ASEAN Explained: Asia's Version of the European Union? - TLDR News
Summary
TLDRASEAN, established in 1967, is an economic and political union of 10 Southeast Asian nations aimed at fostering regional stability and cooperation. Initially, it faced challenges due to mutual suspicions but later evolved, signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 1976. This led to economic prosperity, with GDP growth averaging 15% annually from 1976 to 1982. ASEAN expanded in the 80s and 90s, adopting a non-interference policy. However, recent events like the Rohingya crisis and Myanmar's military coup have tested this policy, with ASEAN taking unprecedented steps to address internal issues, reflecting a potential shift in its approach to regional governance.
Takeaways
- 🌏 ASEAN is an economic union of 10 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- 🔄 ASEAN was preceded by ASA and MAFALINDO, which were earlier attempts at regional cooperation that didn't last long due to national interests and mutual suspicions.
- 🗓️ ASEAN was established in 1967 with the signing of the Declaration of Bangkok, aiming to promote economic cooperation and regional peace and security.
- 🏛️ The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in 1976 was a significant revamp for ASEAN, introducing a framework for dispute settlements and expanding cooperation to include national resilience.
- 📈 ASEAN has been successful in maintaining regional stability and fostering economic growth, with an average annual GDP growth of 15% from 1976 to 1982.
- 📊 The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in 1992 aimed to eliminate internal tariffs between member states, but without a common external tariff.
- 📋 The ASEAN Charter in 2007 aimed to create a single market for the region, although ASEAN's influence was still limited by its non-interference policy.
- 🚫 ASEAN's non-interference policy has been challenged, particularly in response to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and the military coup.
- 🛑 In October 2021, ASEAN took a significant step by disinviting Myanmar from its annual summit, marking a potential shift in its non-interference stance.
- 🤔 ASEAN is at a crossroads, needing to decide whether to maintain its non-interference policy or take a more active role in regional issues like the situation in Myanmar.
Q & A
What is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)?
-ASEAN is an economic union between 10 Southeast Asian countries aimed at promoting economic cooperation and regional peace and security.
What were the initial countries that formed ASEAN?
-The initial countries that formed ASEAN in 1967 were Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore.
What was the purpose of the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA)?
-ASA was founded in 1961 with the purpose of creating peace and ensuring regional stability, particularly against the rise of communist influences in the region.
Why did ASA collapse in 1963?
-ASA collapsed due to territorial disputes, such as Malaysia's claim over Sabah, and the differing national interests of member countries.
What was the significance of the Declaration of Bangkok in 1967?
-The Declaration of Bangkok marked the creation of ASEAN, with the aim of promoting economic cooperation and regional peace and security among Southeast Asian nations.
What were the original objectives of ASEAN?
-The original objectives of ASEAN were to encourage economic cooperation and promote regional peace and security, although they were quite vague and did not include a single market or military alliance.
How did the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) change ASEAN?
-The TAC expanded ASEAN's objectives to include cooperation on matters of national resilience (security matters), established a high council for dispute settlements, and allowed for the integration of other Southeast Asian states.
What economic achievement did ASEAN experience from 1976 to 1982?
-From 1976 to 1982, the cumulative GDP of ASEAN member states grew from $91.1 billion to $211.9 billion, reflecting an average annual growth of 15 percent.
What was the significance of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in 1992?
-AFTA aimed to eliminate internal tariffs between ASEAN members, promoting a free market economy, but it did not establish a common external tariff.
How has ASEAN's policy of non-interference been challenged?
-ASEAN's policy of non-interference has been challenged by events such as the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and the military coup, leading to the exclusion of Myanmar from the annual summit in 2021.
What is the current dilemma facing ASEAN regarding its non-interference policy?
-ASEAN is at a crossroads, needing to decide whether to maintain its non-interference policy or intervene more heavily in situations like the military coup in Myanmar, which could entail more responsibilities and difficult conversations about its relation with national governments.
Outlines
🌏 Introduction to ASEAN and its Historical Context
This paragraph provides an introduction to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an economic union consisting of ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It explains the origins of ASEAN, which was preceded by the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) formed in 1961 to foster peace and regional stability amidst rising communist influences. The paragraph describes the collapse of ASA in 1963 and its replacement by Mafilindo, a short-lived alliance between Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Despite these early setbacks, ASEAN was officially founded on August 8, 1967, by representatives from five countries—Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore—during the Bangkok Declaration. Initially, ASEAN’s objectives were vague, focusing on economic cooperation and regional peace, with limited practical outcomes due to internal suspicions and conflicts.
