DOCSLIB.ORG

The Philippines and ASEAN- Building Synergies

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Philippines and ASEAN- Building Synergies The Philippines and ASEAN- Building Synergies Yogendra Kumar107 Abstract The Philippines has been a founding member of the ASEAN which came into existence in 1967 at the height of the Cold War and US’s deep military engagement in Vietnam. With Philippines history of close ties with the US, and being an ally during the Cold War, this Organization came into existence to meet the external and internal ‘Communist’ threat. It charts the history of Philippines-ASEAN relationship, in the evolving geopolitics up to the current period, and the ups and downs of that relationship. These ups and downs are attributable to both a certain ‘insularity’ due to its unique historical background and also the inadequacies of ASEAN’s economic integration and in the protection of its vital national interests. The article examines the geopolitical pressures, as epitomized by the South China Sea tensions, on the ASEAN as it pursues its objectives of maintaining its ‘centrality’ in the regional strategic framework whilst adhering to the ‘ASEAN Way’ of seeking consensus on issues critical to its geopolitical relevance. In that context, the Philippines role and its expectations from this Organization are examined, especially in regard to the intensifying geo-political rivalry in the region. Keywords- Philippines, ASEAN, culture, SEATO, ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus), East Asia Summit, intra- ASEAN trade, South China Sea, Manila Summit The Philippines, a unitary sovereign state and archipelagic country in south-east Asia and consisting of about 7641 islands, is situated in the Western Pacific Ocean bound by the South China Sea in the west, the Philippines Sea in the east and the Celebes Sea in the south-west, sharing maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south. It has an area of over 300,000 km² and a population, as of August, 2015, of 100.98 million108. 107 Ambassador Yogendra Kumar is former Indian Ambassador to Philippines and a well-known author. 108 Philippines Statistics Authority, www.psa.gov.ph, accessed on 2 December, 2017. Having multiple ethnic groups, going back to the beginning of history, the Philippines islands have seen successive migrations from the neighboring islands, including transmission of cultural influences from the Indian peninsula via the Indonesian archipelago109; these were Hinduism, Buddhism and, later on, around 1300s, Islam. The country was colonized by the Spanish and, in 1543, the Spanish explorer, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, named the archipelago Philippines islands (‘Las Islas Filipinas’) in honor of Philip II of Spain. For nearly 300 years it was ruled, indirectly, from Mexico and later, directly, from Spain. Following the American-Spanish war (April- August 1898), the US exercised sovereignty except for a brief period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War. The Philippines became independent in 1946 from the US although its special relationship with the US continues, in different forms, even today which is manifest in special security, economic and cultural relationships as well as in the presence of a large Filipino diaspora in the US. As a result of this history and in contrast with other fellow, ethnically kindred, south-east Asian countries, it is overwhelmingly Christian, primarily Roman Catholic, with other religions forming a small part of its religious fabric. Its Muslim community110, living mostly in the southern territories, belongs to the Sunni faith overwhelmingly and different sections of the Muslim community have, since the time of the Spanish colonization, been frequently in conflict with the central armed forces; most recent instance has been the Abu Sayyaf/’Islamic State’ fight with the Philippines Armed Forces over the control for the southern Marawi city which ended in October, 2017, in the victory for the latter. Although generously endowed with abundant agricultural resources and bio-diversity, agriculture accounts for 14% of GDP and 30% of the labor force, the manufacturing sector employs around 14% of the workforce accounting for 30% of GDP whereas the services sector accounts for 47% of the workforce and 56% of GDP. In 2016, the estimated GDP (nominal) was US$ 305 billion111. Its primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, 109 According to Filipino historian, Ambeth Ocampo, the word ‘Manila’, the name of country's national capital, is a combination of Filipino and Sanskrit words meaning 'There is indigo (Sanskrit word is ‘neel’ for 'Indigo'). The earliest archaeological evidence in the country, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dated 21 April, 900 AD, speaks of a polity using the Saka Calendar which is the official calendar of India today. 