ASEAN Kristen Huang 4B

"One vision, one identity, one community" -Association of SouthEast Asian Nations -Initiated after Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand signed the ASEAN Declaration (aka Bangkok Declaration) -Has grown dramatically since initiation

Important Documents 1. ASEAN (Bangkok) Declaration 2. Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) 3. ASEAN Charter 4. ASEAN Vision Almost all start with key words: cognizant, anxious, conscious, affirming, considering

ASEAN Declaration -foundation of the organization -lists the guidelines for what ASEAN stands for as a collective decision-making body, and how to carry out the organization's purposes -sets the standard for Southeast Asian countries that wish to join

Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) -for the founding member states only, to bind closer together -use interdependence as strength -keep national sovereignty -support equality -accelerate economic growth -act to benefit mutually -strengthen one, strengthen all

ASEAN Charter -created December 15, mainly about the legal matters and institutions within ASEAN -put new functions in place within ASEAN

ASEAN Vision made 30 years after creation of ASEAN in sets future goals -equality -mutual benefits -peaceful; free of nuclear weapons

Age & Member States of ASEAN 1. Created 45 years ago on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand 2. Other Member States: 10 total -Brunei Darussalam, 1/7/1984 -Viet Nam, 7/28/1995 -Lao PDR, 7/23/1997 -Myanmar, 7/23/1997 -Cambodia, 4/30/1999

Purposes -encourage rapid economic growth -uphold peace and stability through justice; subservient to UN Charter -promote the similar interests and cultures -keep in touch with similar organizations -provide assistance to fellow member states

Membership -10 nations total -High Contracting Parties: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines -Member States: Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia -each nation sends representatives -the chairman of ASEAN rotates through the member states according to the English spelling of the name

Advantages of Membership -AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area): lowers tariffs, increases and encourages economic growth -support of fellow member states; unified -garnered peace and stability -continually checks itself to make sure that it does not become a dominating force

Disadvantages of Membership -often criticized for having "soft law" documents on dealing with human rights violations -documents do nothing to protect actual human rights

International Impact CHINA: established FTA RUSSIA: maintains good relations, diplomat participates in meetings, though not a member, joint declaration EU: cooperates with EEC, joint declaration, Nuremberg Declaration

International Impact UNITED STATES: broad discussion topics, concentrated on security and politics, joint declaration UNDP: dialogue partner, deep integration

Works Cited ASEAN. "The Official Website of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations." The Official Website of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN. Web. Mar Severino, Rodolfo. ASEAN. Web. 22 Mar Tan, Hsien-Li. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. Google Books. Web. 22 Mar