The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.
AIMS AND PURPOSES
As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:
To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;
To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;
To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
In their relations with one another, the ASEAN Member States have adopted the following fundamental principles, as contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of 1976:
Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations;
The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion;
Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;
Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;
Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and
Effective cooperation among themselves.
ASEAN COMMUNITY
The ASEAN Vision 2020, adopted by the ASEAN Leaders on the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN, agreed on a shared vision of ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies.
At the 9th ASEAN Summit in 2003, the ASEAN Leaders resolved that an ASEAN Community shall be established.
At the 12th ASEAN Summit in January 2007, the Leaders affirmed their strong commitment to accelerate the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 and signed the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.
The ASEAN Community is comprised of three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Each pillar has its own Blueprint, and, together with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Strategic Framework and IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), they form the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015.
Please click here for the ASEAN Political-Security Community Video.
Please click here for the ASEAN Economic Community Video.
Please click here for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Video.
Please click here for ASEAN History and Purposes.
ASEAN CHARTER
The ASEAN Charter serves as a firm foundation in achieving the ASEAN Community by providing legal status and institutional framework for ASEAN. It also codifies ASEAN norms, rules and values; sets clear targets for ASEAN; and presents accountability and compliance.
The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008. A gathering of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to mark this very historic occasion for ASEAN.
With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter, ASEAN will henceforth operate under a new legal framework and establish a number of new organs to boost its community-building process.
In effect, the ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among the 10 ASEAN Member States.
Find out more about the ASEAN Charter here.
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Recent discussions between the US State Department and the Democratic Republic covered several topics dealing with political security, economics, social-cultural issues and the significance of a US-ASEAN strategic partnership. The US-ASEAN summit aimed to strengthen relations. The participants reaffirmed commitments to maintaining partnerships, peaceful resolution of disputes, participation in denuclearization negotiations amongst ASEAN nations and UN sanctions implementation. Also, encouraging was ASEAN countries wellness to discuss providing opportunities for woman and girls to gain access to education and training.
https://www.state.gov/33rd-u-s-asean-dialogue-strengthening-u-s-asean-relations/
I am not particularly familiar with ASEAN, nevertheless this was an interesting read. Correct me if I am wrong, but from my understanding it appears the charter was not in force until several decades after the association was originally established. If my understanding is correct it is impressive that 10 states were able to maintain a relationship for so long without a formal charter. Although, based on the discussion it does not appear to be especially unified. It appears that the members of ASEAN would have a better chance at becoming a larger global influence if they were able to cooperate with each other and look back at the goals they established in the charter as well as utilizing what other charters are finding to be successful for maintaining peace.
As a few of my colleagues pointed out, NATO and ASEAN have many similarities in their goals (specifically promoting stability and peace in their region). Since the United Nations was founded prior to both of these regional associations it appears to be an easy starting point for establishing one's own charter considering the member states overlap. Due to the overlap, ASEAN member states must adhere to the UN charter (similar to NATO) leading to the similarities we see between the two charters.
I really enjoy the parallels in power dynamics between NATO and ASEAN. With NATO, you see the power of major players, such as the US, through the power dynamic and influence of NATO off balance. This is similar to ASEAN and the power of China. Essentially, nothing in ASEAN is done without the influence of China. This is why I believe ASEAN lacks a lot of power and accreditation that other NGOs have.
I think this document is interesting given the historical context of these states and the region. The only two states in this agreement I have studied in any depth are Bangladesh and Myanmar, so this agreement is interesting to get more information on. Like other people have said, this agreement seems to have very similar goals to NATO and seeks to promote stability and cooperation in the region. This being said, it is disheartening to see the lack of policy action that has come out of the body to assist the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. It was a topic up for discussion in late July at their yearly summit, and still, nothing has been done. Other member states have gone so far as to reject asylum-seeking Rohingya people at their borders and coastlines, sending them back to their oppressive origin. This human rights atrocity is being blatantly ignored, regardless of their commitment to promote security and stability in the region. Obviously, this one lack of action does not negate the rest of the work they have done but for a conflict that has gone on so long and has been so bloody is hard to ignore.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/7/22/asean-can-no-longer-turn-a-blind-eye-to-myanmars-atrocities/?gb=true
ASEAN was very interesting to learn about. The purpose of ASEAN aligns similarly with NATO. Both serve the purpose of maintaining peace and stability in their regions. They both stress the importance of nuclear free zones and the assurance of their peoples living in a peaceful environment. NATO and ASEAN stressed the importance of cooperation and the idea of furthering the ideas of democracy. ASEAN take the stance that they serve a purpose of maintaining a proactive role in the region as well. The principles of this alliance align with NATO’s as well. I think the ability for members to respect each other’s independence, sovereignty, and territory is super important in any alliance. The stance of being resilient of peaceful settlements of disputes and sharing a commitment for enhancing peace is a basic value that every alliance should uphold. With the creation ASEAN and NATO, and the great number of similarities between them, I wonder if they would be able to work together on some aspects of global peace. Membership in NATO and ASEAN seem to be similar as well except a stipulation that is present in NATO’s membership which is a Democratic Nation that aligns with their values is not present in ASEANs’. The community councils seem to embody what @Jay Rosato, @Madeline Smith and I talked about with NATO. My colleagues and I brought up that maybe NATO would be better served with subcommittees. That was a very interesting concept which seemed to have worked for this alliance which begs the question if this is working for ASEAN why does NATO not implement it?
I think that it is interesting that social progress and justice are mentioned in this document. One would expect that the ASEAN countries would have condemned Myanmar for the recent Rohingya genocide but it went largely ignored by the ASEAN community. However, now ASEAN members have to deal with the influx of Rohingya refugees due to attacks in Myanmar on their villages. One can also look at the human rights violations committed under President Duterte, who natably ran on a strict "tough-on-crime" platform. It is fascinating to see what makes the EU's and NATO's human rights policies successful whereas many other supranational organizations have failed to keep each other in check. In my opinion, I think that because the EU started with a focus on community and economic revival after World War II, it allowed the member countries to build a rapport with each other. In many other supranational organizations, I do not believe there is the same level of closeness with the other member states resulting in a reluctance to disrupt the peace by calling for improved human rights standards.
I’ve noticed some parallels between ASEAN and NATO in their documentation. Both organizations have a dedication to, promoting regional peace and stability. NATO is focused on the regional security of the member states. ASEAN has the same desire with their intergovernmental organization. I noticed that ASEAN was founded almost 20-years after NATO was in 1949. Both NATO and ASEAN also have a focus on technological training and information sharing. I found that like NATO, ASEAN has a cybersecurity directive with their own operations. I found a copy of the 2015 ASEAN Cybersecurity Cooperation Strategy online. I have linked that below. ASEAN has unique challenges presented in cyber. The straits of Malacca interacts with four different ASEAN countries. The straits of Malacca are vital to international shipping and have become a point of contention for China and ASEAN nations. Cyber attacks targeting the onshore networks of the straits of Malacca could cripple international trade. The ships passing through the straits also maintain a cyber risk as the ships themselves can carry cyber based infections.
https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/14-TELMIN-17-JMS_adopted.pdf