110 They are called ‘Moros’, a name given by the Spanish conquerors on account of their religion like the Muslim community on the Iberian Peninsula which was, in that historical period, mostly from Morocco. 111 International Monetary Fund, Country Report No. 17/334, www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/CR/2017/cr17334.ashx, accessed on 3 December, 2017. petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits et cetera; its major export partners, in 2016, were Japan (20.8%), US (15.5%), Hong Kong (11.7%), China (11%), Singapore (6.6%) and Germany (4.1%)112. Its imports include electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals, plastic et cetera; its major import partners, in 2016, were China (17.3%), Japan (11.1%), US (8.4%), Thailand (7.3%), South Korea (6.1%), Singapore (6.1%), and Indonesia (5.1%)113. The economy is heavily reliant upon remittances from overseas Filipinos surpassing even foreign direct investment; as of 2014114, overseas Filipino workers, dispersed practically all over the world but concentrated in the US, Middle East and Southeast Asia, contribute 10% to its GDP making them the third largest contributors in this category, in dollar terms, in the world after India and China. These broad national features continue to determine the country’s external outlook. PHILIPPINES & ASEAN – A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The Philippines historical legacy has led to a close relationship with the US and the other US allies, both in the region and outside. Although the US military bases, during the period of the Cold War, have ended, under a new arrangement US forces ‘rotate’ through certain bases under the current US policy of ‘rebalance’ against China in the region. During the Cold War period, its approach towards its neighbours was based on countering Soviet and Chinese influence through credible US military presence; the complications with the neighbours have been on account of its Exclusive Economic Zone claims, sovereignty claims over the Spratlys land features and dispute over Sabah state in northern Borneo (Malaysia)115. ASEAN, formed in August 1967 by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, existed concurrently with the US-led anti-communist alliance called the South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and had a similar anti-communist orientation aiming for cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and technical fields. The ASEAN, in its early years, espoused the region to be a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality to ward off superpower rivalry; at its first summit, in Bali in February 1976 in the 112 Central Intelligence Agency. November 2017. The World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html. Accessed on 3 December, 2017 113 Ibid. 114 The World Bank Group, Migration and Remittances Fact Book 2016. Third Edition. https://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934- 1199807908806/4549025-1450455807487/Factbookpart1.pdf, accessed on 2 December, 2017. 115 Rinn-Sup Shinn. 1984. “Government and Politics”, in Philippines, a country study, edited by Frederica M. Bunge. p. 224. Washington: The American University. aftermath of the communist victories in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos following US withdrawal from Vietnam, these five countries signed a treaty of amity and cooperation and agreed on other measures for regional cooperation116. Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia in 1979 further contributed to the cohesion of the ASEAN; that sense of common purpose found its validation in 1987 when Brunei, barely a week into its independence, became the grouping’s sixth member. With the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Cambodian occupation issue was resolved paving the way for the admission of Vietnam into ASEAN in 1995. The fellow communist country, Laos joined in 1997 along with – until then, under a ‘bamboo curtain’ of its own – Myanmar, followed by Cambodia in 1999. That is its current composition with pending membership applications from Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. As the Cold War ended leading to diminished interest and presence of the US in South-East Asia, the resultant power vacuum began to be filled in, institutionally speaking, by a structured organization like the ASEAN, a process facilitated by the membership of the regional communist countries which were the very cause for the organization to come