalist and long-time legislator who
had given up a chance to be Speaker of the Philippine Congress to serve as
one of his countrys first diplomats. He was then 66 years old and his only
son, the future President Fidel V. Ramos, was serving with the Philippine
Civic Action Group in embattled Vietnam. He recalled the tediousness of the
negotiations that preceded the signing of the Declaration that truly taxed the
goodwill, the imagination, the patience and understanding of the five
participating Ministers. That ASEAN was established at all in spite of these
difficulties, he said, meant that its foundations had been solidly laid. And he
impressed it on the audience of diplomats, officials and media people who
had witnessed the signing ceremony that a great sense of urgency had
prompted the Ministers to go through all that trouble. He spoke darkly of the
forces that were arrayed against the survival of the countries of Southeast
Asia in those uncertain and critical times.
The fragmented economies of Southeast Asia, he said, (with) each
country pursuing its own limited objectives and dissipating its meager
resources in the overlapping or even conflicting endeavors of sister states
carry the seeds of weakness in their incapacity for growth and their self-
perpetuating dependence on the advanced, industrial nations. ASEAN,
7

therefore, could marshal the still untapped potentials of this rich region
through more substantial united action.
When it was his turn to speak, Adam Malik, Presidium Minister for Political
Affairs and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, recalled that about a
year before, in Bangkok, at the conclusion of the peace talks between
Indonesia and Malaysia, he had explored the idea of an organization such as
ASEAN with his Malaysian and Thai counterparts. One of the angry young
men in his countrys struggle for independence two decades earlier, Adam
Malik was then 50 years old and one of a Presidium of five led by then
General Soeharto that was steering Indonesia from the verge of economic
and political chaos. He was the Presidiums point man in Indonesias efforts
to mend fences with its neighbors in the wake of an unfortunate policy of
confrontation. During the past year, he said, the Ministers had all worked
together toward the realization of the ASEAN idea, making haste slowly, in
order to build a new association for regional cooperation.
Against the backdrop of conflict in the then Indochina, the Founding
Fathers had the foresight of building a community of and for all Southeast
Asian states. Thus the Bangkok Declaration promulgated that the
Association is open for participation to all States in the Southeast Asian
region subscribing to the aforementioned aims, principles and
purposes. ASEANs inclusive outlook has paved the way for community-
building not only in Southeast Asia, but also in the broader Asia Pacific
region where several other inter-governmental organizations now co-exist.

8

ASEAN Motto
The motto of ASEAN is One Vision, One Identity, One Community.

ASEAN Flag
1. The ASEAN Flag is a symbol of Member States unity and support for the
principles and endeavours of ASEAN and is a means to promote greater
ASEAN awareness and solidarity.
2. The ASEAN Flag represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic
ASEAN. The colours of the Flag blue, red, white and yellow represent
the main colours of the flags of all the ASEAN Member States.
3. The blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and
dynamism, white shows purity and yellow symbolises prosperity.
4. The stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem represent the dream of
ASEANs Founding Fathers for an ASEAN comprising all the countries in
Southeast Asia, bound together in friendship and solidarity.
5. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN.

ASEAN Emblem
1. The ASEAN Emblem shall be the official emblem of ASEAN.
2. The ASEAN Emblem represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic
ASEAN. The colours of the Emblem blue, red, white and yellow
represent the main colours of the state crests of all the ASEAN Member
States.
9

3. The blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and
dynamism, white shows purity and yellow symbolises prosperity.
4. The stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem represent the dream of
ASEANs Founding Fathers for an ASEAN comprising all the countries in
Southeast Asia, bound together in friendship and solidarity.
5. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN.

ASEAN Day
8 August is observed as ASEAN Day.

ASEAN Anthem
1. The ASEAN Anthem is an expression of ASEAN unity. It also
strengthens the sense of ASEAN identity and belonging among the peoples
of the region.
2. The ASEAN Anthem is titled THE ASEAN WAY, with musical
composition and lyrics as attached.





