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is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia,

which was formed on 8 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 the acceleration of
economic

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In the 1960s, the push for decolonisation promoted the sovereignty of Indonesia and
Malaysia 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 neighbours like Indonesia and Malaysia.
"Through political dialogue and confidence building, no tension has escalated into
armed confrontation among ASEAN member countries since its establishment more
than three decades ago".

The ASEAN way can be traced back to the signing of the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation in Southeast Asia. "Fundamental principles adopted from this included:

mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and
national identity of all nations;

the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference

non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;

renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

effective cooperation among themselves".

On the surface, the process of consultations and consensus is supposed to be a

democratic approach to decision making, 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 co-operation which can undermine their
regime's control over the conduct of regional co-operation. Thus, the organization is
chaired by the secretariat.

 

Western countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to
promoting human rights and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar. 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. 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. International observers view it as a "talk shop", which implies that the
organization is "big on words but small on action".

During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several activist groups staged anti-
globalization and anti-Arroyo rallies. According to the activists, the agenda of economic
integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and would cause
thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs. They also viewed the organization as
"imperialistic"(maintaining of unequal economy) that threatens the country's sovereignty.
A human rights lawyer from New Zealand was also present to protest about the human
rights situation in the region in general.

ASEAN has agreed to an ASEAN human rights body which has come into force in
2009. The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand want this body to have an
enforcement capacity; however Singapore, Viet Nam, Burma, Laos and Cambodia do
not.

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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 28
åanuary 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.





 
 


The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Area (ACIA) will encourage the free flow of
investment within ASEAN. The main principles of the ACIA 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(obstacle)
* Streamlining(shaping) of investment process and procedures
* Enhancing transparency
* Undertaking investment facilitation measures

Full realization of the ACIA with the removal of temporary exclusion lists in
manufacturing agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining was scheduled by 2010 for
most ASEAN members and by 2015 for the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and
Vietnam) countries.

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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.


It is a good organization which keeps the good bonding between the nation and they
follow the following principles
mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and
national identity of all nations;

the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference

non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;

renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

effective cooperation among themselves