View source for ASEAN

{{EngvarB|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}

{{Infobox geopolitical organisation
| name =  {{collapsible list
 | titlestyle = background:transparent;line-height:normal;font-size:84%;
 | title = {{resize|1.25em|Association of Southeast Asian Nations}}
 | {{Infobox |subbox=yes |bodystyle=font-size:77%;font-weight:normal;
   | rowclass1 = mergedrow | label1 = [[Burmese language|Burmese]]: | data1 = {{lang|my|အရှေ့တောင်အာရှနိုင်ငံများအသင်း}}
   | rowclass2 = mergedrow | label2 = [[Filipino language|Filipino]]: | data2 = {{lang|tl|Samahan ng mga Bansa sa Timog Silangang Asya}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Ang Saligang Batas ng ASEAN|trans-title=The ASEAN Charter|url=http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Philippines.pdf|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|accessdate=10 January 2018|language=Filipino|archive-date=10 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110174642/http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Philippines.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref>
   | rowclass3 = mergedrow | label3 = [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]: | data3 = {{lang|id|Perhimpunan Bangsa-Bangsa Asia Tenggara}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Piagam Perhimpunan Bangsa-Bangsa Asia Tenggara|trans-title=The ASEAN Charter|url=http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Indonesia.pdf|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|accessdate=10 January 2018|language=Indonesian|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215070010/http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Indonesia.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref>
   | rowclass4 = mergedrow | label4 = [[Khmer language|Khmer]]: | data4 = {{lang|km|សមាគមប្រជាជាតិអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍}}
   | rowclass5 = mergedrow | label5 = [[Lao language|Lao]]: | data5 = {{lang|lo|ສະມາຄົມປະຊາຊາດແຫ່ງອາຊີຕະເວັນອອກສຽງໃຕ້}}
   | rowclass6 = mergedrow | label6 = [[Malay language|Malay]]: | data6 = {{lang|ms|Persatuan Negara-negara Asia Tenggara}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Piagam Persatuan Negara Asia Tenggara|trans-title=The ASEAN Charter|url=http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Malaysia.pdf|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|accessdate=10 January 2018|language=Malay|archive-date=10 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110174728/http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Malaysia.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref>
   | rowclass7 = mergedrow | label7 = [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]]: | data7 = {{lang|zh|东南亚国家联盟}}
   | rowclass8 = mergedrow | label8 = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]: | data8 = {{lang|ta|தென்கிழக்காசிய நாடுகளின் கூட்டமைப்பு}}
   | rowclass9 = mergedrow | label9 = [[Thai language|Thai]]: | data9 = {{lang|th|สมาคมประชาชาติแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้}}
   | rowclass10 = mergedrow | label10 = [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]: | data10 = {{lang|vi|Hiệp hội các quốc gia Đông Nam Á}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Hiến chương của Hiệp hội các Quốc gia Đông Nam Á|trans-title=The ASEAN Charter|url=http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Vietnam.pdf|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|accessdate=10 January 2018|language=Vietnamese|archive-date=10 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110174732/http://www.asean.org/storage/images/archive/AC-Vietnam.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref>
   }}
 }}
| linking_name = the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
| image_flag = Flag of ASEAN.svg
| image_symbol = Seal of ASEAN.svg
| symbol_type = Emblem
| motto = "One Vision, One Identity, One Community"<ref>{{cite web|title=ASEAN Motto|url=http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-motto|website=ASEAN.org|publisher=ASEAN|accessdate=9 May 2015}}</ref>
| anthem = "[[The ASEAN Way]]"
| image_map = Association of Southeast Asian Nations (orthographic projection).svg
| map_width = 220px
| map_caption = 
| admin_center_type = Secretariat
| admin_center = [[Jakarta]]{{efn|name="adress"}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|6|12|S|106|49|E|type:city}}
| languages_type = [[Working language]]
| languages = [[English language|English]]<ref>{{cite book|title=ASEAN Charter|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|pages=29|url=http://www.asean.org/archive/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf|quote='''Article 34.''' The working language of ASEAN shall be English.|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109180154/http://www.asean.org/archive/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf|archive-date=9 November 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| languages2_type = Official languages<br>of contracting states
| languages2 = 
{{collapsible list
 |titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
 |title = 10 languages
 | {{hlist |Burmese|Filipino|Indonesian|Khmer|Lao|Malay|Mandarin|Tamil|Thai|Vietnamese}}}}
| membership_type = [[Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations|Membership]]
| membership = 
{{collapsible list
 |titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
 |title = 10 states
 |{{Flag|Brunei}}
 |{{Flag|Cambodia}}
 |{{Flag|Indonesia}}
 |{{Flag|Laos}}
 |{{Flag|Malaysia}}
 |{{Flag|Myanmar}}
 |{{Flag|Philippines}}
 |{{Flag|Singapore}}
 |{{Flag|Thailand}}
 |{{Flag|Vietnam}}
}}
{{collapsible list
 |titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
 |title = 2 observers
 |{{Flag|Papua New Guinea}}
 |{{Flagicon|East Timor}} [[East Timor|Timor Leste]]
}}
| ethnic_groups = 
| ethnic_groups_year = 
| leader_title1 = {{nowrap|[[Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations|Secretary General]]}}
| leader_name1 = [[Lim Jock Hoi]]
| established_event1 = {{nowrap|[[ASEAN Declaration|Bangkok Declaration]]}}
| established_date1 = 8 August 1967
| established_event2 = [[ASEAN Charter|Charter]]
| established_date2 = 16 December 2008
| area_km2 = 4,522,518<ref name="ASEAN-Indicators">{{cite web|title=Selected Basic ASEAN Indicators |url=http://www.asean.org/images/2015/January/selected_key_indicators/Summary%20table_as%20of%20December%202014_R.pdf |website=ASEAN.org |publisher=ASEANstats |accessdate=9 May 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103519/http://www.asean.org/images/2015/January/selected_key_indicators/Summary%20table_as%20of%20December%202014_R.pdf |archivedate=4 September 2015 |df= }}</ref>
| area_sq_mi = 1,712,602
| percent_water = 
| population_estimate = 651 million<ref>{{cite web|title=Report for ASEAN populations |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2018/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=30&pr.y=3&sy=2016&ey=2023&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=548%2C518%2C516%2C522%2C566%2C576%2C578%2C536%2C544%2C582&s=LP&grp=0&a= |website=imf.org |publisher=International Monetary Fund |accessdate=18 April 2018 }}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2018
| population_density_km2 = 144
| population_density_sq_mi = 373
| GDP_PPP = 
| GDP_PPP_year = 
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = 
| GDP_nominal = [[US$]]3.0&nbsp;trillion<ref>{{cite web|title=Report for ASEAN GDP (nominal) |url= http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2018/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=45&pr.y=15&sy=2017&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=548%2C518%2C516%2C522%2C566%2C576%2C578%2C536%2C544%2C582&s=NGDPD&grp=0&a= |website=imf.org |publisher=International Monetary Fund |accessdate=18 April 2018 }}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_year = 2018
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = US$4,600
| Gini_year = 
| Gini_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini = <!--number only-->
| Gini_ref = 
| HDI_year = 2017
| HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI = 0.719 <!--number only-->
| HDI_ref = {{efn|Calculated as a mean estimate from the [[United Nations Development Programme|UNDP]] data of member states.}}
| time_zone = [[ASEAN Common Time|ASEAN]]
| utc_offset = [[UTC+6:30|+6:30]] to [[UTC+9|+9]]
| time_zone_DST = 
| DST_note = 
| utc_offset_DST = 
| official_website = [http://www.asean.org/ ASEAN.org]
<!-- ORPHANED:
| footnote_c = If considered as a single entity.
| footnote_d = [http://www.asean.org/stat/Table1.pdf Selected key basic ASEAN indicators]
| footnote_e = [[Population growth|Annual growth]] 1.6%
 -->
}}

[[File:ASEAN Nations Flags in Jakarta 3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The flags of the ASEAN member states in Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]]]

The '''Association of Southeast Asian Nations'''<ref name=Overview /> ('''ASEAN'''; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑː|s|i|ɑː|n}} {{Respell|AH|see|ahn}},<ref name=Pronounce>{{cite web|title=How do you say ASEAN?|url=http://names.voa.gov/phrasedetail.php?name=ASEAN|website=Voice of America Pronunciation Guide|publisher=VOA|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑː|z|i|ɑː|n}} {{Respell|AH|zee|ahn}})<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/nls/other/ABC.html |title=NLS/BPH: Other Writings, The ABC Book, A Pronunciation Guide |date=8 May 2006 |accessdate=12 January 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090112114625/http://www.loc.gov/nls/other/ABC.html| archivedate= 12 January 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>[http://www.asean.org/2833.htm Asean.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302193843/http://www.asean.org/2833.htm |date=2 March 2012 }}, ASEAN-10: Meeting the Challenges, by Termsak Chalermpalanupap, [http://www.asean.org/ Asean.org], ASEAN Secretariat official website. Retrieved 27 June 2008.</ref> is a [[regional organization|regional intergovernmental organization]] comprising ten countries in [[Southeast Asia]], which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates [[economy|economic]], [[Politics|political]], [[security]], [[military]], [[education]]al, and [[Sociocultural system|sociocultural]] integration among its members and other countries in Asia. It also regularly engages other countries in the [[Asia-Pacific]] region and beyond. A major partner of [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]], ASEAN maintains a global network of alliances and dialogue partners and is considered by many as a global powerhouse,<ref name="aseanvisa">{{cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/asean-one-visa-travel-destination/|title=This is why ASEAN needs a common visa|website=World Economic Forum}}</ref><ref name="aseanblock">{{cite web|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/asean-bloc-must-be-tapped/news-story/59d00e4f65a6084f4be157ee95da3534|title=ASEAN bloc must be tapped|website=www.theaustralian.com.au}}</ref> the central union for cooperation in Asia-Pacific, and a prominent and influential organization. It is involved in numerous international affairs, and hosts diplomatic missions throughout the world.<ref name="ASEANTreaties">{{cite web|url=http://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/association-southeast-asian-nations-asean/|title=Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) {{!}} Treaties & Regimes {{!}} NTI|website=www.nti.org}}</ref><ref name="aseanUN">{{cite web|url=http://www.unaprcm.org/asean-un-partnership|title=ASEAN-UN Partnership|date=20 December 2016|website=Asia-Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=12 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012012749/http://www.unaprcm.org/asean-un-partnership|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref name="aseanoverview">{{cite web|url=http://asean.org/?static_post=background-overview-united-nations|title=An Overview of ASEAN-United Nations Cooperation - ASEAN - ONE VISION ONE IDENTITY ONE COMMUNITY|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="UNgovorgs">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/member-states/intergovernmental-organizations/index.html|title=Intergovernmental Organizations|website=www.un.org}}</ref>  

==History==
[[File:ASEAN explained in 5 minutes.webm|thumb|Video: ASEAN explained in 5 minutes]]

===Founding ===
{{main|ASEAN Declaration|ASEAN Charter}}
ASEAN was preceded by an organization formed in 31 July 1961 called the '''Association of Southeast Asia''' ('''ASA'''), a group consisting of the [[Philippines]], the [[Federation of Malaya]], and [[Thailand]]. ASEAN itself was created on 8 August 1967, when the [[foreign minister]]s of five countries: 
Indonesia, [[Malaysia]], the Philippines, [[Singapore]], and Thailand, signed the ASEAN Declaration. As set out in the Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region, to promote regional peace, collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest, to provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities, to collaborate for better utilisation of agriculture and industry to raise the living standards of the people, to promote [[Southeast Asian studies]] and to maintain close, beneficial co-operation with existing international organisations with similar aims and purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/news/item/the-asean-declaration-bangkok-declaration|title=The Asean Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) Bangkok, 8 August 1967|publisher=ASEAN|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211121705/http://www.asean.org/news/item/the-asean-declaration-bangkok-declaration|archivedate=11 February 2015|deadurl=yes|accessdate=17 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview|title=Overview|website=asean.org|publisher=ASEAN|accessdate=7 February 2015}}</ref>

The creation of ASEAN was motivated by a common fear of [[communism]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Asia-Pacific Profile |author1=Bernard Eccleston |author2=Michael Dawson |author3=Deborah J. McNamara |year=1998 |publisher=Routledge (UK) |url=https://books.google.com/?id=l07ak-yd6DAC&pg=RA1-PA311&lpg=RA1-PA311&dq=%22Bangkok+Declaration%22+ASEAN|isbn=978-0-415-17279-0 }}</ref> ASEAN achieved greater cohesion in the mid-1970s following a change in balance of power after the end of the [[Vietnam War]] in 1975. The region's dynamic economic growth during the 1970s strengthened the organization, enabling ASEAN to adopt a unified response to [[Vietnamese Invasion of Cambodia|Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia]] in 1979. ASEAN's first summit meeting, held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976, resulted in an agreement on several industrial projects and the signing of a [[Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia|Treaty of Amity and Cooperation]], and a Declaration of Concord. The end of the [[Cold War]] between the West and the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s allowed ASEAN countries to exercise greater political independence in the region, and in the 1990s ASEAN emerged as a leading voice on regional trade and security issues.<ref>Moon, C. (2014). ASEAN. Encyclopædia Britannica</ref>

=== Expansion ===
In 1984, [[Brunei]] became ASEAN's sixth member<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2700.htm|title=Background Note:Brunei Darussalam/Profile:/Foreign Relations|publisher=US State Department|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302131705/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2700.htm|archivedate=2 March 2007|deadurl=no|accessdate=6 March 2007}}</ref> and on 28 July 1995, Vietnam joined as the seventh member.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/10098.htm|title=Vietnam in ASEAN : Toward Cooperation for Mutual Benefits|year=2007|work=ASEAN Secretariat|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511153326/http://www.asean.org/10098.htm|archivedate=11 May 2011|deadurl=yes|accessdate=28 August 2009}}</ref> Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joined two years later on 23 July 1997.<ref name="enlargement">{{cite book|title=ASEAN Enlargement: impacts and implications|author1=Carolyn L. Gates|author2=Mya Than|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|year=2001|isbn=978-981-230-081-2}}</ref> Cambodia was to join at the same time as Laos and Burma, but its entry was delayed due to the country's internal political struggle. It later joined on 30 April 1999, following the stabilization of its government.<ref name="enlargement" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/3338.htm|title=Statement by the Secretary-General of ASEAN Welcoming the Kingdom of Cambodia as the Tenth Member State of ASEAN: 30 April 1999, ASEAN Secretariat|year=2008|work=ASEAN Secretariat|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511153639/http://www.asean.org/3338.htm|archivedate=11 May 2011|deadurl=yes|accessdate=28 August 2009}}</ref>