10

3. MEMBERS OF ASEAN
1. Brunei Darussalam
2. Cambodia
3. Indonesia
4. Lao PDR
5. Malaysia
6. Myanmar
7. Philippines
8. Singapore
9. Thailand
10. Viet Nam
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4. ASEAN Charter
The ASEAN Charter serves as a firm foundation in achieving the
ASEAN Community by providing legal status and institutional framework
for ASEAN. It also codifies ASEAN norms, rules and values; sets clear
targets for ASEAN; and presents accountability and compliance.
The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008. A
gathering of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers was held at the ASEAN
Secretariat in Jakarta to mark this very historic occasion for ASEAN. With
the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter, ASEAN will henceforth operate
under a new legal framework and establish a number of new organs to boost
its community-building process. In effect, the ASEAN Charter has become a
legally binding agreement among the 10 ASEAN Member States. It will also
be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations, pursuant to Article
102, Paragraph 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. The importance of the
ASEAN Charter can be seen in the following contexts:
New political commitment at the top level
New and enhanced commitments
New legal framework, legal personality
New ASEAN bodies
Two new openly-recruited DSGs
More ASEAN meetings
More roles of ASEAN Foreign Ministers
New and enhanced role of the Secretary-General of ASEAN
Other new initiatives and changes.
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DETAILS OF ASEAN's DEMOGRAPHY

Headquarters - Jakarta, Indonesia

Working language - English

Membership 10 states

Leaders -
Secretary General Le Luong Minh
Summit Presidency Brunei

Establishment -
Bangkok Declaration 8 August 1967
Charter 16 December 2008

Area - Total 4,479,210.5 km
2

2,778,124.7 sq mi

Population - 2011 estimate 602,658,000
Density 135/km
2

216/sq mi

GDP 2011 estimate - Total US$ 3.574 trillion
Per capita US$ 5,930

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5. ASEAN Summits
The organisation holds meetings, known as the ASEAN Summit,
where heads of government of each member 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. 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. 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 Burma which
dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United
States and the European Union. By December 2008, the ASEAN Charter
came into force and with it, the ASEAN Summit will be held twice in a year.
Till date (1976-2012) about 21 ASEAN SUMMITS have been held
thuroughout the 10 member countries.
ASEAN has emphasized regional cooperation on the three pillars of
security and sociocultural and economic integration. It has made most
progress in economic integration and aims to create an ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC) by 2015. The AEC would have a combined population
of over 566 million people and a gross domestic product of over $1.173
trillion. 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. Other elements of economic integration, such as the
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free flow of investment and services and the elimination of non-tariff
barriers, have been added by the ASEAN leaders.
Through agreements such as the ASEAN Charter, signed in
November 2007, ASEAN's leaders are attempting to build a single market,
but without either a strong central executive (comparable to the European
Commission in the European Union) or a well-developed body of laws and
dispute settlement mechanisms (like those of the North American Free Trade
Association (NAFTA)). ASEAN members' historical reluctance to
encourage either of these elements stems from a fear of impinging on
ASEANs long-held principles of non-interference and consensus. However,
failure to integrate ASEAN's diverse markets will mean a loss of investment
and economic opportunities to regional competitors, such as China and
India. This tension between the need to integrate and the reluctance to yield
national sovereignty is the main factor affecting the development of the
AEC.