into existence in the first place; it was also part of a global pattern of the growth and strengthening of regional organizations in different parts the world with the US as the global hegemon. Its institutional evolution phase also provided an early experience – and, a certain comfort level – for China, already transformed post-Deng Xiaoping reforms and, even, feeling international pressure on account of the Tiananmen atrocity (1989), to be an active player in regional multilateralism. Emerging as a leading regional voice on security, political and economic issues, ASEAN developed a sophisticated internal structure, close dialogue partnerships balancing between major powers and engaging with countries and organizations around the world. Crystallizing a distinct ASEAN identity – and, the ‘ASEAN Way’ of dispute resolution – the organization’s external policy stance is to underline its centrality in the regional structures in the Asia- Pacific and to it being in the ‘driving seat’ in the international efforts to shape them.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lao PDR's Way Into the ASEAN Single Market
    Lao PDR’s Way into the ASEAN Single Market The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) ‘AEC 2015’ – what does it mean? Towards the ASEAN Community: ASEAN has been founded in The year 2015 marks the formal establishment of the AEC. 1967, the ASEAN Free Trade Area has been established in 1992 ‘Launching the AEC’ is a major milestone that will allow ASEAN and Lao PDR became a member in 1997. The ASEAN integration to foster a common identity and create momentum for further process intensified since 2003: at the 9th ASEAN Summit, ASEAN economic integration, relying on strong regional frameworks. Member States (AMS) decided to establish the ASEAN communi- Declaring the AEC operational, however, is not the final culmina- ty, which includes the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the tion of the ASEAN economic integration process: ASEAN integra- ASEAN Political-Security Community (ASPSC), and the ASEAN tion is an on-going, dynamic process that will continue beyond Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). 2015, as emphasized in the new AEC Blueprint 2025. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC): The AEC will be estab- Progress and Achievements in the Implemen- lished in 2015. The ASEAN Leaders adopted the AEC Blueprint at tation of the AEC the 13th ASEAN Summit in 2007 in Singapore, to serve as a coher- ent master plan guiding the establishment of the AEC. The AEC ASEAN has endorsed 3 main agreements in order to create the Blueprint 2015 envisions four pillars for economic integration: Single Market: the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in 2010, the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) in 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Reflections on Agoncilloʼs the Revolt of the Masses and the Politics of History
    Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 49, No. 3, December 2011 Reflections on Agoncilloʼs The Revolt of the Masses and the Politics of History Reynaldo C. ILETO* Abstract Teodoro Agoncilloʼs classic work on Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan revolt of 1896 is framed by the tumultuous events of the 1940s such as the Japanese occupation, nominal independence in 1943, Liberation, independence from the United States, and the onset of the Cold War. Was independence in 1946 really a culmination of the revolution of 1896? Was the revolution spearheaded by the Communist-led Huk movement legitimate? Agoncilloʼs book was written in 1947 in order to hook the present onto the past. The 1890s themes of exploitation and betrayal by the propertied class, the rise of a plebeian leader, and the revolt of the masses against Spain, are implicitly being played out in the late 1940s. The politics of hooking the present onto past events and heroic figures led to the prize-winning manuscriptʼs suppression from 1948 to 1955. Finally seeing print in 1956, it provided a novel and timely reading of Bonifacio at a time when Rizalʼs legacy was being debated in the Senate and as the Church hierarchy, priests, intellectuals, students, and even general public were getting caught up in heated controversies over national heroes. The circumstances of how Agoncilloʼs work came to the attention of the author in the 1960s are also discussed. Keywords: Philippine Revolution, Andres Bonifacio, Katipunan society, Cold War, Japanese occupation, Huk rebellion, Teodoro Agoncillo, Oliver Wolters Teodoro Agoncilloʼs The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan is one of the most influential books on Philippine history.