=== Nascent Economic Cooperation ===
In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an [[East Asia Economic Caucus]]<ref name="caucus">[http://www.asean.org/9303.htm East Asia Economic Caucus]. ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved 14 March 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302193928/http://www.asean.org/9303.htm|date=2 March 2012}}</ref> composed of the members of ASEAN as well as China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing US influence in [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] (APEC) and in Asia as a whole.<ref name="oppose">[http://www.asiaviews.org/?content=ger53rger567664&voices=20060125184254 Asiaviews.org], Whither East Asia? Retrieved 14 March 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105102541/http://www.asiaviews.org/?content=ger53rger567664&voices=20060125184254|date=5 November 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs//data/1993/upl-meta-crs-66/93-633f_1993Jun30.txt?PHPSESSID=f7a7ec622077fa19bfce9ec9def6f3d9 UNT.edu], Asia's Reaction to NAFTA, Nancy J. Hamilton. CRS – Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 14 March 2007.</ref> However, the proposal failed because of heavy opposition from the US and Japan.<ref name="oppose" /><ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/1994/07/26/caucus.php IHT.com], Japan Straddles Fence on Issue of East Asia Caucus. [[International Herald Tribune]]. Retrieved 14 March 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212201202/http://www.iht.com/articles/1994/07/26/caucus.php|date=12 February 2009}}</ref> Work for further integration continued, and the [[ASEAN Plus Three]], consisting of ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea, was created in 1997. In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was adopted as a schedule for phasing out tariffs with the 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]] (AFTA), which is an agreement by member states concerning local manufacturing in ASEAN. It was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore.<ref name="AFTA">{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/12375.htm|title=Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area, Singapore, 28 Jan 1992|publisher=Asean.org|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414223453/http://www.asean.org/12375.htm|archivedate=14 April 2009|deadurl=yes|accessdate=21 December 2008}}</ref> After the [[1997 Asian financial crisis]], a revival of the Malaysian proposal, known as the [[Chiang Mai Initiative]], was put forward in [[Chiang Mai]], Thailand. It called for better integration of the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three.

=== Nuclear Free ASEAN ===
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 had ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June 2001 after the Philippines ratified it, effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region.<ref name="NWFZ">[http://disarmament.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf/Bangkok%20Treaty%20(in%20alphabetical%20order)?OpenView Bangkok Treaty (in alphabetical order) At UNODA] United Nations. Retrieved 4 September 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728143121/http://disarmament.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf/Bangkok%20Treaty%20%28in%20alphabetical%20order%29?OpenView|date=28 July 2011}}</ref>

=== The ASEAN Charter ===
[[File:ASEAN HQ 1.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|The Secretariat of ASEAN at Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.70A, South Jakarta, Indonesia]]

On 15 December 2008, member states met in Jakarta to launch a charter, signed in November 2007, with the aim of moving closer to "an [[European Union|EU]]-style community".<ref name=AFPCharter>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gT16o2eXYrGL-35uoUD0fKcRPlDw|title='Momentous' day for ASEAN as charter comes into force|agency=Agence France-Presse |date=15 December 2008|accessdate=16 December 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090114201405/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gT16o2eXYrGL-35uoUD0fKcRPlDw| archivedate= 14 January 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The charter turned ASEAN into a legal entity and aimed to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 500 million people. [[List of Presidents of Indonesia|President of Indonesia]] [[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]] stated: "This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating, and transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift". Referring to climate change and economic upheaval, he concluded: "Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s".

The [[financial crisis of 2007–2008]] was seen as a threat to the goals envisioned by the charter,<ref name=ReutersCharter>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-37031520081215|title=ASEAN launches charter under shadow of crisis|authors=Olivia Rondon and Suhartono, Harry|agency=Reuters |date=15 December 2008|accessdate=16 December 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20081220192555/http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-37031520081215| archivedate= 20 December 2008 | deadurl= no}}</ref> and also set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in February 2009. This proposition caused controversy, as the body would not have the power to impose sanctions or punish countries which violated citizens' rights and would therefore be limited in effectiveness.<ref name=IHTCharter>{{cite news|title=ASEAN charter comes into force |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/15/asia/AS-ASEAN-Charter.php |accessdate=12 May 2015 |work=International Herald Tribune |agency=Associated Press |date=15 December 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210032138/http://iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/15/asia/AS-ASEAN-Charter.php |archivedate=10 February 2009 }}</ref> The body was established later in 2009 as the [[ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights]] (AICHR). In November 2012, the commission adopted the [[ASEAN Human Rights Declaration]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wong|first1=Chun Han|title=Asean Human-Rights Pledge Leaves Critics Cool|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323353204578126803863141948|accessdate=8 February 2015|work=Wall Street Journal Asia|date=18 November 2012}}</ref>

== The ASEAN Way ==
The 'ASEAN Way' refers to a methodology or approach to solving issues that respects the cultural norms of Southeast Asia. Masilamani and Peterson summarise it as "a working process or style that is informal and personal. Policymakers constantly utilize compromise, consensus, and consultation in the informal decision-making process... it above all prioritizes a consensus-based, non-conflictual way of addressing problems. Quiet diplomacy allows ASEAN leaders to communicate without bringing the discussions into the public view. Members avoid embarrassment that may lead to further conflict."<ref name=Masilamani>{{cite journal|last1=Masilamani|first1=Logan|last2=Peterson|first2=Jimmy|title=The "ASEAN Way": The Structural Underpinnings of Constructive Engagement|journal=Foreign Policy Journal|date=15 October 2014|url=http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2014/10/15/the-asean-way-the-structural-underpinnings-of-constructive-engagement/|accessdate=12 May 2015}}</ref> It has been said that the merits of the ASEAN Way might "be usefully applied to global conflict management".
However, critics have argued that such an approach can be only applied to Asian countries to specific cultural norms and understandings notably due to a difference in mindset and level of tension.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goh|first1=Gillian|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjeaa/journal3/geasia1.pdf|title=The 'ASEAN Way'; Non-Intervention and ASEAN's Role in Conflict Management|journal=Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs|pages=113–18|volume=3|issue=1|date=Spring 2003|accessdate=2 March 2003|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626113326/http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjeaa/journal3/geasia1.pdf|archivedate=26 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>{{RP|pp113-118}}

Critics object claiming that the ASEAN Way's emphasis on consultation, consensus, and non-interference, forces the organisation to adopt only those policies which satisfy the lowest common denominator. Decision making by consensus requires members to see eye-to-eye before ASEAN can move forward on an issue. Members may not have a common conception of the meaning of the ASEAN Way. Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos emphasise non-interference while older member countries focus on co-operation and co-ordination. These differences hinder efforts to find common solutions to particular issues, but also make it difficult to determine when collective action is appropriate in a given situation.<ref name=Leviter>{{cite journal|last1=Leviter|first1=Lee|title=The ASEAN Charter: ASEAN Failure or Member Failure?|journal=New York University Journal of International Law and Politics|date=2010|volume=43|pages=159–210}}</ref>{{RP|161-163}}[[File:RCEP.png|thumb|upright=1.8|right|The 16 member countries of the RCEP <br> <span style="color:#1743a6">'''Blue'''</span>: [[ASEAN]] <br> <span style="color:#6330d5">'''Purple'''</span>: ASEAN Plus Three <br> <span style="color:#0d63ac">'''Teal'''</span>: ASEAN Plus Six]]
ASEAN Plus Three was the first of attempts for further integration to improve existing ties with [[China]], [[Japan]], and [[South Korea]]. This was followed by the even larger [[East Asia Summit]] (EAS), which included ASEAN Plus Three as well as India, Australia, and New Zealand. This group 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. In 2006, ASEAN was given [[United Nations General Assembly observers|observer status at the United Nations General Assembly]].<ref>[http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view_article.php?article_id=28822 RP resolution for observer status in UN assembly OK'd], Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 March 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826051047/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view_article.php?article_id=28822 |date=26 August 2010 }}</ref> In response, the organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the UN.<ref>{{cite news |title=Philippines to Represent ASEAN in UN Meetings in NY, Geneva |url=http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070307/4/2ykdn.html |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=7 March 2007 |accessdate=13 March 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312113724/http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070307/4/2ykdn.html |archivedate=12 March 2007 |deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The group became ASEAN Plus Six with [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and [[India]], and stands as the linchpin of Asia Pacific's economic, political, security, socio-cultural architecture, as well as the global economy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jcer.or.jp/eng/pdf/asia07.pdf |title=An ASEAN+6 Economic Partnership: Significance and Tasks |last=Urata |first=Shujiro |date=February 2008 |accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/region_e/con_sep07_e/kawai_wignaraja_e.pdf |title=ASEAN+3 or ASEAN+6: Which Way Forward? |last1=Kawai |first1=Masahiro |last2=Wignaraja |first2=Ganeshan |accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Conclusion for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ‘finally in sight’: PM Lee |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/asean-regional-comprehensive-economic-partnership-pm-lee-10662722 |work=Channel NewsAsia}}</ref><ref name="East Asia Forum">{{cite news|url=http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/05/15/asean6-as-a-step-towards-an-asian-economic-community/|title=ASEAN+6 as a step towards an Asian Economic Community|date=15 May 2009|work=East Asia Forum}}</ref> Codification of the relations between these countries has seen progress through the development of the [[Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership]], a proposed free-trade agreement involving the 16 countries of ASEAN Plus Six. RCEP would, in part, allow the members to protect local sectors and give more time to comply with the aim for developed country members.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/tpp-rcep-ftaap-a-users-guide-to-alphabet-soup-of-trade-deals |title=TPP, RCEP, FTAAP - a user's guide to alphabet soup of trade deals |date=November 20, 2016}}</ref>

==Structure==
===ASEAN Community 2015===
Beginning in 1997, heads of each member state adopted the ASEAN Vision 2020 during ASEAN's 30th anniversary meeting held in Kuala Lumpur. This vision, as a means for the realisation of a single ASEAN community, sees Southeast Asia becoming a group of countries which are: "outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity".<ref>{{cite web|title=A united region: The ASEAN Community 2015|url=http://www.rappler.com/world/specials/southeast-asia/asean-journey/47239-asean-community-2015-overview|author1=Julio Amador|author2=Joycee A. Teodoro|publisher=Rappler|date=2 May 2014|accessdate=17 June 2015}}</ref> Included in ASEAN Vision 2020 were provisions on: peace and stability, being nuclear-free, closer economic integration, human development, sustainable development, cultural heritage, being drug-free, environment, among others. The Vision also aimed to: "see an outward-looking ASEAN playing a pivotal role in the international fora, and advancing ASEAN's common interests".<ref>[http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-vision-2020 "ASEAN Vision 2020"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429050655/http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-vision-2020 |date=29 April 2015 }} 15 December 1997. Retrieved 10 December 2014.</ref> Such vision was formalised and made comprehensive through the Bali Concord II in 2003. Three major pillars of a single ASEAN community were originally established: Security Community, Economic Community and Socio-Cultural Community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/news/item/declaration-of-asean-concord-ii-bali-concord-ii|title=Declaration of ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II)|publisher=ASEAN|accessdate=17 June 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702050633/http://www.asean.org/news/item/declaration-of-asean-concord-ii-bali-concord-ii|archivedate=2 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=Overview>{{cite web|title=Overview|url=http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview|website=ASEAN|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|accessdate=15 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="APSC-FS">{{cite book|title=Fact Sheet ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)|date=Jun 2013|publisher=ASEAN Secretariat|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-7643-49-9|url=http://www.asean.org/images/2013/factsheet/2013%20(6.%20Jun)%20-%20APSC.pdf|accessdate=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103519/http://www.asean.org/images/2013/factsheet/2013%20(6.%20Jun)%20-%20APSC.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="AEC-FS">{{cite book|title=Fact Sheet ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)|date=Jun 2013|publisher=ASEAN Secretariat|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-7643-50-5|url=http://www.asean.org/images/2013/factsheet/2013%20(6.%20Jun)%20-%20AEC.pdf|accessdate=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103519/http://www.asean.org/images/2013/factsheet/2013%20(6.%20Jun)%20-%20AEC.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="ASCC-FS">{{cite book|title=Fact Sheet of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)|date=Jun 2013|publisher=ASEAN Secretariat|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-7643-51-2|url=http://www.asean.org/images/2013/factsheet/2013%20(6.%20Jun)%20-%20ASCC.pdf|accessdate=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103519/http://www.asean.org/images/2013/factsheet/2013%20(6.%20Jun)%20-%20ASCC.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The ASEAN Community, initially planned to commence by 2020, was accelerated to begin by 31 December 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=TODAY Online - Countries must work together to deal with shared problems: PM Lee|url=http://www.gov.sg/news/content/today-online-countries-must-work-together-to-deal-with-shared-problems-pm-lee|website=Government of Singapore|accessdate=25 November 2015}}</ref> This was decided during the 12th ASEAN Summit in [[Cebu]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cebu declaration on the acceleration of the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015|url=http://www.asean.org/component/zoo/item/about-asean-overview-cebu-declaration-on-the-acceleration-of-the-establishment-of-an-asean-community-by-2015?Itemid=185|accessdate=17 June 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617102112/http://www.asean.org/component/zoo/item/about-asean-overview-cebu-declaration-on-the-acceleration-of-the-establishment-of-an-asean-community-by-2015?Itemid=185|archivedate=17 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> To fully embody the three Bali Concord II pillars as part of the 2015 integration, blueprints for ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) were subsequently adopted in 2009 in [[Cha-am]], Thailand.<ref>{{cite book|title=Towards A Sustainable Asia: Environment and Climate Change|authors=The Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia|date=2011|location=Beijing|publisher=Science Press}}</ref>

At the 23rd ASEAN Summit in November 2013, ASEAN leaders made the decision to develop a post-2015 Vision and thus created the High-Level Task Force (HLTF), which consists of ten high-level representatives from all member states. The Vision was adopted at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The ASEAN community revises and renews its vision every ten years to provide a framework for continuous development and further integration of the community. The terms in the Vision are divided into mainly four subcategories: ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, and Moving Forward. ASEAN Political-Security issues are covered under article 7 and 8 of the Vision. Article 7 generally states the overall aspiration of the community aiming to achieve a united, inclusive and resilient community. It also puts human and environmental security at the center of its aspirations. Deepening engagement with both internal Members and eternal parties are also stressed to contribute the international peace, security and stability.<ref>{{cite web|title=ASEAN COMMUNITY VISION 2025|url=http://www.asean.org/storage/images/2015/November/aec-page/ASEAN-Community-Vision-2025.pdf|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=10 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010184551/http://www.asean.org/storage/images/2015/November/aec-page/ASEAN-Community-Vision-2025.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref> The final part of the Vision, under "Moving Forward" subcategory, implies the acknowledgement of the weakness of the institution capacity to process and coordinate ASEAN work. Strengthening ASEAN Secretariat and other ASEAN Organs and Bodies is desired. There is also a call for greater level of ASEAN institutional presence at the national, regional and international levels.