15

6. ASEAN Structure
The supreme authority in ASEAN is the ASEAN Summit of national
leaders. Decisions made at the summit are intended to represent a consensus
among the ASEAN nations. Summit meetings have been held annually. The
chairmanship rotates among the members every year by alphabetical order.
The ASEAN Economic Community Council, formerly known as the
ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting, will meet twice yearly for the
development of the AEC.
ASEAN Free Trade Area
Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme
Unlike the European Union, the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
does not apply a common external tariff on imported goods. Rather, each
member may impose tariffs on goods entering from outside ASEAN based
on its national schedules. However, for goods originating within ASEAN,
members must apply a tariff rate of between 0% and 5%, although the most
recent members - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam - have been given
additional time to implement the reduced tariff rates. This is known as the
Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme.
Members may exclude products from the CEPT in three cases:
1. Temporary exclusions are for products for which tariffs will
ultimately be lowered to between 0% and 5%, but which are being
protected temporarily by a delay in tariff reductions;
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2. An exclusion for sensitive agricultural products covers commodities
such as rice - members have until 2010 to reduce the tariff levels to
between 0% and 5%; and
3. General exceptions may apply to products which an ASEAN member
deems necessary for the protection of :
a) national security;
b) public morals;
c) human, animal or plant life and health; and
d) articles of artistic, historic or archaeological value.
Members have agreed to enact zero tariff rates on virtually all imports by
2010 for the original signatories and 2015 for the four recent members.
Rule of origin
The CEPT applies only to goods originating within ASEAN. The
general rule is that local ASEAN content must constitute at least 40% of the
free on board value of goods. The local ASEAN content can be cumulative -
that is, the value of material, labour and processing inputs from various
ASEAN members can be combined to meet the 40% requirement. Free on
board value is calculated as the sum of:
a) the raw material cost;
b) the direct labour cost;
c) the direct overhead cost;
d) the profit; and
e) the inland transport cost.
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Administration
The administration of AFTA is handled by the national customs and
trade authorities in each state. The ASEAN Secretariat has authority to
monitor and ensure compliance with AFTA measures. The charter is
intended to bolster the secretariats ability to ensure consistent application of
AFTA measures. Unlike in the European Union or NAFTA, joint teams to
ensure compliance and investigate non-compliance have not been widely
used. Disagreements may result between the national authorities. The
secretariat may mediate in a dispute, but has no legal authority to resolve it.
ASEAN has attempted to improve customs coordination through the
implementation of the Single Window project, which would allow importers
to make a single electronic submission of all information related to a
transaction. This information would then be shared with all other ASEAN
national customs authorities.
Dispute resolution
Although the ASEAN national customs and trade authorities
coordinate their activities, disputes can arise. As the secretariat has no legal
authority to resolve such disputes, they are resolved bilaterally by informal
means or through dispute resolution. The Protocol on Enhanced Dispute
Settlement Mechanisms governs formal dispute resolution in AFTA and
other aspects of ASEAN. Members may seek mediation and 'good offices'
consultations. If these efforts are ineffective, they may ask the Senior
Economic Officials' Meeting to establish a panel of independent arbitrators
to review the dispute. Panel decisions can be appealed to an appellate body
formed by the Economic Community Council.
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ASEAN Investment Area
The ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) will encourage the free flow of
investment within ASEAN. Its main principles are:
a) the opening of all industries to investment, with exclusions to be
phased out according to schedules;
b) the immediate granting of national treatment to ASEAN investors
(with a few exceptions);
c) the elimination of impediments to investment;
d) the streamlining of investment processes and procedures;
e) enhanced transparency; and
f) the undertaking of measures to facilitate investment.
Full realization of the AIA and the removal of temporary exclusion lists in
manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining are scheduled by
2010 for most ASEAN members and by 2015 for the newest members.
ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services
The ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was
adopted at the Bangkok summit in December 1995. 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, such as
air transport, have liberalized more rapidly, others remain the subject of
continued negotiation, as do efforts to expand the scope of the agreement.

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ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Scheme
The ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Scheme provides an 'early
harvest' of the CEPT scheme for companies with cross-border operations
within ASEAN. Companies must be incorporated in ASEAN with 30% or
more ASEAN-origin equity and must involve some form of resource sharing
(such as shared technology, market sharing or consolidated purchases of raw
materials). The output of approved projects enjoy the CEPT rate of 0% to
5% tariffs immediately, as do raw materials and intermediate products. The
scheme has provided an early indication of how the administration of further
economic integration is likely to proceed. The approval process was
relatively slow and disjointed, with individual national governments often
applying inconsistent or contradictory criteria in assessing applications. The
scheme remains relevant in the newest member countries where
implementation of the CEPT has a longer phase-in period.
Free Trade Agreements
ASEAN has signed agreements on trade in goods and services with
China and Korea(1) and has finalized the Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement with Japan on trade in goods. ASEAN is also
negotiating free trade agreements with India, the European Union, Australia
and New Zealand. Individual members, such as Singapore, Thailand,
Indonesia and the Philippines, have also concluded bilateral free trade
agreements. Harmonizing these national bilateral agreements with the
ASEAN agreements is an ongoing issue.