    [Show full text]
  • Colonial Contractions: the Making of the Modern Philippines, 1565–1946
    Colonial Contractions: The Making of the Modern Philippines, 1565–1946 Colonial Contractions: The Making of the Modern Philippines, 1565–1946 Vicente L. Rafael Subject: Southeast Asia, Philippines, World/Global/Transnational Online Publication Date: Jun 2018 DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.268 Summary and Keywords The origins of the Philippine nation-state can be traced to the overlapping histories of three empires that swept onto its shores: the Spanish, the North American, and the Japanese. This history makes the Philippines a kind of imperial artifact. Like all nation- states, it is an ineluctable part of a global order governed by a set of shifting power rela­ tionships. Such shifts have included not just regime change but also social revolution. The modernity of the modern Philippines is precisely the effect of the contradictory dynamic of imperialism. The Spanish, the North American, and the Japanese colonial regimes, as well as their postcolonial heir, the Republic, have sought to establish power over social life, yet found themselves undermined and overcome by the new kinds of lives they had spawned. It is precisely this dialectical movement of empires that we find starkly illumi­ nated in the history of the Philippines. Keywords: Philippines, colonialism, empire, Spain, United States, Japan The origins of the modern Philippine nation-state can be traced to the overlapping histo­ ries of three empires: Spain, the United States, and Japan. This background makes the Philippines a kind of imperial artifact. Like all nation-states, it is an ineluctable part of a global order governed by a set of shifting power relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Asean Treaties/Agreements And
    TABLE OF ASEAN TREATIES/AGREEMENTS AND RATIFICATION As of October 2012 Note: USA = Upon Signing the Agreement IoR = Instrument of Ratification Govts = Government EIF = Entry Into Force No. Title of the Agreement Place and Date Ratifying Date of Ratification EIF of Signing Country 1. Memorandum of Understanding among Siem Reap - - - the Governments of the Participating 29 August 2012 Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the Second Pilot Project for the Implementation of a Regional Self- Certification System 2. Memorandum of Understanding Phuket - - - between the Government of the Thailand Member States of the Association of 6 July 2012 Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Health Cooperation 3. Joint Declaration of the ASEAN Defence Phnom Penh - - - Ministers on Enhancing ASEAN Unity for Cambodia a Harmonised and Secure Community 29 May 2012 4. ASEAN Agreement on Custom Phnom Penh - - - This Agreement shall enter into force, after 30 March 2012 all Member States have notified or, where necessary, deposited instruments of ratifications with the Secretary General of ASEAN upon completion of their internal procedures, which shall not take more than 180 days after the signing of this Agreement 5. Agreement between the Government of Phnom Penh - - - The Agreement has not entered into force the Republic of Indonesia and the Cambodia since Indonesia has not yet notified ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2 April 2012 Secretariat of its completion of internal 1 TABLE OF ASEAN TREATIES/AGREEMENTS AND RATIFICATION As of October 2012 Note: USA = Upon Signing the Agreement IoR = Instrument of Ratification Govts = Government EIF = Entry Into Force No.
    [Show full text]
  • Asean Charter
    THE ASEAN CHARTER THE ASEAN CHARTER Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. =or inquiries, contact: Public Affairs Office The ASEAN Secretariat 70A Jalan Sisingamangaraja Jakarta 12110 Indonesia Phone : (62 21) 724-3372, 726-2991 =ax : (62 21) 739-8234, 724-3504 E-mail: [email protected] General information on ASEAN appears on-line at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org Catalogue-in-Publication Data The ASEAN Charter Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat, January 2008 ii, 54p, 10.5 x 15 cm. 341.3759 1. ASEAN - Organisation 2. ASEAN - Treaties - Charter ISBN 978-979-3496-62-7 =irst published: December 2007 1st Reprint: January 2008 Printed in Indonesia The text of this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted with proper acknowledgment. Copyright ASEAN Secretariat 2008 All rights reserved CHARTER O THE ASSOCIATION O SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PREAMBLE WE, THE PEOPLES of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as represented by the Heads of State or Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: NOTING
    [Show full text]
  • Australia and the Origins of ASEAN (1967–1975)
    1 Australia and the origins of ASEAN (1967–1975) The origins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and of Australia’s relations with it are bound up in the period of the Cold War in East Asia from the late 1940s, and the serious internal and inter-state conflicts that developed in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and early 1960s. Vietnam and Laos were engulfed in internal wars with external involvement, and conflict ultimately spread to Cambodia. Further conflicts revolved around Indonesia’s unstable internal political order and its opposition to Britain’s efforts to secure the positions of its colonial territories in the region by fostering a federation that could include Malaya, Singapore and the states of North Borneo. The Federation of Malaysia was inaugurated in September 1963, but Singapore was forced to depart in August 1965 and became a separate state. ASEAN was established in August 1967 in an effort to ameliorate the serious tensions among the states that formed it, and to make a contribution towards a more stable regional environment. Australia was intensely interested in all these developments. To discuss these issues, this chapter covers in turn the background to the emergence of interest in regional cooperation in Southeast Asia after the Second World War, the period of Indonesia’s Konfrontasi of Malaysia, the formation of ASEAN and the inauguration of multilateral relations with ASEAN in 1974 by Gough Whitlam’s government, and Australia’s early interactions with ASEAN in the period 1974‒75. 7 ENGAGING THE NEIGHBOURS The Cold War era and early approaches towards regional cooperation The conception of ‘Southeast Asia’ as a distinct region in which states might wish to engage in regional cooperation emerged in an environment of international conflict and the end of the era of Western colonialism.1 Extensive communication and interactions developed in the pre-colonial era, but these were disrupted thoroughly by the arrival of Western powers.