===Economic Community Blueprint===
{{outdated section|date=January 2016}}
[[File:KL Declaration Signing 11.22.15.jpg|thumb|ASEAN leaders sign the declaration of the ASEAN Economic Community during the 27th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, 2015]]

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)<ref name="Primer"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community|title=ASEAN Economic Community - ASEAN - ONE VISION ONE IDENTITY ONE COMMUNITY|publisher=}}</ref> aims to "implement economic integration initiatives" to create a single market across ASEAN member states. On 20 November 2007, during the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore, its blueprint, which serves as a master plan guiding the establishment of the community, was adopted.<ref name=Blueprint>{{cite book|title=ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint|date=Jan 2008|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-979-3496-77-1|pages=56|url=http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-10.pdf|accessdate=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203402/http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-10.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Its characteristics include a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of fair economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy. The areas of co-operation include human resources development; recognition of professional qualifications; closer consultation on macroeconomic and financial policies; trade financing measures; enhanced infrastructure and communications connectivity; development of electronic transactions through e-ASEAN; integrating industries across the region to promote regional sourcing; and enhancing private sector involvement. Through the free movement of skilled labour, goods, services and investment, ASEAN will rise globally as one market with each member gaining from each other's strengths, thus increasing its competitiveness and opportunities for development.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.lga.gov.ph/sites/default/files/knowledgeProducts-pdf/Rising%20As%20One%20The%20ASEAN%20Economic%20Integration.pdf |title=Rising as One: The Filipino Nation Towards the ASEAN Economic Integration |publisher=Local Government Academy of the Philippines |isbn=978-971-0576-41-8 |pages=23 |date=2013 |accessdate=11 February 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140731172032/http://www.lga.gov.ph/sites/default/files/knowledgeProducts-pdf/Rising%20As%20One%20The%20ASEAN%20Economic%20Integration.pdf |archivedate=31 July 2014 }}</ref>

The AEC is the embodiment of the ASEAN's vision of "a stable, prosperous and highly competitive ASEAN economic region in which there is a free flow of goods, services, investment and a freer flow of capital, equitable economic development and reduced poverty and socio-economic disparities".<ref name=Primer>{{cite book |url=http://www.dfa.gov.ph/images/PDF/AEC%20Primer_Ebook2.pdf |title=Understanding the ASEAN Economic Community; A Primer |publisher=Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) |edition=1st |date=28 February 2014 |accessdate=10 February 2015 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053213/https://www.dfa.gov.ph/images/PDF/AEC%20Primer_Ebook2.pdf |dead-url=yes }}</ref> The formulation the blueprint established the member states' commitment to a common goal as well as ensuring compliance with stated objectives and timelines.<ref>https://theaseandaily.com/navigating-shared-economic-and-technological-challenges-in-asean/</ref> The blueprint also lays out the overall vision as well as the goals, implementing plans and strategies (actions), as well as the strategic schedule (timeline) for achieving the establishment of the AEC by end-2015.<ref name="Primer"/>

====2020 ASEAN Banking Integration Framework====
As trade is liberalised with the ASEAN Economic Integration in 2015, the need arises for ASEAN banking institutions to accommodate and expand their services to a greater intra-ASEAN market. While the financial integration is not going to take effect until 2020, experts from the financial services industry have already forecast a shaky economic transition, especially for smaller players in the banking and financial services industry. Two separate reports by [[Standard & Poor's]], ''ASEAN Financial Integration: The Long Road to Bank Consolidation'' and ''The Philippines' Banking System: The Good, the Bad and the Ambivalent'', outline the challenges ASEAN financial institutions are facing as they prepare for the 2020 banking integration. The Philippines, with its overcrowded banking sector, for example, is among the ASEAN-member countries who are forecast to feel the most pressure as the integration welcomes tighter competition with the entry of bigger, more established foreign banks.<ref name="mb.com.ph">{{cite web|url=http://www.mb.com.ph/sp-cites-moves-by-philippine-banks/|title=S&P cites moves by Philippine banks|author=Manila Bulletin|publisher=|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> To lessen the impact of this consolidation, countries with banking sectors considered smaller by global standards must expand regionally. S&P in a follow up report recently cited the Philippines for "shoring up its network bases and building up capital ahead of the banking integration – playing defence and strengthening their domestic networks".<ref name="mb.com.ph"/>

====Roadmap for financial integration====
The Roadmap for the Integration of ASEAN in Finance is the latest regional initiative, which aims to strengthen regional self-help and support mechanisms. The implementation of the roadmap will contribute to the realisation of the AEC that was launched in October 2003 in Bali. As in the EU, adoption of a common currency, when conditions are ripe, could be the final stage of the AEC. Under the roadmap, approaches and milestones have been identified in areas deemed crucial to financial and monetary integration, namely capital market development, capital account liberalisation, financial services liberalisation, and ASEAN currency co-operation. Capital market development entails promoting institutional capacity, including the legal and regulatory framework, as well as the facilitation of greater cross-border collaboration, linkages, and harmonisation between capital markets in the region. Orderly capital account liberalisation will be promoted with adequate safeguards against volatility and systemic risks. To expedite the process of financial services liberalisation, ASEAN has agreed on a positive list modality and adopted milestones to facilitate negotiations. Currency co-operation would involve exploration of possible currency arrangements, including an ASEAN currency payment system for trade in local goods to reduce the demand for US dollars and to help promote stability of regional currencies, such as by settling intra-ASEAN trade using regional currencies.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

While in the offing of an ASEAN common currency, the leaders of the member-states of ASEAN agreed in November 1999 to create the establishment of currency swaps, and repurchase agreements, as a credit line against future financial shocks. In May 2000, the finance minister of the ASEAN agreed through the "Chiang Mai Initiative" to plan for closer monetary and financial co-operation.<ref>Financial Integration and Common Currency Area in ASEAN</ref> The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI), has two components, an expanded ASEAN Swap Arrangement (ASA), and a network of bilateral swap arrangements among ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea. The ASA preceded the 1997 financial crisis. It was originally established by the ASEAN central bank and monetary authorities of the five founding members of with a view to help countries meet temporary liquidity problems. An expanded ASA now includes all ten member states with an expanded facility of US$1 billion. In recognition of the economic interdependence of East Asia, which has a combined foreign exchange reserves amounting to about US$1 trillion, a network of bilateral swap arrangements and repurchase agreements among ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea has been agreed upon. The supplementary facility aims to provide temporary financing for members which may be in balance-of-payments difficulties. In 2009, 16 bilateral swap arrangements (BSAs) have been successfully concluded with a combined amount of about US$35.5 billion.<ref name="ReferenceA">Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralzation</ref> The original CMI was signed on 9 December 2009 which took effect on 20 March 2014, while the amended version, the multilateralisation of CMI (CMIM), was on 17 July 2014. It is a multilateral currency swap arrangement with a total size of US$240 billion, governed by a single contractual agreement, while the CMI is a network of bilateral swap arrangements among the "Plus Three" and ASEAN countries' authorities. In addition, an independent regional surveillance unit called the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) was established to monitor and analyse regional economies, and to support the CMIM decision-making process.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The amendments will effectively allow access of the ASEAN Plus Three and Hong Kong to an enhanced CMIM package, which includes, among others, the doubling of the fund size from US$120 billion to US$240 billion, an increase in the level of access not linked to an International Monetary Fund program from 20%–30%, and the introduction of a crisis prevention facility. These amendments are expected to fortify CMIM as the region's financial safety net in the event of any potential or actual liquidity difficulty.<ref>The Amended Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) Comes Into Effect Today, 17 July 2014 Media Releases</ref>

The AMRO will, during peacetime, conduct annual consultations with individual member economies and, on this basis, prepare quarterly consolidated reports on the macroeconomic assessment of the ASEAN+3 region and individual member countries. On the other hand, the AMRO will, during crisis time, prepare recommendations on any swap request based on its macroeconomic analysis of the swap requesting member and monitor the use and impact of funds once any swap request is approved. AMRO was officially incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in Singapore on 20 April 2011 and its office is at the Monetary Authority of Singapore complex in Singapore. Governance of AMRO is being exercised by the Executive Committee (EC) and its operational direction by the Advisory Panel (AP). AMRO is currently headed by Dr Yoichi Nemoto of Japan, who is serving his second 2-year term until 26 May 2016.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Stability in the financial system is a precondition to maintain the momentum of economic integration. In turn, the more ASEAN economies become integrated, the more feasible it is to adopt a single currency, which is expected to reinforce even further stability and integration.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

====Food security====
ASEAN member states recognise the importance of strengthening [[food security]] to maintain stability and prosperity in the region. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing: "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life".<ref>{{cite web|title=Food Security |url=http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/ |website=World Health Organisation |accessdate=10 February 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917112705/http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/ |archivedate=17 September 2015 |df= }}</ref> As ASEAN moves towards AEC and beyond, food security should be an integral part of the ASEAN community building agenda and deserves more attention.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Desker|first1=Barry|last2=Caballero-Anthony|first2=Mely|last3=Teng|first3=Paul|title=Thought/Issues Paper on ASEAN Food Security: Towards a more Comprehensive Framework|date=Oct 2013|publisher=Nanyang Technological University|location=Singapore |url=http://www.eria.org/ERIA-DP-2013-20.pdf|accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> Strengthened food security is even more relevant in light of potentially severe risks from climate change in the ASEAN region with agriculture and fisheries being the most affected industries.<ref>Overland, Indra et al. (2017) ''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320622312 Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN International Affairs: Risk and Opportunity Multiplier]'', Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Myanmar Institute of International and Strategic Studies (MISIS). </ref>

Part of the aim for ASEAN integration is to achieve food security collectively via [[trade]] in rice and maize. [[Trade facilitation]] measures and the harmonisation/equivalency of [[food regulation]] and control standards will reduce the cost of trade in food products. While specialisation and revealed comparative and competitive indices point to complementarities between trade patterns among the ASEAN member countries, intra-ASEAN trade in agriculture is quite small. However, integration could address this problem.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bello|first1=Amelia L.|title=Ensuring Food Security--A Case for ASEAN Integration|journal=Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development|volume=2|issue=1,2|url=http://searca.org/ajad/index.php/previous-issues/13-view-article?aid=28|accessdate=12 February 2015|issn=1656-4383}}</ref>
The MARKET project will provide flexible and demand-driven support to the ASEAN Secretariat, while bringing more private-sector and civil-society input into regional agriculture policy dialogue. By building an environment that reduces barriers to trade, ASEAN trade will increase, thereby decreasing the risk of another food price crisis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/news/asean-secretariat-news/item/strengthening-food-security-for-asean-citizens-asean-us-cooperation-on-food-security-initiative-market-project-reduces-market-volatility-through-increased-regional-trade|title=Strengthening Food Security for ASEAN Citizens: ASEAN – U.S. Cooperation on Food Security initiative "MARKET" Project Reduces Market Volatility through Increased Regional Trade|publisher=|accessdate=14 June 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429043831/http://www.asean.org/news/asean-secretariat-news/item/strengthening-food-security-for-asean-citizens-asean-us-cooperation-on-food-security-initiative-market-project-reduces-market-volatility-through-increased-regional-trade|archivedate=29 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Political-Security Community Blueprint===
During the 14th ASEAN Summit, the group adopted the ''ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint'' (APSC).<ref>{{cite book|title=ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint|date=Jun 2009|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-8411-06-6|pages=20|url=http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-18.pdf|accessdate=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203428/http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-18.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> This document is aimed at creating a robust political-security environment within ASEAN, with programs and activities outlined to establish the APSC by 2016. The document is based on the principles and purposes of the ASEAN charter, the ASEAN Security Community Plan of Action, the Vientiane Action Program, and other relevant decisions. The APSC aims to create a rules-based community of shared values and norms, a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region with a shared responsibility toward comprehensive security and a dynamic and outward-looking region in an increasingly integrated and interdependent world.

The ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration (ADIC) was proposed at the 4th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting on 11 May 2010 in [[Hanoi]].<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|title=Annex 10- ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting: Concept Paper on Establishing ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration|url=http://admm.asean.org}}</ref> The emergence of this concept was triggered by the fact that the majority of member states are regular importers of defence products. One of the purposes of this concept is to reduce defence imports from non-ASEAN countries by half (i.e., from US$25 billion down to US$12.5 billion a year) and to further develop the defence industry in the region.<ref>Sneha Raghavan and Guy Ben-Ari (7 September 2011) Current Issues- No. 25: ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration -www.csis.org/ISP/DIIG</ref> It was formally adopted during the 5th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) on 19 May 2011, in Jakarta, Indonesia,<ref>{{cite web|title=2011 JOINT DECLARATION OF THE ASEAN DEFENCE MINISTERS ON STRENGTHENING DEFENCE COOPERATION OF ASEAN IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO FACE NEW CHALLENGES|url=http://www.asean.org/news/item/joint-declaration-of-the-asean-defence-ministers-on-strengthening-defence-cooperation-of-asean-in-the-global-community-to-face-new-challenges-jakarta-19-may-2011|website=www.asean.org|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109042135/http://www.asean.org/news/item/joint-declaration-of-the-asean-defence-ministers-on-strengthening-defence-cooperation-of-asean-in-the-global-community-to-face-new-challenges-jakarta-19-may-2011|archivedate=9 January 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> in line with the ADMM agreement to enhance security co-operation in maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-terrorism, and military medicine. The main focus is to industrially and technologically boost the security capability of ASEAN,<ref name="csis.org">{{cite web|title=Sneha Raghavan and Guy Ben-Ari (2011, September 7) Current Issues- No. 25: ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration|url=http://www.csis.org/ISP/DIIG|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=10 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610105520/http://www.csis.org/isp/diig/|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Last Meeting: 2nd ADMM-Plus, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 29 August 2013|url=http://ADMM.ASEAN.org}}</ref> consistent with the principles of flexibility and non-binding and voluntary participation among the member states.<ref>{{cite web|title=3rd ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration Workshop|url=http://www2.mindef.gov.bn/|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=25 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625035140/http://mindef.gov.bn/|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting: Concept Paper on Establishing ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration|url=http://admm.asean.org}}</ref> The concept revolves around education and capability building programs to develop the skills and capabilities of manpower, sharing in the production of capital for defence equipment, components, and spares, and the provision of repair and maintenance services to address all the defence and security needs of each ASEAN country. It also aims to develop the defence trade by encouraging member states to participate in the intra-ASEAN defence trade and support trade shows and exhibitions.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> ADIC aims to establish a strong defence industry relying on the local capabilities of each member state, and limit annual procurement from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) outside the region.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> Countries like the US, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, UK, China, South Korea, Israel, and the Netherlands are among the major suppliers to ASEAN.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sneha Raghavan and Guy Ben-Ari (2011, September 7) Current Issues- No. 25: ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration|url=http://www.csis.org/ISP/DIIG/|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053223/https://www.csis.org/programs/international-security-program/defense-industrial-initiatives-group|dead-url=yes}}</ref> Military expenditures in ASEAN reached US$35.5 billion in 2013 (excluding Brunei and Myanmar), which surpassed the 2004 figure (US$14.4 billion) by 147% and is expected to exceed US$40 billion by 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fear Us: Military Expenditures in Southeast Asia (11 Sep 2014)|url=http://www.IndoPacificReview.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921200104/http://www.indopacificreview.com/|dead-url=yes|archive-date=2013-09-21}}</ref> Factors affecting the increase in military budget are economic growth, ageing equipment, and the plan to strengthen the establishment of the defence industry.<ref>{{cite web|authors=J. Dowdy, D. Chinn, M. Mancini, J. Ng (Feb 2014)|title=Southeast Asia: The next growth opportunity in defence McKinsey - Innovation Campus Aerospace and Defence Practice |url=https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/aerospace%20and%20defense/pdfs/sea%20defense%20report%202014%20-%20final.ashx}}</ref> ASEANAPOL is also established to enhance cooperation on law enforcement and crime control among police forces of member states.<ref>{{cite web |title=ASEANAPOL, The Urgency to Keep The Region Safe – ICOAS |url=https://icoas.ppispanyol.org/2017/12/31/aseanapol-the-urgency-to-keep-the-region-safe/ |website=icoas.ppispanyol.org |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053224/https://ups-error.com/ |dead-url=yes }}</ref>

However, there are challenges to the defence collaboration, namely the unequal level of capabilities among the member states in defence industry, and the lack of established defence trade among them.<ref name="csis.org"/> Prior to the adoption of the ADIC concept, the status of the defence industry base in each of the member states was at disparate level.<ref name="csis.org"/> Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand are among the top member states with an established defence industry base, but they possess different levels of capacity, while the remaining member states like the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia have yet to develop and enhance their capabilities in this aspect.<ref name="ReferenceC"/><ref name="csis.org"/> Of the ten member states, Indonesia and Singapore are among the most competitive players. Indonesia is the only member state recognised as one of the top 100 global defence suppliers from 2010-2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sneha Raghavan and Guy Ben-Ari (2010, September 7) Current Issues- No. 25: ASEAN Defence Industry Collaboration|url=http://www.csis.org/ISP/DIIG|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=10 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610105520/http://www.csis.org/isp/diig/|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Defense News Top 100 for 2013|url=http://special.DefenseNews.com}}{{Dead link|date=February 2015}}</ref> ASEAN member states purchase virtually no defence products from within ASEAN. Singapore purchases products from Germany, France, and Israel. Malaysia purchased only 0.49% from ASEAN, Indonesia 0.1%, and Thailand 8.02%.<ref name="csis.org"/>

The ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism (ACCT) serves as a framework for regional co-operation to counter, prevent, and suppress terrorism and deepen counter-terrorism co-operation.<ref name=ACCT>{{cite news|title=ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism Completes Ratification Process|url=http://www.asean.org/news/asean-secretariat-news/item/asean-convention-on-counter-terrorism-completes-ratification-process|accessdate=10 February 2015|agency=ASEAN News|publisher=ASEAN|date=22 January 2013|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429045413/http://www.asean.org/news/asean-secretariat-news/item/asean-convention-on-counter-terrorism-completes-ratification-process|archivedate=29 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It was signed by ASEAN leaders in 2007. On 28 April 2011, Brunei ratified the convention and a month later, the convention came into force. Malaysia became the tenth member state to ratify ACCT on 11 January 2013.<ref name="ACCT"/>

===Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint===
It was also during the 14th ASEAN Summit that the member governments of ASEAN adopted the ''ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint'' (ASCC).<ref>{{cite book|title=ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint|date=Jun 2009|publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-8411-07-3|pages=32|url=http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-19.pdf|accessdate=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203437/http://www.asean.org/archive/5187-19.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The ASCC envisions an: "ASEAN Community that is people-centered and socially responsible with a view to achieving enduring solidarity and unity among the countries and peoples of ASEAN by forging a common identity and building a caring and sharing society which is inclusive and harmonious where the well-being, livelihood, and welfare of the peoples are enhanced". Among its focus areas are: human development, social welfare and protection, social justice and rights, ensuring environmental sustainability, building the ASEAN identity, and narrowing the development gap.

To track the progress of the AEC, the AEC Scorecard, a compliance tool was developed based on the EU Internal Market Scorecard. This scorecard is the only one in effect<ref name="aseanec.blogspot.com">{{cite web|url=http://aseanec.blogspot.com/2012/05/grading-asean-economic-community.html|title=AEC Blog: Grading the ASEAN Economic Community Scorecard|author=Edmund Sim|publisher=|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> and is expected to serve as an unbiased assessment tool to measure the extent of integration among member states, and the economic health of the region. It is expected to provide relevant information about regional priorities, and thus foster productive, inclusive, and sustainable growth. Moreover, scores create incentives for improvement by highlighting what is working and what is not.<ref name="eastasiaforum.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2012/06/01/a-critical-look-at-the-asean-economic-community-scorecard/|title=A critical look at the ASEAN Economic Community Scorecard|work=East Asia Forum|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> It is also a compliance tool that makes it possible to monitor the implementation of ASEAN agreements, and the achievement of milestones indicated in the AEC Strategic Schedule. The Scorecard outlines specific actions that must be undertaken by ASEAN collectively, and by its member states individually, to establish AEC by 2015.<ref name="eastasiaforum.org"/> To date, two official scorecards have been published, one in 2010,<ref>{{cite book|title=ASEAN Economic Community Scorecard: Charting Progress Towards Regional Economic Integration|date=Mar 2010|publisher=ASEAN Secretariat|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-8411-35-6|url=http://www.asean.org/images/2012/publications/AEC%20Scorecard.pdf|accessdate=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203548/http://www.asean.org/images/2012/publications/AEC%20Scorecard.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and the other in 2012.<ref name="Scorecard-2012">{{cite book|title=ASEAN Economic Community Scorecard|date=Mar 2012|publisher=ASEAN Secretariat|location=Jakarka|isbn=978-602-8411-96-7|url=http://www.asean.org/images/2012/publications/scorecard_final.pdf|accessdate=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203612/http://www.asean.org/images/2012/publications/scorecard_final.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to the ''AEC Scorecard 2012'', the implementation rates of AEC's four primary objectives: (a) single market and production base; (b) competitive economic region; (c) equitable economic development; and (d) integration into the global economy were 65.9%, 67.9%, 66.7%, and 85.7%, respectively, with 187 out of 277 measures being fully implemented by 2011. The scorecard is purely quantitative. It only examines whether a member state has performed the AEC task or not. The more "yes" answers, the higher the score.

While Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have eliminated 99.65% of their tariff lines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam have decreased tariffs on 98.86% of their lines to the 0-5% tariff range in 2010, and are projected to eliminate tariffs on these goods by 2015, with the ability to do so for a few import duty lines until 2018.<ref name="tax-news.com">{{cite news|last1=Swire|first1=Mary|title=Singapore Plugs ASEAN Trade Integration|url=http://www.tax-news.com/news/Singapore_Plugs_ASEAN_Trade_Integration____65778.html#sthash.zPWaW4hW.dpuf|accessdate=12 May 2015|work=Tax-News|date=10 September 2014}}</ref> According to Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry, ASEAN was already the seventh largest economy in the world, and the third largest in Asia in 2013, estimated at US$2.3 trillion. A recent study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited has projected that five of the top fifteen manufacturing locations in the world will be in ASEAN by 2018. Furthermore, by 2050, ASEAN is also expected to be the fourth-largest economy in the world (after the European Union, the US, and China).<ref name="tax-news.com"/>

The AEC envisions the free flow of overseas labour. However, receiving countries may require would-be workers to take licensing examinations in those countries regardless of whether or not the worker has a professional license from their home country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sbr.com.sg/economy/commentary/what-aec-2015-means-singaporean-businesses|title=What the AEC 2015 means for Singaporean businesses|work=Singapore Business Review|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> Singapore is a major destination for skilled migrants from other ASEAN countries, mostly from Malaysia and the Philippines. Total [[employment in Singapore]] doubled between 1992 and 2008 from 1.5 million to three million, and the number of foreign workers almost tripled, from fewer than 400,000 to almost 1.1 million. High-skilled foreign talents (customer service, nursing, engineering, IT) earn at least US$2,000 a month and with a credential (usually a college degree) receive S Passes, employment passes, including an EP-1 for those earning more than US$7,000 a month; EP-2 for those earning US$3,500—7,000 a month; and EP-3 for those earning US$2,500–3,500 a month.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Southeast Asia: ASEAN 2015|journal=Migration News|date=Oct 2013|volume=20|issue=4|url=https://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=3868_0_3_0|accessdate=12 February 2015}}</ref> In recent years, Singapore has been slowly cutting down the number of foreign workers to challenge companies to upgrade their hiring criteria and offer more jobs to local residents. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the Singapore policy of reducing the number of foreign workers could retard the country's economic growth and lower its competitiveness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/IMF-warns-Singapore-over-migrant-worker-cuts-30245810.html|title=IMF warns Singapore over migrant worker cuts|date=20 October 2014|work=The Nation|accessdate=14 June 2015|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129095104/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/IMF-warns-Singapore-over-migrant-worker-cuts-30245810.html|dead-url=yes}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size:85%; text-align:right;"
|+ '''ASEAN members by <br>[[Human Development Index]]'''<ref name=UNDP>{{cite book|title=Global 2018 Human Development Report Overview - English |date=2017|publisher=United Nations Development Program (UNDP)|location=New York|pages=22–24|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2018_human_development_statistical_update.pdf|accessdate=15 September 2018}}</ref>{{rp|22–24}}
|-
! style="text-align:center; width:120px" | Country
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" cosplan |HDI {{small|(2018)}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Singapore}}
| 0.932
| very high
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Brunei}}
| 0.853
| very high
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Malaysia}}
| 0.802
| very high
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Thailand}}
| 0.755
| high
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | '''[[File:Flag_of_ASEAN.svg|29x15px]] ASEAN'''
| '''0.719'''
| '''high'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Philippines}}
| 0.699
| medium
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Indonesia}}
| 0.694
| medium
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Vietnam}}
| 0.694
| medium
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Laos}}
| 0.601
| medium
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Cambodia}}
| 0.582
| medium
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | {{flagcountry|Myanmar}}
| 0.578
| medium
|-
|}

Narrowing the Development Gap (NDG) is the framework for addressing disparities among, and within, member states where pockets of underdevelopment exist. Under NDG, ASEAN has continued co-ordinating closely with other sub-regional co-operation frameworks (e.g., [[BIMP-EAGA]], IMT-GT, GMS, Mekong programs), viewing them as "equal partners in the development of regional production and distribution networks" in the AEC, and as a platform to "mainstream social development issues in developing and implementing projects," in the context of the ASCC.<ref name="asean.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community/category/overview-ndg-iai-iai-work-plan-iai-task-force-idcf|title=Overview|publisher=|accessdate=14 June 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630140736/http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community/category/overview-ndg-iai-iai-work-plan-iai-task-force-idcf|archivedate=30 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The six-year Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plans have been developed to assist Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam as well as ASEAN's other sub-regions to ensure that the wheels of their economies move at an accelerated pace. The First IAI Work Plan was implemented from 2002 to 2008, prior to the development of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015). The second plan (2009-2015) supports the goals of the ASEAN Community and is composed of 182 prescribed actions, which includes studies, training programs, and policy implementation support, conducted through projects supported by older ASEAN member states, and ASEAN's Dialogue partners and external parties. The IAI Work Plan is patterned after and supports the key program areas in the three ASEAN Community Blueprints: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, and Socio-Cultural Community. The IAI Task Force, composed of representatives of the Committee of Permanent Representatives and its working group from all member states, is in charge of providing general advice and policy guidelines and directions in the design and implementation of the lan. All member states are represented in the IAI Task Force, with the task force chaired by representatives of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam. Chairmanship is rotated annually in alphabetical order by country name.