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7. FUNCTIONS of ASEAN
As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, some of its important functions are:
1. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural
development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of
equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a
prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
2. To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice
and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and
adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
3. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of
common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and
administrative fields;
4. To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research
facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative
spheres;
5. To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their
agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study
of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of
their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the
living standards of their peoples;
6. To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
7. To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international
and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all
avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.

There are many other functions of ASEAN.

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8. MAJOR ACHEIVEMENTS of ASEAN
A. AGRICULTURAL ACHEIVEMENTS
I. FOOD
Food Security
Acknowledging the important of food security to keep the stability,
and prosperity of the region, the ASEAN Member States signed the
Agreement on ASEAN Food Security Reserve (AFSRB) in 1979. Under the
Agreement, each ASEAN Member State should establish an ASEAN
Emergency Rice Reserve (AERR), a sum total of the basic food stock
(rice) maintained by each Member Country within its national
border. Presently, the total earmarked quantity for the AERR stands at
87,000 metric tons.

Food Safety
ASEAN has developed the ASEAN Food Safety Network website
(www.aseanfoodsafetynetwork.net) to provide useful information on food
safety.

II. AGRICULTURE
Crops
The ASEAN has worked efficiently and persistently to reduce the use
of pesticides on food crops. Another step forward in the regional effort to
control pesticide use to improve marketability of agricultural products and
prevent environmental degradation is the establishment of pesticide database
and network among ASEAN Member States. Through the coordination of
Malaysia, the ASEAN website for pesticides regulatory authorities
22

aseanpest provides a platform for sharing of information of problems
related to pesticide management.

Livestock
Recognizing that vaccination is the practical method to control the
spread of these infectious diseases, ASEAN embarked on establishing
standards for vaccines used in the livestock industry in the region to ensure
that only vaccines which meet international standards for safety and quality
are being used to protect animal health in the region. ASEAN also
established several procedures and guidance related to vaccines productions
which are published for the purpose of livestock industry in the region. In
order to promote international trade in livestock, especially among the
Member Countries, a number of ASEAN Criteria for Accreditation of
Livestock and Livestock Products Establishment have been developed.
Fisheries
A number of cooperative projects and activities in fisheries have been
implemented among others, Development of Aquaculture for sustainable
Fisheries Management in the Southeast Asia Region, and fisheries related
projects under the ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Programme
(AADCP) To promote sustainable aquaculture, ASEAN developed the
Manual on Good Shrimp Farm Management Practices,

Agricultural Cooperatives
ASEAN is implementing strategic alliances (SA) projects in the
following enterprises: data and information, agricultural production
and marketing, coconut-by-product, agro-ecotourism, beef farming,
carrageenan, and marketing beans and pulses. The ASEAN
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Cooperative Business Forum (ACBF) was established in 2006 with
the objective to promote business linkages and trading among the
potential agricultural cooperatives within ASEAN.

Agricultural training and extension
The ability of farmers to select, adapt and apply technologies
plays a vital role in increasing agricultural production. ASEAN, in its
efforts to educate their farmers has promoted and intensified the
application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), especially on fruits
and vegetables as a comprehensive approach to improve crop quality
and reduce crops losses.

Research and Development in Agriculture
Cooperation in the area of research and development in agriculture
was started in 2005. A number of activities have been initiated including the
establishment of the ASEAN Agricultural Research and Development
Information System (ASEAN ARDIS), development of the ASEAN
Directory of Agricultural Research and Development Centres in ASEAN,
and the Guidelines for the Use of the Digital Information System.

