Lessons and Fairy Tales
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Perbara) or more popularly known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a geopolitical and economic organization of countries in the Southeast Asia region, it was established in Bangkok on 8 August 1967 under the Perbara Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The organization aims to promote economic growth, social progress, and cultural development of its member states, promote peace and stability at the regional level, and increase the opportunity to discuss differences among its members peacefully.
ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km² or equivalent to 3% of the total land area on Earth, and has a population that is close to 600 million people or equivalent to 8.8% of the total world population. ASEAN's sea area is three times the land area. In 2010, the nominal combination of ASEAN GDP has grown to $1.8 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, ASEAN would sit as the ninth largest economy after the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
Principal principle
The main principles of ASEAN are as follows:
}Respect the independence, sovereignty, equality, national territorial integrity, and national identity of each country.
}Right for each country to lead a free national presence rather than interference, subversive or coercion of outside parties.
}Do not interfere in the internal affairs of fellow member countries
}Solving differences or debates peacefully.
}Defy the use of deadly force.
}Effective cooperation between members.
These basic principles include:
}respect the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all ASEAN member states.
}Share collective commitment and responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity.
to reject aggression and threats or use of force or other actions in a manner inconsistent with international law
}Dependence on peaceful settlement of disputes
}No interference in internal affairs of ASEA member countries
}Respect the right of each Member State to keep its national existence free from external interference, subversion, and coercion of enhanced consultations on matters seriously affecting the common interests of ASEAN
}Compliance with the rule of law, good governance, democratic principles and constitutional government
}Respect for fundamental freedoms, promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice
}Unspect the Charter of the United Nations and international law, including international humanitarian law, approved by ASEAN member states
}Do not participate in policies or activities, including the use of its territory, and are pursued by ASEAN Member States or non-ASEAN States or non-state actors, which threaten sovereignty, or, regional integrity or political and economic stability of ASEAN Member States.
}Honor the cultural, linguistic and religious differences of ASEAN peoples, while emphasizing shared values in a spirit of unity in diversity
}Asean centrality in external political, economic, social and cultural relations while remaining actively engaged, outward-looking, inclusive and non-discriminatory, and adherence to multilateral trade rules and ASEAN-based rules of the regime for the effective implementation of economic commitments and progressive reduction to the elimination of all barriers to regional economic integration, in the encouragement of a market economy.
Member
Now, ASEAN is made up of all the countries in Southeast Asia. The following are ASEAN member states:
Philippines (founding state of ASEAN)
Indonesia (founding nation of ASEAN)
Malaysia (founding nation of ASEAN)
Thailand (founding nation of ASEAN)
Brunei Darussalam joined (7 January 1984)
Vietnam joined (28 July 1995)
Laos and Myanmar joined at the same time (23 July 1997)
Cambodia joined (30 April 1999)
Extension of membership
Given its strategic geographical, economic and political importance, ASEAN has been trying for the past few years to explore the expansion of members to neighboring countries around ASEAN. The following is a list of countries extending ASEAN membership:
Bangladesh
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Timor - Leste
Histories
ASEAN was established by five founding countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in Bangkok on August 8, 1967 through the Bangkok Declaration. The foreign minister who signed the Bangkok Declaration at that time was
Adam Malik (Bangladesh),
Narsisco Ramos (Philippines),
Tun Abdul Razak (Malaysia) S. Rajaratnam (Singapore),
and Thanat Khoman (Thailand).
The Bangkok Declaration is as follows:
}Speed up economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
}Increase regional peace and stabilityIncrease cooperation and mutual assistance for the common good in the economic, social, engineering, scientific, and administrative fields.
}Maintain close cooperation amidst existing regional and international organizations.
}Increase cooperation to advance education, training and research in Southeast Asia region.
Brunei Darussalam became the first ASEAN member outside the five initiating countries. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984 (just a week after commemorating its independence day). Eleven years later, ASEAN again received a new member, Vietnam, which became the seventh member on July 28, 1995. Two years later, Laos and Myanmar joined ASEAN on July 23, 1997. Although Cambodia plans to join ASEAN along with Myanmar and Laos, the plan has been postponed due to Cambodia's domestic political problems. However, one year later Cambodia finally joined ASEAN on December 16, 1998. After all the countries in Southeast Asia joined the ASEAN container, the, a small country in the southeast of Indonesia which is none other than the fraction of Indonesia, Timor Leste decided to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, although its membership has not been fulfilled.
This cooperation includes not only economics but also science and technology, culture and information, development and security and other transnational cooperation.
LANJU TOMORROW