The ASEAN Secretariat, in particular through the IAI and NDG Division, supports the implementation and management of the IAI Work Plan and coordinates activities related to sub-regional frameworks. This includes servicing meetings, assisting in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and reporting of projects, resource mobilisation, and overall operational co-ordination among various IAI&NDG-related stakeholders. The division works closely with the Dialogue Partners, and international agencies, to develop strategies and programs to assist in promoting and implementing IAI and NDG activities in ASEAN.<ref name="asean.org"/>

ASEAN's planned integration has challenged its citizens to embrace a regional identity. The call for ASEAN identity delivers a challenge to construct dynamic institutions and foster sufficient amounts of social capital. The underlying assumption is that the creation of a regional identity is of special interest to ASEAN and the intent of the 2020 Vision policy document was to reassert the belief in a regional framework designed as an action plan related to human development and civic empowerment. Accordingly, these assumptions will be the basis for recommendations and strategies in developing a participatory regional identity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Michael E.|title=Forging an ASEAN Identity: The Challenge to Construct a Shared Destiny|journal=Contemporary Southeast Asia|date=2004|volume=26|issue=1|pages=140–154|url=https://www.academia.edu/981239|accessdate=12 February 2015|doi=10.1355/cs26-1g}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:GDP PPP 2018 Selection.svg|upright=1.25|thumb|Selection of GDP PPP data (top 10 countries and blocks) in no particular order]]

The group sought economic integration by creating the AEC by the end of 2015 that established a [[single market]].<ref name="asil1">Sim, Edmund "Introduction to the ASEAN Economic Community", https://web.archive.org/web/20120218183029/http://www.asil.org/aseanevent/Sim_Intro_to_ASEAN.pdf</ref>
The average economic growth of member states from 1989 to 2009 was between 3.8% and 7%. This was greater than the average growth of APEC, which was 2.8%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/05/11/asean-economies-past-and-future.html |title=ASEAN economies past and future |work=The Jakarta Post |date=29 July 2011 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref> The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), established on 28 January 1992,<ref name="AFTA" /> includes a Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) to promote the free flow of goods between member states.<ref name="asil1"/> ASEAN had only six members when it was signed. The new member states (Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia) have not fully met AFTA's obligations, but are officially considered part of the agreement as they were required to sign it upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/12021.htm |title=Overview |publisher=ASEAN |accessdate=21 December 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022142043/http://www.asean.org/12021.htm |archivedate=22 October 2008 }}</ref> The next steps are to create a single market and production base, a competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region that is fully integrated into the global economy. Since 2007, ASEAN countries have gradually lowered their import duties to member states, with a target of zero import duties by 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) |url=http://www.miti.gov.my/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_b5e22087-c0a81573-aba0aba0-ab12873b |website=Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Malaysia) |accessdate=12 February 2015 |date=24 April 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820145429/http://www.miti.gov.my/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_b5e22087-c0a81573-aba0aba0-ab12873b |archivedate=20 August 2014 }}</ref>

ASEAN countries have many economic zones (industrial parks, eco-industrial parks, special economic zones, technology parks, and innovation districts). In 2015, UNIDO Viet Nam (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) has compiled a list of economic zones in the ASEAN Economic Community in a report titled "Economic Zones in the ASEAN",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media_upgrade/Resources/Publications/UCO_Viet_Nam_Study_FINAL.pdf|title=Economic Zones in the ASEAN|publisher=|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053234/https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/2015-08/UCO_Viet_Nam_Study_FINAL_0.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref> written by Arnault Morisson. In 2018, eight of the ASEAN members are among the world's outperforming economies, with positive long-term prospect for the region.<ref>{{cite news |title=ASEAN countries among world’s outperforming emerging economies: Report |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/asean-countries-among-world-s-outperforming-emerging-economies-10718216 |work=Channel NewsAsia |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917181637/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/asean-countries-among-world-s-outperforming-emerging-economies-10718216 |dead-url=yes }}</ref>

===Internal market===
By the end of 2015, ASEAN plans to establish a single market based upon the [[Four Freedoms (European Union)|four freedoms]]. It will ensure free flow of goods, services, skilled labour, and capital. Until the end of 2010, intra-ASEAN trade was still low as trade involved mainly exports to countries outside the region, with the exception of Laos and Myanmar, whose foreign trade was ASEAN-oriented.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/77403/asean-feared-to-become-multinational-companies-market-only |work=Anatara News| title=ASEAN feared to become multinational companies market only |date=10 November 2011}}</ref> In 2009, realised [[foreign direct investment]] (FDI) was US$37.9 billion and increased two-fold in 2010 to US$75.8 billion. 22% of FDI came from the European Union, followed by ASEAN countries (16%), and by Japan and the United States. The ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services (AFAS) was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in December 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/6628.htm |title=ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (1995) |publisher=ASEAN |accessdate=21 December 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226223120/http://www.asean.org/6628.htm |archivedate=26 December 2009 }}</ref> Under the agreement, member states enter into successive rounds of negotiations to liberalise trade in services with the aim of submitting increasingly higher levels of commitment. At present, ASEAN has concluded seven packages of commitments under AFAS.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/6626.htm |title=Overview |publisher=ASEAN |accessdate=21 December 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206130652/http://www.asean.org/6626.htm |archivedate=6 February 2011 }}</ref> Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) have been agreed upon by ASEAN for eight professions: physicians, dentists, nurses, architects, engineers, accountants, surveyors, and tourism professionals. Individuals in these professions will be free to work in any ASEAN states after the AEC goes into effect on 31 December 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Buranasomphop|first1=Duangkamol|title=Asean 2015: Free movement of labour|url=http://en.aectourismthai.com/content1/1411|accessdate=11 May 2015|publisher=AEC Tourism Thailand|date=14 June 2014|archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518070624/http://en.aectourismthai.com/content1/1411|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Concern over free flow of labour after AEC starts|url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Concern-over-free-flow-of-labour-after-AEC-starts-30238365.html|accessdate=11 May 2015|work=The Nation|date=13 July 2014|archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518102622/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Concern-over-free-flow-of-labour-after-AEC-starts-30238365.html|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Why the AEC in 2015 Will Lead to Few Changes in Thailand |url=http://www.norcham.com/news/why-the-aec-in-2015-will-lead-to-few-changes-in-thailand |website=Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce |accessdate=12 May 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518093814/http://www.norcham.com/news/why-the-aec-in-2015-will-lead-to-few-changes-in-thailand |archivedate=18 May 2015 }}</ref> In addition, six member states (Malaysia, [[Vietnam]] (2 exchanges), Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore) has collaborated on integrating their stock exchanges, which includes 70% of its transaction values with the goal to compete with international exchanges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://investasi.kontan.co.id/news/indonesia-belum-akan-masuk-asean-linkage |title=Indonesia belum akan masuk Asean Linkage |author=Anna Suci Perwitasari |accessdate=17 January 2014}}</ref>

Single market will also include the [[ASEAN Single Aviation Market]] (ASEAN-SAM), the region's aviation policy geared towards the development of a [[Open skies|unified and single aviation market]] in Southeast Asia. It was proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers.<ref name="ASEAN SAM">{{cite web|url=http://www.asian-aerocad.com/news/news.php?newsid=23 |title=Asean Single Aviation Market |accessdate=26 September 2008 |work=Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=2 February 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209063906/http://www.asian-aerocad.com/news/news.php?newsid=23 |archivedate=9 December 2008 }}</ref> It is expected to liberalise air travel between member states allowing ASEAN airlines to benefit directly from the growth in air travel, and also free up tourism, trade, investment, and service flows.<ref name="ASEAN SAM" /><ref name="LHL on SAM">{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/01/content_6990497.htm |title=Singaporean PM urges ASEAN to liberalise aviation |accessdate=26 September 2008 |work=chinaview.cn |publisher=Xinhua News Agency |date=1 November 2007 }}</ref> Since 1 December 2008, restrictions on the third and fourth [[freedoms of the air]] between capital cities of member states for air passenger services have been removed,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_282410.html | title=Tiger offers 50,000 free seats |accessdate=26 September 2008 |last=Kaur |first= Karamjit |work=Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=25 September 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080927183958/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_282410.html| archivedate= 27 September 2008 | deadurl= no}}</ref> while from 1 January 2009, full liberalisation of air freight services in the region took effect.<ref name="ASEAN SAM" /><ref name="LHL on SAM" /> On 1 January 2011, full liberalisation on fifth freedom traffic rights between all capital cities took effect.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centreforaviation.com/aviation/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5015 |title=Three quarters of a million more seats and counting- KL-Singapore benefits from liberalisation |accessdate=26 September 2008 |publisher=Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation |date=28 September 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5FV1kGgmS?url=http://content.nejm.org/icons/home/cme_button.gif |archivedate=29 April 2006 |df=dmy }}</ref> This policy supersedes existing unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral air services agreements among member states which are inconsistent with its provisions.

===Monetary union===
The concept of an [[Asian Currency Unit]] (ACU) started in the middle of the 1990s, prior to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.<ref name="Baby Steps To A Common Currency">Baby Steps To A Common Currency</ref> It is a proposed basket of Asian currencies, similar to the European Currency Unit, which was the precursor of the [[Euro]]. The [[Asian Development Bank]] is responsible for exploring the feasibility and construction of the basket.<ref name="Baby Steps To A Common Currency"/><ref>Asian Currency Unit</ref> Since the ACU is being considered to be a precursor to a common currency, it has a dynamic outlook of the region.<ref>Prospects for a Single Asian Currency</ref> The overall goal of a common currency is to contribute to the financial stability of a regional economy, including price stability. It means lower cost of cross-border business through the elimination of currency risk. Greater flows of intra-trade would put pressure on prices, resulting in cheaper goods and services. Individuals benefit not only from the lowering of prices, they save by not having to change money when travelling, by being able to compare prices more readily, and by the reduced cost of transferring money across borders.

However, there are conditions for a common currency: the intensity of intra-regional trade and the convergence of [[macroeconomics|macroeconomic]] conditions. Substantial intra-ASEAN trade (which is growing, partly as a result of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the ASEAN Economic Community.) and economic integration is an incentive for a monetary union. Member states currently trade more with other countries (80%) than among themselves (20%). Therefore, their economies are more concerned about currency stability against major international currencies, like the US dollar. On macroeconomic conditions, member states have different levels of economic development, capacity, and priorities that translate into different levels of interest and readiness. Monetary integration, however, implies less control over national monetary and fiscal policy to stimulate the economy. Therefore, greater convergence in macroeconomic conditions is being enacted to improve conditions and confidence in a common currency.<ref name="ReferenceB">Towards ASEAN Financial Integration</ref> Other concerns include weaknesses in the financial sectors, inadequacy of regional-level resource pooling mechanisms and institutions required to form and manage a currency union, and lack of political preconditions for monetary co-operation and a common currency.<ref>Cost and Benefits for A Common Currency in ASEAN</ref>

===Free trade===
Free trade initiatives in ASEAN are spearheaded by the implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the Agreement on Customs. These agreements are supported by several sector bodies to plan and to execute free trade measures, guided by the provisions and the requirements of ATIGA and the Agreement on Customs. They form a backbone for achieving targets of the AEC Blueprint and establishing the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of 2015.<ref name="InvestAsian">{{cite web|url=http://www.investasian.com/2015/01/15/asean-economic-communitys-progress/|title=The ASEAN Economic Community's Progress|work=InvestAsian|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> On 26 August 2007, ASEAN stated its aims of completing free trade agreements (FTA) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand by 2013, which is in line with the start of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=ASEAN to complete free trade agreements by 2013 |url=https://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2007/08/26/afx4054320.html |work=Forbes |date=26 August 2007 |accessdate=27 August 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012121738/http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2007/08/26/afx4054320.html |archivedate=12 October 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Christine |last=Ong |title=ASEAN confident of concluding FTAs with partners by 2013 |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/economicnews/view/296149/1/.html |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |date=27 August 2007 |accessdate=27 August 2007 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In November 2007, ASEAN states signed the ASEAN Charter, a constitution governing relations among member states and establishing the group itself as an international legal entity.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.asean.org/asean/asean-charter/ | title=ASEAN Charter | publisher=ASEAN | accessdate=4 March 2016}}</ref> During the same year, the [[Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security]] was signed by ASEAN and the other members of the [[East Asian Summit|EAS]] (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea), which pursues [[energy security]] by finding [[alternative energy|energy alternatives]] to [[fossil fuel|conventional fuels]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/eas/energy0701.html | title=CEBU DECLARATION ON EAST ASIAN ENERGY SECURITY | publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan | accessdate=4 March 2016}}</ref>