Biotechnology
Biotechnology is used as a tool to increase food productivity on a
sustainable basis. However, at the moment, there is public concern on
the use of biotechnology that need to be addressed by the respective
authorities.

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B. Economic Achievements Of ASEAN

The main achievement of ASEAN has been the maintenance of an
uninterrupted period of peace and stability during which the individual
Member Countries have been able to concentrate on promoting rapid and
sustained economic growth and modernization. The dynamism of the
Southeast Asian economies is something many countries would like to
acquire for themselves. For about 25 years from 1970 to 1995, ASEAN's
GDP grew at an average annual rate of 7.0 percent. Today, Southeast Asia
has a total market of about 500 million people and a combined GDP of more
than US$ 700 billion.
Over the years, ASEAN's overall trade grew from US$ 10 billion in
1967, US$ 14 billion in 1970, US$ 134 billion in 1980, US$ 302 billion in
1990 to US$ 650 billion in 1995. With its combined trade value, ASEAN is
the fourth largest trading entity in the world after the European Union, the
United States and Japan.
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
Single Market and Production Base
Competitive Economic Region
Equitable Economic Development
Integration into the Global Economy
The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is the realisation of the
end goal of regional economic integration by 2015 of the ten (10) economies
of the ASEAN Member States, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao
PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Viet Nam. The AEC will bring benefits to the peoples of ASEAN by
25

creating a more conducive environment through transparency, predictability
and consistency for businesses to flourish. This will in turn benefit
consumers who will have access to a cheaper and wider range of goods and
services and enjoy more extensive consumer protection. The newer ASEAN
Member States of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam stand to
also gain through the many opportunities for production networks created by
an AEC and the productivity enhancing effects of AECs emphasis on
best practices.
As a result, the AEC continued to make good progress. By end-March
2013,
around 78 percent of measures due under the AEC Blueprint have been
implemented, with significant gains across pillars including the following:
Per capita income in the region had risen from US$2,267 to US$3,759
in 2012;
Total trade of ASEAN grew by 16.8%, from US$2.05 trillion in 2010
to US$2.4 trillion in 2011;
intra-ASEAN trade reached US$598 billion from US$520 billion, an
increase of 15.1%, over the same period;
ASEAN continued to attract foreign investments, generating a record
US$114 billion FDI inflow in 2011, a 23% increase from US$92
billion in 2010;
The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) is now
enforced;
The landmark ASEAN Agreement on Movement of Natural Persons
(MNP) has been signed;
26

The pilot implementation of the ASEAN Single Window, which is
expected to contribute to improved trade facilitation in the region, is
well underway; while in transport facilitation, renewed progress is
made in the ratification of agreements;
A work program was also developed to address non-tariff barriers
(NTBs), including enhancement of non-tariff measures (NTMs)
database and engagement of private sector to obtain feedback on
NTB/NTM issues.
ASEAN TRADE 2011
Country Value in million USD
Intra ASEAN 598,242.24
ANZ 67,711.14
Canada 10,771.15
China 280,405.55
EU 27 234,776.15
USA 198,785.92
Russia 13,967.90
Pakistan 6,767.45
Korea 124,470.90
India 68,428.78
Japan 273,347.07
Trade 2,388,592.28
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9. Singapore And ASEAN
Singapore officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian
island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kms (85 mi)
north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated
from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau
Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. The country is highly
urbanized with very little primary rainforest remaining, although more land
is being created for development through land reclamation.
About Singapore
Head of State : President Tony Tan Keng Yam
Head of Government : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Capital : Singapore
Language(s) : English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Currency : S$ (Singapore Dollar)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Website: www.mfa.gov.sg

SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (IPS Asia-Pacific) In late 2011, Singapore pledged
50 million Singapore dollars (40.7 million US dollars) to help its neighbours
Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam integrate better into the Association
of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community that is to be in
place by 2015. In other words, the affluent city-state, one of the five
founding members of ASEAN, has been showing its political commitment to
the regions premier grouping. perhaps because it is already the most open
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economy among the 10 ASEAN member countries, the buzzword that the
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has become in several ASEAN
nations may not have excited too many younger Singaporeans.
Singapore is one of the founding memebers of ASEAN. Singapore is a
typical state in ASEAN. The republic is a disticnt contributor to the
economic life in the region, fulfills a needed role as a critic within ASEAN.
In a rising Asia, there is a bigger role that Singapore can play, including
providing leadership and exporting technological and infrastructural
services. Singapore occupiees a special place in the region. It has a
population of 1.3 million which is approximately 1% of the total population
of ASEAN counties. It is strategically located although linked to Malaysia
for resources and security purposes.
Singapore's role as a entrepot is vital to its immediate neighbours but
its function as a centre of communications, advanced technology, ship repair
& other services is enduring. Singapore's policy formulation and future
propsects in ASEAN is based on the following factors :
1. Strategic Position
Singapore is located within miles from Malaysia and Indonesia.
2. Demographic Factors
With a population ie 76% Chinese. Singapore must minimize
concerns in Malaysia and Indonesia that it might become a satellite of the
People's Republic Of China.

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3. Economic Factors
Singapore lacks natural resources and has only a limited domestic
market. It survives on external commercial contacts, trade & services & is
very vulnerable to external political and economic forces.
4. Political Factors
Singapore has a strong elected one party system, the People's Action
Party (PAP), with government leadership in the office since 1959.
In a rising Asia, there is a bigger role that Singapore can play,
including providing leadership and exporting technological and
infrastructural services, academics said a representative yesterday at the
Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) 50th anniversary.
During a panel discussion on the outlook for Singapore and other
members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations in the next 50
years, SIIA noted that economic opportunities are coming to fruition because
of regional integration. However, most countries in the region are under-
investing when it comes to infrastructure. It was pointed out that
infrastructure should be the most important priority, especially as
urbanization accelerates. It can also lead to job creation and unlock more
opportunities.
This is where Singapore can offer leadership and export its model.
Singapore needs to export its technological and infrastructural services to
other countries in the region. Its not only ASEANs moment but
Singapores moment as well. It was time to see Singapore as an unofficial
capital for finance, commerce and diplomacy of the ASEAN region.
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Singapore could become more influential, as a possible services
centre in the region. Noting that Singapore is the third largest economy in
ASEAN, as it gets more and more integrated, we need a place in ASEAN
thats going to be the services centre provide logistics, administrative,
accounting ... a whole suites of services. And theres one place which can do
that obviously, Singapore. But, he said, it cannot be done without
developing an active diplomatic footprint and an influential framework.
Asia is becoming increasingly influential on the world stage, with growing
power in the world economy. Singapore and partners in ASEAN are at the
centre of these developments. On what she saw as the next phase of re-
invention for Singapore, she said that financial services will remain key.
Nevertheless, she noted that the services sector is growing and Singapore
should also continue to find a niche in manufacturing. SIIA held a soft
launch of a new programme called Future 50, which aims to map out the 50-
year future for Singapore in Asia and the world. It will look at geopolitics,
social, environmental and other key trends. A report will be published in
2015.
Business people are naturally more aware of the impending
community because of the supposed opportunities and deeper business
linkages it will bring to the regional market of nearly 600 million people and
with a combined Gross Domestic Product of 1,858.7 billion dollars. The
AEC aims to deepen economic integration in the region through the creation
of a single market and production base in ASEAN. This should result in a
freer flow of services, investments, capital and skilled labour.