📈 ASEAN’s Evolution and Economic Growth
This paragraph discusses ASEAN’s gradual development and its role in ensuring regional stability despite internal conflicts and suspicions among member states. It highlights the impact of communist threats in the region, such as the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the fall of Saigon, which led to a restructuring of ASEAN at the Bali Conference in 1976. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) was introduced, allowing other Southeast Asian states to join, establishing a council for dispute settlement, and expanding cooperation on security matters. The paragraph also notes ASEAN’s relative political stability compared to its neighbors, leading to significant economic growth from 1976 to 1982, with GDP increasing from $91.1 billion to $211.9 billion. It describes the expansion of ASEAN in the 1980s with Brunei joining in 1984, followed by the signing of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in 1992. Further expansion included Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, leading to the signing of the ASEAN Charter in 2007, aiming to create a single market.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡ASEAN
💡Economic Union
💡Regional Stability
💡Communist Influences
💡Declaration of Bangkok
💡Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC)
💡Non-Interference Policy
💡ASEAN Charter
💡Rohingya Crisis
💡Myanmar Military Coup
💡Crossroads
Highlights
ASEAN is an economic union between 10 Southeast Asian countries.
ASEAN was preceded by ASA, a smaller union between Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
ASA was founded in 1961 to create peace and ensure regional stability.
ASEAN was established in 1967 with the Declaration of Bangkok.
Original objectives of ASEAN were vague, focusing on economic cooperation and regional peace.
ASEAN's early years were marked by mutual suspicion between member states.
ASEAN held together due to shared concerns over the rise of communist insurgencies.
The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) was signed in 1976, revamping ASEAN's structure.
TAC included provisions for the integration of other Southeast Asian states.
ASEAN expanded to include cooperation on national resilience and security matters.
ASEAN member states enjoyed relative political stability and became a leading voice on trade and security.
From 1976 to 1982, ASEAN's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 15%.
ASEAN's membership expanded in the 1980s with Brunei joining in 1984.
The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) was signed in 1992, eliminating internal tariffs.
Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia joined ASEAN in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The ASEAN Charter was signed in 2007, aiming to create a single market for the region.
ASEAN has a policy of non-interference in member states' internal affairs.
ASEAN's non-interference policy was challenged by the Rohingya crisis and the Myanmar military coup.
In 2021, ASEAN disinvited Myanmar from its annual summit for the first time.
ASEAN is at a crossroads, deciding whether to maintain non-interference or intervene in Myanmar.
Transcripts
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anyway let's get straight into it the
association of southeast asian nations
or asean is an economic union between 10
southeast asian countries they are in
alphabetical order brunei cambodia
indonesia laos malaysia myanmar the
philippines singapore thailand and
vietnam asean was preceded by the
association of southeast asia otherwise
known as asa which was a smaller union
between thailand the philippines and
malaya which in 1963 would become
integrated into malaysia
asa was founded in 1961 with the purpose
of creating peace and ensuring regional
stability
at the time many countries in southeast
asia were struggling to contain national
communist influences the filipino
government was struggling with the
communist hook balahap the indonesian
government was struggling with the
indonesian communist party and malaysia
was struggling with the sarawak
communist insurgency and they decided
that they stood a better chance of
ensuring stability if they cooperated
with one another asa eventually
collapsed in 1963 after malaysia claimed
sarbag as part of malaysia in the
malaysia agreement before being replaced
by mafalindo which was composed of
malaysia the philippines and indonesia
again mafilindo didn't really last
largely because each country emphasized
its own national interest and the plan
sort of petered out by 1965.