On 27 February 2009, an FTA with Australia and New Zealand was signed. It is believed that this FTA would boost combined GDP across the 12 countries by more than US$48&nbsp;billion over the period between 2000 and 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Trade-and-Economic-Relations/Trade-Agreements/Asean/index.php |title=ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement – NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade |publisher=Mfat.govt.nz |accessdate=21 May 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415060123/http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Trade-and-Economic-Relations/Trade-Agreements/Asean/index.php |archivedate=15 April 2009 |deadurl=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aul8rxM98Jg4 |title=Asean, Australia, New Zealand Sign Free-Trade Deal (Update1) |publisher=Bloomberg |date=27 February 2009 |accessdate=21 May 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202160359/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aul8rxM98Jg4 |archivedate=2 December 2010 }}</ref> Bilateral trade with India crossed the US$70 billion target in 2012 (target was to reach the level only by 2015).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/650795/trade-value-asean-countries-with-india/|title=India - trade value with ASEAN countries 2016 {{!}} Statistic|website=Statista|access-date=2018-08-29}}</ref> The agreement with China created the [[ASEAN–China Free Trade Area]] (ACFTA), which went into full effect on 1 January 2010. In addition, ASEAN is currently negotiating an FTA with the European Union.<ref name=FTA>{{cite web |url=http://www.fta.gov.sg/sg_fta.asp |title=Welcome to Singapore FTA Network |publisher=Fta.gov.sg |accessdate=21 December 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209033340/http://www.fta.gov.sg/sg_fta.asp |archivedate=9 December 2008 |deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Taiwan has also expressed interest in an agreement with ASEAN but needs to overcome diplomatic objections from China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/12/2003425653 |title=Siew calls for pragmatic approach to ASEAN ties |work=The Taipei Times |location=Taiwan (ROC) |accessdate=21 December 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20081211235752/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/12/2003425653| archivedate= 11 December 2008 | deadurl= no}}</ref> ASEAN, together with its six major trading partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea), began the first round of negotiations on 26–28 February 2013, in Bali, Indonesia on the establishment of the RCEP,<ref name=ref2013022305>{{Cite news| title = ASEAN+6 trade bloc in the making| publisher = Investvine.com| date = 23 February 2013| url = http://investvine.com/asean6-trade-bloc-in-the-making/| accessdate = 24 February 2013| archive-date = 28 March 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130328045835/http://investvine.com/asean6-trade-bloc-in-the-making| dead-url = yes}}</ref> which is an extension of ASEAN Plus Three and Six that covers 45% of the world's population and about a third of the world's total GDP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Trade-and-Economic-Relations/2-Trade-Relationships-and-Agreements/RCEP/ |title=Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) |accessdate=29 October 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029151938/http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Trade-and-Economic-Relations/2-Trade-Relationships-and-Agreements/RCEP/ |archivedate=29 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fta.gov.sg/press_release%5CFACTSHEET%20ON%20RCEP_final.pdf |title=Factsheet on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) |accessdate=29 October 2014 }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Regional integration: the ASEAN vision in 2020 by Rosabel B. Guerrero; Director, Department of Economic Statistics, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Manila, Philippines.</ref>

In 2019, [[Reuters]] highlighted the circuitous route that ships from the United States must take to avoid the up to 70% tariff on [[ethanol]] produced in the United States unless it is mixed with at least 40% Asian-produced fuel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-ethanol-insight/long-strange-trip-how-u-s-ethanol-reaches-china-tariff-free-idUSKCN1PW0BR|title=Long, strange trip: How U.S. ethanol reaches China tariff-free|work=www.reuters.com|first1=Chris|last1=Prentice|first2=A.|last2=Ananthalakshmi|date=February 7, 2019|accessdate=February 7, 2019}}</ref>

==Foreign relations==
[[File:Asean flag flying at Royal Thai Embassy Helsinki.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Royal Thai Embassy, Helsinki, flying its own national flag as well as ASEAN's flag]]
{{main|ASEAN Summit}}[[File:ASEAN 50th Anniversary.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|right|Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte poses for a photo with the ASEAN foreign ministers during the 50th anniversary of the group's foundation on 8 August 2017.]]

ASEAN maintains a global network of alliances, dialogue partners and diplomatic missions, and is involved in numerous international affairs.<ref name="ASEANTreaties"/><ref name="aseanUN"/><ref name="aseanoverview"/><ref name="UNgovorgs"/> The organisation holds [[ASEAN Summit]]s, where [[head of government|heads of government]] of each member states meet to discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other meetings with countries outside the bloc to promote external relations and deal with international affairs. The first summit was held in [[Bali]] in 1976. The third summit was in [[Manila]] in 1987, and during this meeting, it was decided that the leaders would meet every five years.<ref name=summit>[http://www.summit99.ops.gov.ph/asean_structure.htm ASEAN Structure], ''ASEAN Primer'' {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222144528/http://www.summit99.ops.gov.ph/asean_structure.htm |date=22 February 2008 }}</ref> The fourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders decided to meet more frequently, every three years.<ref name=summit /> In 2001, it was decided that the organisation will meet annually to address urgent issues affecting the region. In December 2008, the ASEAN Charter came into force and with it, the ASEAN Summit will be held twice a year. The formal summit meets for three days, and usually includes internal organisation meeting, a conference with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum, an ASEAN Plus Three meeting and ASEAN-CER, a meeting of member states with Australia and New Zealand.<ref>[http://asean.org/asean-cer-meeting-trade-is-the-key-driver-in-fostering-growth-siem-reap-31-august-2012/ ASEAN-CER Meeting: Trade is the Key Driver in Fostering Growth], August 31st, 2012, ASEAN Secretariat News</ref>

ASEAN is a major partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, developing cooperation model with the organisation in the field of security, economy, finance, tourism, culture, environmental protection, development and sustainability.<ref name="Eurasia Future">{{cite news|url=https://www.eurasiafuture.com/2018/06/07/the-shanghai-cooperation-organisation-and-brics-should-combine-to-form-a-single-cohesive-group/|title=The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS Should Combine to Form a Single Cohesive Group - Eurasia Future|date=7 June 2018|work=Eurasia Future|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053246/https://eurasiafuture.com/is-chad-losing-control-of-the-central-african-pivot-space/|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref name="eng.sectsco.org">{{cite web|url=http://eng.sectsco.org/news/20170806/309746.html|title=Shanghai Cooperation Organisation {{!}} SCO|website=eng.sectsco.org|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053311/http://eng.sectsco.org/news/20170806/309746.html|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref name="www.xinhuanet.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/10/c_137244965.htm|title=Interview: Cambodian FM says Cambodia can bridge SCO and ASEAN - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|work=www.xinhuanet.com|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053250/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/10/c_137244965.htm|dead-url=yes}}</ref><ref name="en.sco-russia.ru">{{cite web|url=http://en.sco-russia.ru/cooperation/20140905/1013179818.html|title=SCO-ASEAN Cooperation for Mutual Interests|website=en.sco-russia.ru|access-date=9 May 2019|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053251/http://en.sco-russia.ru/cooperation/20140905/1013179818.html|dead-url=yes}}</ref> Additionally, the grouping has been closely aligned with China, cooperating across numerous areas, including economy, security, education, culture, technology, agriculture, human resource, society, development, investment, energy, transport, public health, tourism, media, environment, and sustainability.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://asean.org/storage/2016/01/Overview-of-ASEAN-China-Relations-April-2017.pdf |title=Overview of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations
 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825002517/https://asean.org/storage/2016/01/Overview-of-ASEAN-China-Relations-April-2017.pdf |archivedate=25 August 2018 |accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Taking Asean-China ties to the next level |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/taking-asean-china-ties-to-the-next-level |work=The Straits Times |date=15 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=First ASEAN-China maritime field training exercise to be held in October: MINDEF |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/first-asean-china-maritime-exercise-training-navy-mindef-10586432 |work=Channel NewsAsia}}</ref> It is also the linchpin in the foreign policy of Australia and New Zealand, with the three sides being integrated into an essential alliance.<ref>{{cite news |title=ASEAN-Australia Special Summit ends with commitments on cybersecurity, free trade |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/asean-australia-special-summit-commitment-cybersecurity-trade-10054114 |work=Channel NewsAsia |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053252/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/asean-australia-special-summit-commitment-cybersecurity-trade-10054114 |dead-url=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Trade |first1=New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and |title=Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) |url=https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/south-east-asia/association-of-south-east-asian-nations-asean/ |work=New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=ASEAN seeks to strengthen trade relations with partners - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/01/c_137437019.htm |work=www.xinhuanet.com |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053257/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/01/c_137437019.htm |dead-url=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stolarchuk |first1=Jewel |title=Reflecting on the ASEAN–Australian relationship |url=http://theindependent.sg/reflecting-on-the-asean-australian-relationship/ |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Progressing towards an integrated ASEAN |url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub-projects/deepening-asean-economic-integration/progressing-towards-an-integrated-asean |work=The Business Times}}</ref>

ASEAN also participates in the East Asia Summit (EAS), a pan-Asian forum held annually by the leaders of eighteen countries in the [[East Asia]]n region, with ASEAN in a leadership position. Initially, membership included all member states of ASEAN plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, but was expanded to include the [[United States]] and [[Russia]] at the Sixth EAS in 2011. The first summit was held in [[Kuala Lumpur]] on 14 December 2005, and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders' Meeting. The summit has discussed issues including trade, [[energy]], and security and the summit has a role in regional community building.

Other meetings include the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting<ref name=ministry>[http://www.asean.org/89.htm ASEAN Ministerial Meetings], ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved 13 March 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302194224/http://www.asean.org/89.htm |date=2 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.asean.org/73.htm Asean.org], ASEAN Secretariat. Retrieved 16 March 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622232333/http://www.asean.org/73.htm |date=22 June 2012 }}</ref> that focus mostly on specific topics, such as defence or the environment,<ref>{{cite news|title=Malaysians have had enough of haze woes |url=http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/view/4967/2/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121219224631/http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/view/4967/2/ |dead-url=yes |archive-date=19 December 2012 |publisher=The Malaysian Bar |accessdate=13 March 2007 }}</ref> and are attended by [[Minister (government)|ministers]]. The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which met for the first time in 1994, fosters dialogue and consultation, and to promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.<ref>[http://www.aseanregionalforum.org/Default.aspx?tabid=49 About Us] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725021423/http://www.aseanregionalforum.org/Default.aspx?tabid=49 |date=25 July 2013 }}, [http://www.aseanregionalforum.org/ ASEAN Regional Forum official website]. Retrieved 12 June 2006.</ref> As of July 2007, it consists of twenty-seven participants that include all ASEAN member states, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, North and South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, the United States, and Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web|title=ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)|url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/regional-architecture/asean/pages/asean-regional-forum-arf.aspx|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|publisher=Government of Australia|accessdate=12 February 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227150707/http://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/regional-architecture/asean/pages/asean-regional-forum-arf.aspx|archivedate=27 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Taiwan has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait are neither discussed at ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman's Statements.

ASEAN also holds meetings with Europe during the [[Asia–Europe Meeting]] (ASEM), an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996 with the intention of strengthening co-operation between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially members of the European Union and ASEAN in particular.<ref>{{cite book |title=Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM |author=Lay Hwee Yeo |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge (UK) |isbn=978-0-415-30697-3 }}</ref> ASEAN, represented by its secretariat, is one of the forty-five ASEM partners. It also appoints a representative to sit on the governing board of [[Asia-Europe Foundation]] (ASEF), a socio-cultural organisation associated with the meeting. Annual bilateral meetings between ASEAN and India, Russia and the United States are also held.

==Environment==
[[File:Borneo fires October 2006.jpg|thumb|left|Haze over [[Borneo]], 2006]]
At the turn of the 21st century, ASEAN began 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, arguably the region's most high-profile environmental issue.<ref>ASEAN Secretariat. [http://www.asean.org/8914.htm ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution]. Extracted 12 October 2006 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302193935/http://www.asean.org/8914.htm |date=2 March 2012 }}</ref> Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful due to the outbreaks of haze in [[2005 Malaysian haze|2005]], [[2006 Southeast Asian haze|2006]], [[2009 Southeast Asian haze|2009]], [[2013 Southeast Asian haze|2013]], and [[2015 Southeast Asian haze|2015]].
As of 2015, thirteen years after signing the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, the situation with respect to the long term issue of [[Southeast Asian haze]] has not been changed for 50% of the ASEAN member states, and still remains as a crisis every two years during summer and fall.<ref>{{cite web|title=Travel Advise for Swiss Abroad in Singapore (German)|url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/singapore/de/home/reisehinweise/vor-ort.html|accessdate=19 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Travel advise for Swiss abroad in Malaysia|url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/vertretungen-und-reisehinweise/malaysia/reisehinweise-fuermalaysia.html|accessdate=19 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Travel advise for Swiss abroad in Indonesia|url=https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/vertretungen-und-reisehinweise/indonesien/reisehinweise-fuerindonesien.html|accessdate=19 September 2015}}</ref>

Trash dumping from foreign countries (such as Japan and Canada) to ASEAN has yet to be discussed and resolved.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/years-after-2500-tonnes-of-canadian-trash-landed-in-manila-philippines-demanding-we-take-it-back | title=Years after 2,500 tonnes of Canadian trash landed in Manila, Philippines demanding we take it back | publisher=National Post | accessdate=4 March 2016}}</ref> Important issues include deforestation (with Indonesia recorded the largest loss of forest in the region, more than other member states combined in the 2001-2013 period<ref>{{cite web|title=Country Rankings|url=http://www.globalforestwatch.org/countries/overview|website=Global Forest Loss|accessdate=2 March 2015|archive-date=7 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407032917/http://www.globalforestwatch.org/countries/overview|dead-url=yes}}</ref>), plastic waste dumping (5 member states were among the top 10 out of 192 countries based on 2010 data, with Indonesia ranked as second worst polutter<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jambeck|first1=Jenna R.|title=Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean|journal=Science|date=13 February 2015| volume=347|issue=6223|pages=768–771|doi=10.1126/science.1260352|quote=Cited in "Thailand big contributor to plastic trash on ocean floors", ''The Nation'', Bangkok, 14 February 2015 [http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-big-contributor-to-plastic-trash-on-ocean-30254077.html]|pmid=25678662}}</ref>), threatened mammal species (Indonesia ranked the worst in the region with 184 species under threat<ref>{{cite web|title=Mammal species, threatened|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.MAM.THRD.NO/countries|website=World Bank|publisher=UN Environmental Forum; [[World Conservation Monitoring Centre]]; [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN)|accessdate=24 June 2015|date=2014}}</ref>), threatened fish species (Indonesia ranked the worst in the region<ref>{{cite web|title=Fish species, threatened| url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.FSH.THRD.NO/countries|website=The World Bank|accessdate=24 June 2015}}</ref>), threatened (higher) plant species (Malaysia ranked the worst in the region<ref>{{cite web|title=Plant species (higher), threatened|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.HPT.THRD.NO/countries|website=The World Bank|accessdate=24 June 2015}}</ref>)