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AECs Impact on Singapore
The masses in Singapore believe that ASEAN Economic Community
could help raise public expenditures and narrow inequalities in Singapore.
If we can somehow integrate our markets with the emerging ones, we could
leverage on their growth, outsource our manufacturing, increase wages,
bring in cheap labour, build businesses cheaply, and allow Singaporeans to
find work even more easily as expats in the region, says Ben Ho, a
Singapore based young Economist.
It might bring about a sense of togetherness. It will definitely bring about
change, but whether positive or negative, well have to wait and see, adds
Ho . He also that the younger generation is too inward-looking that it fails to
see what is going on outside the city-state.
ASEAN should be an effective tool to help propel rapid growth in
Singapore. There should not be double taxation on goods; if import duty has
been paid upon entry into an ASEAN member country, these goods should
be free to be moved within ASEAN.
Of course, small countries, like Singapore, will have their international
voice elevated in the process [as] ASEAN will be our main platform for
international recognition, says Ho. On the other hand, Singapore could
very well be crowded out by the emerging markets.
I think that people in Singapore will not be very happy about it (AEC). We
might have even more of an influx of foreigners, which Singaporeans are
already complaining about.
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Ho adds, Perhaps, our neighbours emergence might be a threat to
our existence. Others, perhaps those monitoring the market (or doing
business), are very aware of the impact the stability of region will have on
trade.
ASEAN groups Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (END/IPS
Asia-Pacific)












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10. FUTURE PROSPECTS OF ASEAN
Over the next decade, ASEANs goal should be to firmly establish
itself as the essential regional organization in Asia, allowing economic
integration to revolve around it and asserting critical expertise in regional
trade and economic issues. To establish itself, ASEAN is planning to take
the following important steps to challenge its tradition of consensus and
weak central leadership.
Build the ASEAN Secretariat into a powerful and knowledgeable
body, with more staff, greater abilities to solve problems without
calling in all the ASEAN member states, and far more
sophisticated technical expertise about trade, economics, and
nontraditional security threats. This expansion would be paid for
by higher transfers of funds to the secretariat from wealthier
ASEAN members. The enhanced ASEAN Secretariat would have
its own aid disbursement apparatus, election monitoring unit, and
small peacekeeping force. For Singapore, Indonesia, or Brunei,
doubling or even tripling their annual outlays to the ASEAN
Secretariat would have minimal impact on their national budgets.
Appoint a more high-profile Southeast Asian leader as head of
ASEAN. Currently, a well-known retired civil servant from a
member state or a former foreign minister is often appointed.
Though well meaning, these ASEAN leaders have little
international profile. Instead, ASEAN should begin offering
leadership of the secretariat to internationally known former
Southeast Asian prime ministers and presidents, such as Goh Chok
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Tong of Singapore or (when he was younger) Fidel Ramos of the
Philippines.
Agree on a common ASEAN vision for future East Asian trade and
economic integration. Take actions to establish ASEAN leadership
toward that vision. Implement, without further delay, plans for an
ASEAN-wide FTA, including agriculture, for all members, by
2015. This should include reducing and ultimately eliminating the
large number of exceptions and carve-outs for certain sectors
already in place, which are diluting any potential FTA.
Combine the FTA with progress toward a real integrated economic
community in ASEAN by 2020. This means streamlining customs
procedures at all land and air borders, collaborating to speed up the
construction of new physical infrastructure, including region-wide
road and rail links, and collaborating to make all ASEAN nations
corporate legal codes based on similar principles and concepts.
Settle all remaining border disputes among ASEAN members,
such as those between Thailand and Cambodia over the Preah
Vihear Temple. Settling ASEANs own border disputes would put
ASEAN in a stronger position regarding territorial disputes with
other nations like China.
Take greater leadership in promoting Asia-wide trade
liberalization, particularly by moving to more quickly implement
its proposed deals with Japan and India. By finally concluding the
ASEAN FTA and putting into place these other agreements,
ASEAN would firmly establish itself as the core of any broader
Asian trade agreement and also gain valuable expertise in
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negotiating sensitive sectors of these deals, such as agriculture,
textiles, and telecommunications.
Reduce the number of annual ASEAN meetings, as well as the
number of issues covered, to a core of five to ten issues, mostly
relating to economic liberalization, regional integration, and
nontraditional security threats. In addition, expand the number of