despite these two previous failures in
1967 representatives from five southeast
asian countries malaysia indonesia
thailand the philippines and singapore
met in bangkok to discuss a southeast
asian union where they signed the
declaration of bangkok on august the 8th
creating asean now originally asean's
objectives were pretty vague it was
about encouraging economic cooperation
and promoting regional peace and
security but there wasn't anything
particularly substantial no single
market or any sort of military alliance
not much happened for the first 10 years
or so in part thanks to a confusing and
overlapping committee structure and the
fact that countries only met once a year
but mainly because there were mutual
suspicion between various member states
the philippines were still unhappy about
saba malaysia was supporting muslim
separationists in thailand while
thailand was providing refuge for
malaysian communist party insurgents and
there were suspicions that singapore
which was at the time 75 ethnically
chinese would turn into a third china
supporting communist insurgencies in the
region
nonetheless asean held together because
whatever suspicions they had against one
another the asean countries were more
worried about the rise of communist
insurgencies in the region especially
vietnam these anxieties were exacerbated
by the then popular domino theory of
communist geopolitics which implied that
the successful communist takeover of
vietnam would guarantee a similar fate
for other countries in the region and
while asean didn't have any real powers
it did help its member states overcome
their various disagreements and avoid
outright conflict with one another given
that the rest of southeast asia was in
almost constant political turmoil the
region is sometimes described as the
balkans of the east this was a real
achievement anyway you get the point for
the first 10 years or so asean did a
pretty good job of ensuring regional
stability even if it didn't make any
formal changes to its members relations
nonetheless after the rise of the
communist khmer rouge in cambodia and
the fall of saigon in 1975 its members
decided that asean could do with a
revamp at the bali conference in 1976
asean revamped its committee structure
and more importantly signed the treaty
of amity and cooperation otherwise known
as the tac
the tac had three important components
first it included the proviso that the
treaty shall be open for a session by
other states in southeast asia which
eventually led to the integration of
cambodia laos myanmar and vietnam
second it established a ministerial
level high council for dispute
settlements and third it expanded asean
to include cooperation on matters of
national resilience which was a sort of
diplomatic euphemism for security
matters
there was also a plan for a free trade
area but nothing really came of it
anyway over the next few years asean
member states unlike their regional
neighbors enjoyed relative political
stability and asean became the region's
leading voice on trade and security
issues political stability enabled
sustained economic prosperity and
according to the world bank data from
1976 until 1982 the cumulative gdp of
asean member states went from 91.1
billion dollars to
211.9 billion dollars amounting to a
seriously impressive average annual
growth of 15 percent unsurprisingly
asean became the coolest club in
southeast asia
and in the 80s its membership started
expanding
in 1984 after gaining independence from
the united kingdom brunei became asean's
sixth member
in 1992 convinced by the merits of a
free market economy the asean member
states signed the asean free trade
agreement otherwise known as afta which
involved the elimination of internal
tariffs between asean members but
importantly no common external tariff
which meant that asean member states
could set whatever tariffs they want for
non-asean imports in 1995 after the cold
war and a national transition from a
planned economy to what was then known
as a mixed economy vietnam joined the
group followed quickly by laos and
myanmar in 1997 and cambodia in 1999. in
2007 asean member states signed the
asean charter with the aim of creating a
single market for the region's 650
million or so people which would be the
world's largest
nonetheless asean was still relatively
toothless and it did have a firm policy
of non-interference which essentially
meant that it couldn't get involved in
member states internal affairs
interestingly this policy has been
challenged recently by the ongoing
genocide of rohingya muslims and the
military coup in myanmar
you can't really have a policy of
non-interference when one of your member
states is committing genocide and
oppressing its people because well it
looks weak which is why in october 2021
for the first time asean disinvited one
of its member states by refusing to
involve myanmar in its annual summit
while this might not sound like much it
has seriously undermined the legitimacy
of myanmar's military junta and in the
eyes of the international community and
it marks a turning point in asean's
neutral non-interference policy so
that's a quick tldr history of asean all
in all asean is interesting because it
doesn't really have any legal powers
it's essentially just a forum for
southeast asian countries
nonetheless asean has political weight
and that matters despite its limited
legal powers asean has successfully
maintained relative peace amongst its
member states for an impressively long
time and might be able to stop the chaos
in myanmar sometime soon
however asean is currently at a
crossroads it has to decide whether it
wants to stick with the tried and tested
non-interference policy and stand by
while the military junta tightens its
grip on power or scrap the
non-interference policy and intervene
more heavily in myanmar even if that
entails more responsibilities and
difficult conversations about the
relation between asean and national
governments anyway what do you think
should asean do more or is that a
problem for myanmar and myanmar alone
let us know your thoughts in the
comments below
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