==Culture==
The organisation 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 Centre for Biodiversity]], [[ASEAN Heritage Parks]]<ref>{{cite web|title=ASEAN Heritage Parks|url=http://chm.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=110&current=110|website=Biodiversity Information Sharing Service|publisher=ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB)|accessdate=25 June 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402132522/http://chm.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=110&current=110|dead-url=yes}}</ref> and the [[ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award]]. In addition, the ASEAN region has been recognized as one of the world's most diverse region ethnically, religiously and linguistically.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lehmann |first1=Jean-Pierre |title=What's Next For ASEAN |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jplehmann/2017/04/26/whats-next-for-asean/#54a0054656d0 |work=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zein |first1=Subhan |last2=Stroupe |first2=Richmond |title=English and language-in-education policy in the ASEAN Plus Three Forum |journal=Asian Englishes |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=193–196|doi=10.1080/13488678.2017.1389061 |date=2 September 2017}}</ref>

===Media===
Member states have promoted co-operation in information to help build an ASEAN identity. One of the main bodies in ASEAN co-operation in information is the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (COCI). Established in 1978, its mission is to promote effective co-operation in the fields of information, as well as culture, through its various projects and activities. It includes representatives from national institutions like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Culture and Information, national radio and television networks, museums, archives and libraries, among others. Together, they meet once a year to formulate and agree on projects to fulfil their mission.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-socio-cultural-community/category/asean-ministers-responsible-for-information-amri|title=ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI)|publisher=|accessdate=14 June 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627073720/http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-socio-cultural-community/category/asean-ministers-responsible-for-information-amri|archivedate=27 June 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> On 14 November 2014, foreign ministers of member states launched the ASEAN Communication Master Plan (ACPM).<ref name=ACMP>{{cite book|title=ASEAN Communication Master Plan – ASEAN: A Community of Opportunities|date=Oct 2014|publisher=ASEAN Secretariat; Public Outreach and Civil Society Division|location=Jakarta|isbn=978-602-0980-02-7|url=http://www.asean.org/images/pdf/2014_upload/ACMP_Print_pdf_final.pdf|accessdate=10 May 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203744/http://www.asean.org/images/pdf/2014_upload/ACMP_Print_pdf_final.pdf|archivedate=5 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It provides a framework for communicating the character, structure, and overall vision of ASEAN and the ASEAN community to key audiences within the region and globally.<ref name="ACMP-Remarks">{{cite web|title=Opening Remarks by Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Le Luong Minh at the Launching of the ASEAN Communication Master Plan|url=http://www.asean.org/images/pdf/2014_upload/Remarks_SG_forACMP_Launch_POCS.pdf|website=ASEAN|accessdate=10 May 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103519/http://www.asean.org/images/pdf/2014_upload/Remarks_SG_forACMP_Launch_POCS.pdf|archivedate=4 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The plan seeks to demonstrate the relevance and benefits of the ASEAN through fact-based and compelling communications, recognising that the ASEAN community is unique and different from other country integration models.

ASEAN Media Cooperation (AMC) sets digital television standards and policies in preparation for broadcasters to transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. This collaboration was conceptualised during the 11th ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) Conference in Malaysia on 1 March 2012 where a consensus declared that both new and traditional media were keys to connecting ASEAN peoples and bridging cultural gaps in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=2101331018243 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121222010758/http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=2101331018243 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=22 December 2012 |title=ASEAN Promotes Use of Social Media |publisher=Philippine Information Agency |accessdate=1 October 2012 }}</ref> Several key initiatives under the AMC include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mda.gov.sg/International/Pages/ASEAN.aspx |title=Deepening ASEAN Media Cooperation Within and Beyond |publisher=Media Development Authority |accessdate=31 August 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510001847/http://www.mda.gov.sg/International/Pages/ASEAN.aspx |archivedate=10 May 2012 }}</ref>
* The ASEAN Media Portal<ref>{{cite web|last=Media Development Authority |title=New Media Portal to Enhance ASEAN'S COCI Website and Offer Access to the Region's Media Industry |url=http://www.mda.gov.sg/NewsAndEvents/PressRelease/2007/Pages/16112007a.aspx |accessdate=1 October 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206072830/http://mda.gov.sg/NewsAndEvents/PressRelease/2007/Pages/16112007a.aspx |archivedate=6 February 2011 }}</ref> was launched 16 November 2007. The portal aims to provide a one-stop site that contains documentaries, games, music videos, and multimedia clips on the culture, arts, and heritage of the ASEAN countries to showcase ASEAN culture and the capabilities of its media industry.
* The ASEAN NewsMaker Project, an initiative launched in 2009, trains students and teachers to produce informational video clips about their countries. The project was initiated by Singapore. Students trained in NewsMaker software, video production, together with developing narrative storytelling skills. Dr Soeung Rathchavy, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community noted that: "Raising ASEAN awareness amongst the youth is part and parcel of our efforts to build the ASEAN Community by 2015. Using ICT and the media, our youths in the region will get to know ASEAN better, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the cultures, social traditions and values in ASEAN."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Launch of the ASEAN NewsMaker Project: Students to promote cross-cultural understanding by creating video clips for ASEAN Media Portal, Singapore, 2 June 2009|url = http://www.asean.org/news/asean-statement-communiques/item/launch-of-the-asean-newsmaker-project-students-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-by-creating-video-clips-for-asean-media-portal-singapore-2-june-2009|website = www.asean.org|accessdate = 25 August 2015|deadurl = yes|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103519/http://www.asean.org/news/asean-statement-communiques/item/launch-of-the-asean-newsmaker-project-students-to-promote-cross-cultural-understanding-by-creating-video-clips-for-asean-media-portal-singapore-2-june-2009|archivedate = 4 September 2015|df = dmy-all}}</ref>
* The ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting, is an annual forum for ASEAN members to set digital television (DTV) standards and policies, and to discuss progress in the implementation of the blueprint from analogue to digital TV broadcasting by 2020. During the 11th ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting<ref>{{cite web|work=ASEAN Secretariat News|title=11th ASEAN Digital Broadcasting Meeting|url=http://www.asean.org/news/asean-secretariat-news/item/11th-asean-digital-broadcasting-meeting|accessdate=1 October 2012|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530020045/http://www.asean.org/news/asean-secretariat-news/item/11th-asean-digital-broadcasting-meeting|archivedate=30 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> members updated the status on DTV implementation and agreed to inform ASEAN members on the ''Guidelines for ASEAN Digital Switchover''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guidelines for ASEAN Digital Switch-Over|url=http://hq.prd.go.th/engineer/download/Genenal/Guidelines%20for%20ASEAN%20Digital%20Switch-Over_Final.pdf|publisher=ASEAN|accessdate=10 February 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002205/http://hq.prd.go.th/engineer/download/Genenal/Guidelines%20for%20ASEAN%20Digital%20Switch-Over_Final.pdf|dead-url=yes}}</ref> An issue was raised around the availability and affordability of [[set-top box]]es (STB), thus ASEAN members were asked to make policies to determine funding for STBs, methods of allocation, subsidies and rebates, and other methods for the allocation of STBs. It was also agreed in the meeting to form a task force to develop STB specifications for [[DVB-T2]] to ensure efficiency.
*The ASEAN Post was launched on 8 August 2017 to commemorate ASEAN's 50th Anniversary. It is an independent regional digital media company that is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The focus of the company is to leverage-off new technologies and future proof the media landscape. It was founded by former investment banker Rohan Ramakrishnan.

===Music===
* "The ASEAN Way", the official regional [[anthem]] of ASEAN. Music by {{flagicon|THA}}&nbsp;Kittikhun Sodprasert and Sampow Triudom; lyrics by {{flagicon|THA}}&nbsp;Payom Valaiphatchra.
* "ASEAN Song of Unity" or "[[ASEAN Hymn]]". Music by {{flagicon|PHL}}&nbsp;[[Ryan Cayabyab]].
* "Let Us Move Ahead", an ASEAN song. Composed by {{flagicon|IDN}}&nbsp;Candra Darusman.
* "[[ASEAN Rise]]", ASEAN's 40th anniversary song. Music by {{flagicon|SGP}}&nbsp;[[Dick Lee]]; lyrics by {{flagicon|SGP}}&nbsp;[[Stefanie Sun]].
* "ASEAN Spirit", ASEAN's 50th anniversary song. Performed by {{flagicon|PHL}}&nbsp;[[Christian Bautista]]; directed by {{flagicon|PHL}}&nbsp;Joaquin Pedro Valdes.

===Sports===
* [[Southeast Asian Games]]
* [[ASEAN University Games]]
* [[ASEAN School Games]]
* [[ASEAN ParaGames|ASEAN Para Games]]
* [[ASEAN Football Championship]]
* [[SEABA Championship]]

==Reception==
ASEAN has been credited by some as among the most influential organisations and a global powerhouse.<ref name="aseanvisa"/><ref name="aseanblock"/> The organisation plays a prominent role in regional and international diplomacy, politics, economy and trade.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Sze Ming |title=ASEAN in the Changing Asia Pacific Security Order |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326208056 |date=5 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="jstor.org">{{cite journal|title=Asean's Pivotal Role in Asian-Pacific Regional Cooperation|journal = Global Governance|volume = 3|issue = 3|last1=Haas|first1=Michael|date=1997|pages=329–348|jstor = 27800175}}</ref><ref name="aseansummit2">{{cite news|url= https://www.untvweb.com/news/world-leaders-praised-the-philippines-on-how-it-hosted-the-asean-summit/|title= World leaders praised the Philippines on how it hosted the ASEAN Summit|publisher= UNTV News|work= untvweb.com|access-date= 9 May 2019|archive-date= 15 June 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180615222947/https://www.untvweb.com/news/world-leaders-praised-the-philippines-on-how-it-hosted-the-asean-summit/|dead-url= yes}}</ref><ref name="news.teletrader.com">{{cite news|url=https://news.teletrader.com/russia-supports-increasing-aseans-global-influence/news/details/37150210?culture=en-Inter|title=Russia supports increasing ASEAN's global influence|website=news.teletrader.com}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://asean.org/?static_post=the-world-to-come-asean-s-political-and-economic-prospects-in-the-new-century |title=The World to Come: ASEAN's Political and Economic Prospects in the New Century |website= asean.org | accessdate=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="siiaonline.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.siiaonline.org/|title=Singapore Institute of International Affairs {{!}} A think tank for thinking people|website= siiaonline.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= What Are the Opportunities for ASEAN? |url= https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-are-the-opportunities-for-asean |website=Yale Insights|date=14 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=ASEAN, an important regional and global partner |url=https://english.vov.vn/politics/asean-an-important-regional-and-global-partner-355925.vov |work=VOV.vn  |date=5 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="ASEAN’s rise in the global economy">{{cite news|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2013/03/aseans-rise-in-the-global-economy/|title=ASEAN’s rise in the global economy|work=World Economic Forum}}</ref><ref name="Canberra">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pecc.org/resources/regional-cooperation/601-back-to-canberra-founding-apec/file|title=The Evolution of PECC: The First 25 Years, chapter 5: Back to Canberra: Founding APEC|last= Elek|first= Andrew|date=September 30, 2005|pages=|via= pecc.org |accessdate= }}</ref><ref name="mea.gov.in">{{Cite news|url=http://mea.gov.in/aseanindia/about-eas.htm|title= India at the East Asia Summit |last=|first=|date= August 2018 |work= mea.gov.in |publisher= Ministry of External Affairs, India| access-date= February 21, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Conclusion for RCEP">{{Cite news|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/asean-regional-comprehensive-economic-partnership-pm-lee-10662722|title= Conclusion for RCEP|last=|first=|date=|work= channelnewsasia.com |access-date=}}</ref> The ASEAN Free Trade Area also stands as one of the largest and most important free trade areas in the world, and together with its network of dialogue partners, drove some of the world's largest multilateral forums and blocs, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.<ref name="mea.gov.in" /><ref name="ReferenceD">{{cite news|url=http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/02/06/trade-agreements-are-in-aseans-best-interests/|title=Trade agreements are in ASEAN’s best interests|date=6 February 2016|work= EastAsiaForum.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ASEAN's role in Asia Pacific: In the driver's seat or just a back-seat driver? |url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=ami |website= smu.edu.sg| last=Devare|first=Sudhir | publisher= [[Singapore Management University]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC/History |website=apec.org |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304034820/http://apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC/History |dead-url=yes }}</ref><ref name= Canberra /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/2014/02/13/understanding-aseans-free-trade-agreements.html|title=Understanding ASEAN free trade agreements|last=|first=|date=|work= aseanbriefing.com |access-date=}}</ref> Being one of the world's forefront political, economic and security meetings, the ASEAN Summit serves as a prominent regional (Asia) and international (worldwide) conference, with world leaders attending its related summits and meetings to discuss about various problems and [[global issue]]s, strengthening cooperation, and making decisions.<ref name="aseanroadmap">{{cite book|title=Roadmap to an Asean Economic Community| first= Denis | last= Hew|publisher= Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|year=2005|isbn= 978-981-230-347-9}}</ref><ref name="manilasummit">{{cite web | url= http://m.philstar.com/782974/show/7eb7803727e8504defe21782560fab71/ | title= World leaders in Manila: Key events at ASEAN | work= The Philippine Star | via= philstar.com | access-date= 9 May 2019 | archive-date= 1 December 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035820/http://m.philstar.com/782974/show/7eb7803727e8504defe21782560fab71/ | dead-url= yes }}</ref>