non-ASEAN observers at ASEAN meetings, to include as broad a
range of East Asian and South Asian observer states as possible.
Make ASEAN an organization that allows and/or prioritizes
democratic members and has a broad, coherent policy on human
rights in Asia. Rewrite the ASEAN Charter to emphasize these
core issues, as well as regional values that reflect the growing
democratization of the region. The rewriting should also include a
clause allowing for the possibility of intervention in the case of
gross human rights abuses in one ASEAN member state, which
would make ASEAN more consistent with other regional
organizations. It would also afford ASEAN more moral and
rhetorical authority in international forums and make clear that, in
contrast to when ASEAN was founded, the group today is an
organization comprising primarily democratic and democratizing
nations.
Move away from consensus decision-making when possible,
especially during times of economic and diplomatic crisis in East
Asia, when speed is essential. One way to do this would be to shift
ASEAN decision-making on all issues to supermajority voting, in
which two-thirds of all ASEAN member states agree to support a
resolution for it to pass.
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End ASEANs practice of rotating honorary chairmanship of the
organization alphabetically, in order to prioritize its leading
members. This would allow ASEAN to adopt a more muscular role
in regional and global economic affairs and play a larger role on
the regional and international stages. The leading ASEAN member
states, such as Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines, have a far
larger bench of diplomats capable of advocating effectively for
ASEANs positions, in
English, at international forums, and many more in reserve to
represent at ASEAN. By contrast, in some of the smaller and
poorer ASEAN member states, seconding even a handful of the
most capable diplomats and ministers to handle ASEAN affairs
devastates these nations ministries.
Construct a mechanism to better help the poorer ASEAN members
bring their economies and foreign ministries up to the standard of
the richer members. This can include significantly boosting aid
transfers from richer ASEAN members to poorer ones, by creating
a mechanism such as the EUs structural funds for new members
from the former Eastern Bloc. It may essentially result in a two-tier
ASEAN similar in some respects to the European Union, but this is
preferable to the current ASEAN one-tier structure, which is not
flexible enough and hobbles the organization. ASEAN has already
taken strides in this two-tier direction by allowing poorer nations
more time to join the region-wide free-trade area.
Hold public referenda on significant ASEAN decisions in ASEAN
member states, in order to boost public buy-in and knowledge of
the organization. Though this strategy has its potential downsides,
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as seen in Europe, it is likely to make ASEANs decisions more
widely accepted by Southeast Asians and give ASEAN more
power to make proactive and potentially controversial decisions.
Prevent ASEAN member states from releasing information about
confidential intra-ASEAN discussions to any outside powers
before ASEAN has made decisions about an issue. Develop
mechanisms to punish ASEAN member states for such leaks.
Develop a unified position on disputed claims to the South China
Sea, as well as on how to address those claims. This position
should be one that is consistent with international maritime law,
binds all signatories to an agreement on the South China Sea, and
is supported, in both public and private, by all ASEAN members.
Admit no new ASEAN members until at least 2020. Employ an
outside (i.e., non-ASEAN) consulting firm to analyze the readiness
of East Timor, and potentially Papua New Guinea, to participate
fully in all ASEAN affairs, at least at a level comparable to Laos,
Cambodia, and Myanmar.









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9. CONCLUSION
I the end i would like to conclude this research project by statuing that
ASEAN has a important role to play in establishing, maintaining &
strengthening world economic, political & business efficiency and harmony
not just the ASEAN region but throuhout the world. Singapore has a
important role to play in accomplishing this objective by performing the role
of a able and strong member of the ASEAN. The only long-lasting, stable
organization in East Asia capable of becoming the foundation of greater
integration is ASEAN. ASEAN contains no major powers, yet it has a
history of working together with the United States, China, and Japan and is
seen as a neutral broker by most major powers. However, for ASEAN to
play this role, it will have to significantly transform itself over the next two
decades, building on its strengths while seriously revamping its secretariat,
its decision-making style, and its reach. By making its secretariat far
stronger, empowering a high-profile secretary-general to speak for ASEAN,
abandoning consensus decision-making, and demonstrating to the rest of
Asia that ASEAN can actually achieve its own free-trade area, ASEAN
would put itself in a position to lead Asian integration.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Role of Singapore in ASEAN by Robert Rau



WEBLIOGRAPY
1. www.asean,org
2. www.jstor.org
3. www.wikipedia.org