Critics have charged that ASEAN is too soft in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy, particularly in junta-led Burma.<ref>{{cite news|title=ADB president calls for building Asian economic integration |url= http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=16729 |publisher= Peace Journalism |date=3 January 2007 |work= peacejournalism.com |accessdate=3 April 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717061741/http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=16729 |archivedate= 17 July 2011 }}</ref> Some scholars think that non-interference has hindered ASEAN efforts to handle the Burma issue, human rights abuse, and haze pollution in the area. Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on unarmed protesters in Yangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Burma as a member, and also rejects proposals for economic sanctions.<ref>{{cite news |title= Japan Cancels Burma Grant |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iy-MfhLN9Q7MwtQ1VlrvexLjr2dAD8SA9CS00 |agency=Associated Press |date=17 October 2007 |accessdate=18 October 2007 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20071114032051/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iy-MfhLN9Q7MwtQ1VlrvexLjr2dAD8SA9CS00| archivedate= 14 November 2007}}</ref> This has caused concern as the European Union has refused to conduct free trade negotiations at a regional level for these political reasons.<ref>{{cite news|title=Burma an Issue in Asean-EU Trade Talks |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=6693&z=163 |first=Sai |last=Silp | work= The Irawaddy News Magazine Online Edition |via= irrawaddy.org |date=15 February 2007 |accessdate=4 March 2007 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot= medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> During a UN vote against the ethnic cleansing of [[Rohingya]], majority of member states voted to either abstain or against the condemnation. Only Muslim-majority countries Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei voted in favor of condemning the cleansing of Rohingya.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/18/1760042/philippines-wont-join-un-condemnation-attacks-rohingya|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225163157/http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/18/1760042/philippines-wont-join-un-condemnation-attacks-rohingya|archive-date=2017-12-25|title=Philippines won't join UN condemnation of attacks on Rohingya|date=2017-11-18|work= philstar.com|accessdate=16 April 2018}}</ref> Some international observers view ASEAN as a "[[talking shop|talk shop]]",<ref>{{cite news |title=Malaysian foreign minister says ASEAN is no 'talk shop'|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2005_Dec_5/ai_n15900039 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012193523/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2005_Dec_5/ai_n15900039 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=12 October 2007 |date=5 December 2005 |accessdate=6 March 2007 | work=Asian Political News}}</ref> stating that the organisation is: "big on words, but small on action".<ref>{{cite news |title=BBC Country/International Organisation Profile: Association of Southeast Asian Nations |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4114415.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=11 January 2007 |accessdate=6 March 2007 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070315215944/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4114415.stm| archivedate= 15 March 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> "ASEAN policies have proven to be mostly rhetoric, rather than actual implementation", according to Pokpong Lawansiri, a Bangkok-based independent analyst of ASEAN. "It has been noted that less than 50% of ASEAN agreements are actually implemented, while ASEAN holds more than six hundred meetings annually".<ref>{{cite web |last=McLean |first=John |url=http://development.asia/issue03/cover-03.asp |title=Will ASEAN's New Charter Bring Greater Cooperation? |work= Development Asia |publisher=Asian Development Bank |via= development.asia | accessdate=25 June 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706085143/http://development.asia/issue03/cover-03.asp |archivedate= 6 July 2011 |deadurl=yes |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

The head of the [[International Institute of Strategic Studies]], Tim Huxley, cites the diverse political systems present in the grouping, including many young states, as a barrier to far-reaching co-operation outside the economic sphere. He also asserts that, in the absence of an external threat to rally against with the end of the Cold War, ASEAN has begun to be less successful at restraining its members and resolving border disputes such as those between Burma and Thailand and Indonesia and Malaysia.<ref>{{cite news|last1= Huxley|first1=Tim|title=ASEAN's Mixed Bag|url=http://apac2020.thediplomat.com/feature/asean%E2%80%99s-mixed-bag/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828143320/http://apac2020.thediplomat.com/feature/asean%E2%80%99s-mixed-bag/|dead-url=yes|archive-date=2012-08-28|accessdate=11 February 2015|work=The Diplomat|date=2010}}</ref> During the 12th ASEAN Summit in [[Metro Cebu|Cebu]], several activist groups staged [[anti-globalisation]] protests,<ref>{{cite news |title=About 100 militants stage protest vs Asean Summit in Cebu |url=http://www.gmanews.tv/video/3465/About-100-militants-stage-protest-vs-Asean-Summit-in-Cebu |website=[[GMANews.tv]] |date=13 January 2007 |accessdate=6 March 2007 }}</ref> arguing that the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and would cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs.<ref name=KMU>{{cite news|url=http://www.kilusangmayouno.org/asean-protests-cebu-will-also-underscore-massive-opposition-charter-change |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009121459/http://www.kilusangmayouno.org/asean-protests-cebu-will-also-underscore-massive-opposition-charter-change |dead-url=yes |archive-date=9 October 2007 |title=ASEAN protests in Cebu will also underscore massive opposition to Charter Change |publisher= Kilusang Mayo Uno |via= kilusangmayouno.org |date=7 December 2006 }}</ref>

Corruption remains a widespread issue, as "tea money" remains an important requirement to grease business transactions and to receive public services. Following the release of the ''[[Corruption Perceptions Index]] 2015'' by Berlin-based graft watchdog Transparency International on 27 January, its Asia Pacific director, Srirak Plipat, noted that: "if there was one common challenge to unite the Asia-Pacific region, it would be corruption", noting that: "from campaign pledges to media coverage to civil society forums, corruption dominates the discussion. Yet despite all this talk, there's little sign of action."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://investvine.com/corruption-still-widespread-in-southeast-asia/|title=Corruption still widespread in Southeast Asia|last=Maierbrugger|first=Arno|website=Investvine.com|access-date=3 March 2016|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053324/http://investvine.com/corruption-still-widespread-in-southeast-asia/|dead-url=yes}}</ref>

===Economic integration===
The group's integration plan has raised concerns, in particular, the 2015 deadline. Business and economy experts who attended the Lippo-UPH Dialogue in [[Naypyidaw]] cited unresolved issues relating to aviation, agriculture, and human resources.<ref>{{cite news|last1=K.|first1=Reid|title=Southeast Asia is Not Ready for AEC|url=http://www.investasian.com/2015/01/27/southeast-asia-not-ready-aec/|accessdate=10 February 2015|work=InvestAsian|date=27 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207161612/http://www.investasian.com/2015/01/27/southeast-asia-not-ready-aec/|archive-date=7 February 2015|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Some panelists, among them, [[Kishore Mahbubani]], warned against high expectations at the onset. He stated: "Please do not expect a big bang event in 2015 where everything is going to happen overnight when the ASEAN Economic Community comes into being. We've made progress in some areas and unfortunately regressed in some areas."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/06/10/13/asean-people-unaware-2015-economic-integration |title=ASEAN people unaware of 2015 economic integration |work=ABS-CBNNews.com |agency=Reuters |date=10 June 2013 |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053324/https://news.abs-cbn.com/global-filipino/world/06/10/13/asean-people-unaware-2015-economic-integration |dead-url=yes }}</ref>

Some panelists enumerated other matters to be dealt with for a successful launch. Among them were the communications issues involving the 600 million citizens living in the region, creating a heightened level of understanding in the business sector, current visa arrangements, demand for specific skills, banking connections, and economic differences. Former Philippine [[Philippine Statistics Authority|National Statistical Coordination Board]] (NSCB) Secretary General Romulo A. Virola, said in 2012 that the Philippines does not appear to be ready to benefit from the integration due to its "wobbly" economic performance compared to other member states. According to Virola, the Philippines continues to lag behind in terms of employment rate, tourism, life expectancy, and cellular subscriptions.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rappler.com/business/economy-watch/12203-ph-may-not-ready-to-benefit-from-asean-integration-expert|title=PH may not be ready for ASEAN integration - expert|work=Rappler.com|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> Nestor Tan, head of [[BDO Unibank|BDO Unibank Inc.]], said that while some businesses see the Asian Economic Blueprint (AEC) as an opportunity, the integration would be more of a threat to local firms. Tan added that protecting the Philippines' agricultural and financial services sectors, as well as the labour sector, would be necessary for the implementation of AEC by 2015.<ref name=PhilStar>{{cite news|url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/04/24/1315836/news-analysis-asean-economic-integration-2015-draws-conflicting-views |title=News Analysis: ASEAN economic integration in 2015 draws conflicting views in Phl |work=[[The Philippine Star]] |date=24 April 2014}}</ref> Standard & Poor's also believed that banks in the Philippines are not yet prepared for the tougher competition that would result from the integration. In one of its latest publications, S&P said banks in the country, although profitable and stable, operate on a much smaller scale than their counterparts in the region.<ref name=PhilStar />

The [[US Chamber of Commerce]] has highlighted widespread concern that the much-anticipated AEC could not be launched by the 2015 deadline.<ref name=AmCham>{{cite book|last1=McNutt|first1=Thomas H|title=ASEAN Business Outlook Survey 2015|date=2014|publisher=US Chamber of Commerce|location=Singapore|pages=56|url=https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/asean_business_outlook_survey_2015.pdf |accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> In January 2014, former ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo C. Severino, wrote: "while ASEAN should not be condemned for its members' failure to make good on their commitments, any failure to deliver will likely lead to a loss of credibility and could mean that member states fall further behind in the global competition for export markets and foreign direct investment (FDI)".<ref name="EAF-20140131">{{cite news|last1=Severino|first1=Rodolfo C|title=Let's be honest about what ASEAN can and cannot do|url=http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/01/31/lets-be-honest-about-what-asean-can-and-cannot-do/|accessdate=10 May 2015|work=East Asia Forum|date=31 January 2014}}</ref> This is not the first time that AEC faces a probable delay. In 2012, the commencement of the AEC was postponed to 31 December 2015 from the original plan of 1 January. Despite Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan's firm reassurance that "[t]here will be no more delays and that all ten ASEAN countries will participate", even the most fervent proponents of AEC worried that AEC would not be delivered on time as December 2015 neared.<ref name= Xianbai>{{cite news|last1=Xianbai|first1=Ji|title= Why the ASEAN Economic Community Will Struggle|url=http://thediplomat.com/2014/09/why-the-asean-economic-community-will-struggle/| accessdate=12 May 2015|work= The Diplomat|date= 24 September 2014}}</ref>

An article published by ''[[Vietnam News]]'' echoed some of the challenges and opportunities that Vietnam faces in preparation for the AEC. The article said that the deputy head of the Import-Export Department under the [[Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam)|Ministry of Industry and Trade]], Tran Thanh Hai, was concerned about local enterprises' lack of knowledge of the AEC. It was said that 80% of local enterprises surveyed acknowledged that they have little information about the interests and challenges available for them in the ASEAN market. The article also noted that the general secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association, Chu Duc Khai, said that most of the local steel making enterprises lack information about doing business in the ASEAN market; they have not had a chance to study it, and have only exported small amounts of steel to ASEAN countries. Another challenge is the need to compete with other countries in the ASEAN market to export raw products since the country had mainly exported raw products.<ref>{{cite news|title=New ASEAN community offers export opportunities|url=http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/253874/new-asean-community-offers-export-opportunities.html|accessdate=12 May 2015|work=Vietnam News|date=19 April 2014}}</ref> The Asian Development Bank also has doubts about Cambodia's ability to meet the AEC deadline. The leading economist of ADB, Jayant Menon, said that Cambodia needs to speed up its customs reform and to press ahead with automating processes to reduce trade costs and minimise the opportunities for corruption and be ready for the implementation of its National Single Window by 2015.<ref name=Maierbrugger>{{cite news|last1=Maierbrugger|first1=Arno|title=Cambodia May Miss Date For ASEAN Economic Community|url=http://investvine.com/cambodia-may-miss-date-for-asean-economic-community/|accessdate=12 May 2015|work=Investvine|date=1 October 2014|archive-date=4 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904103518/http://investvine.com/cambodia-may-miss-date-for-asean-economic-community/|dead-url=yes}}</ref>

===Territorial disputes===
Several territorial disputes has affected the unity of ASEAN such as the [[Cambodian–Thai border dispute]] between [[Cambodia]] and Thailand, the [[North Borneo dispute]] between the Philippines and Malaysia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/27/1557213/binay-pursue-territorial-claim-sabah-if-elected|title=Binay to pursue territorial claim to Sabah if elected| first1= Helen | last1= Flores| first2= Alexis | last2= Romero| work=The Philippine Star|date=27 February 2016|accessdate=25 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325101019/http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/27/1557213/binay-pursue-territorial-claim-sabah-if-elected|archivedate= 25 March 2016|deadurl=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20000402&id=P1M1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZyUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2032,892348&hl=en|title=Marcos order: Destabilize, take Sabah|work=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=2 April 2000|accessdate=19 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/citing-militant-threats-on-sabah-bn-mp-tells-putrajaya-to-cut-diplomatic-ti|title=Citing militant threats on Sabah, BN MP tells Putrajaya to cut diplomatic ties to Manila|author= Yiswaree Palansamy|publisher=The Malay Mail|date=15 March 2016|accessdate=25 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325100426/http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/citing-militant-threats-on-sabah-bn-mp-tells-putrajaya-to-cut-diplomatic-ti|archivedate=25 March 2016|deadurl=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-asks-philippines/2565596.html|title=Malaysia asks Philippines not to threaten ties over Sabah claim| first= Sumisha | last= Naidu|publisher=Channel NewsAsia|date=2 March 2016|accessdate=25 March 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325095839/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-asks-philippines/2565596.html|archivedate=25 March 2016|deadurl=yes}}</ref> and the [[South China Sea dispute]] which includes Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, and possibly Indonesia.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/world/asia/indonesia-south-china-sea-military-buildup.html</ref>

==See also==
* [[ASEAN Smart Cities Network]]
* ASEAN Common Time
* [[ASEAN-India Car Rally 2012]]
* [[ASEAN Sculpture Garden]]
* [[Asian Monetary Unit]]
* [[Asia Pacific Forum]]
* [[International Motor Insurance Card System#Blue card system|Blue card system]] – ASEAN motor insurance scheme
* [[Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia]]
* [[List of ASEAN countries by GDP (nominal)]]
* [[List of country groupings]]
* [[List of multilateral free-trade agreements]]
* [[Mekong-Ganga Cooperation]]
* Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
* [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation]]

==Notes==
{{notelist
| notes =
{{efn
| name = adress
| Address: Jalan Sisingamangaraja No.70A, [[South Jakarta]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASEAN Centres & Facilities |url=http://www.asean.org/asean/asean-centres-facilities |website=ASEAN |publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations |accessdate=16 September 2015}}</ref>
}}
}}