    [Show full text]
  • ASEAN Intervention in Cambodia: from Cold War to Conditionality
    ASEAN Intervention in Cambodia: From Cold War to Conditionality Lee Jones Abstract Despite their other theoretical differences, virtually all scholars of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agree that the organisation’s members share an almost religious commitment to the norm of non-intervention. This article disrupts this consensus, arguing that ASEAN repeatedly intervened in Cambodia’s internal political conflicts from 1979-1999, often with powerful and destructive effects. ASEAN’s role in maintaining Khmer Rouge occupancy of Cambodia’s UN seat, constructing a new coalition government-in-exile, manipulating Khmer refugee camps and informing the content of the Cambodian peace process will be explored, before turning to the ‘creeping conditionality’ for ASEAN membership imposed after the 1997 ‘coup’ in Phnom Penh. The article argues for an analysis recognising the political nature of intervention, and seeks to explain both the creation of non- intervention norms, and specific violations of them, as attempts by ASEAN elites to maintain their own illiberal, capitalist regimes against domestic and international political threats. Keywords ASEAN, Cambodia, Intervention, Norms, Non-Interference, Sovereignty Contact Information Lee Jones is a doctoral candidate in International Relations at Nuffield College, Oxford, OX1 1NF, UK. His research focuses on ASEAN and intervention in Cambodia, East Timor, and Burma. Comments are welcomed. Email: [email protected]. Tel/Fax: (+44) (0)1865 28890. ASEAN Intervention in Cambodia:
    [Show full text]
  • 4 at the 34'^^ ASEAN Summit Earlier This Year, Our Leaders Reiterated
    STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS BY AMBASSADOR BURHAN GAFOOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE THEMATIC DEBATE ON CLUSTER FIVE: OTHER DISARMAMENT MEASURES AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, FIRST COMMITTEE, 29 OCTOBER 2019 Thank you, Mr Chairman. 1 I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN). Our statement will focus on cybersecurity, on which I will make three points. 2 First, ASEAN's vision is for a peaceful, secure, and resilient cyberspace, which serves as an enabler of economic progress, enhanced regional connectivity and the betterment of living standards for all. Digital transformation will have tremendous benefits and opportunities for our region. At the same time, we are cognisant that pervasive, ever-evolving, and transboundary cyber threats have the potential to undemiine international peace and security. To this end, ASEAN believes that cybersecurity requires coordinated expertise from multiple stakeholders from across different domains, to effectively mitigate threats, build trust, and realise the benefits of technology. 3 Second, no govemment can deal with the growing sophistication and transboundary nature of cyber threats alone. Regional collaboration is imperative, and ASEAN has taken concrete and practical steps to this end. 4 At the 34'^^ ASEAN Summit earlier this year, our Leaders reiterated ASEAN's commitment to enhancing cybersecurity cooperation, and the building of an open, secure, stable, accessible, and resilient cyberspace supporting the digital economy of the ASEAN region. At the 3^^^ ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity(AMCC) in September 2018, ASEAN became the first and only regional group to subscribe to the 11 voluntaiy, non-binding norms recommended in the 2015 report of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security (UNGGE).
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Democracy Support
    The role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in post-conflict reconstruction and democracy support www.idea.int THE ROLE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IN POST- CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION AND DEMOCRACY SUPPORT Julio S. Amador III and Joycee A. Teodoro © 2016 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance International IDEA Strömsborg SE-103 34, STOCKHOLM SWEDEN Tel: +46 8 698 37 00, fax: +46 8 20 24 22 Email: [email protected], website: www.idea.int The electronic version of this publication is available under a Creative Commons Attribute-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 licence. You are free to copy, distribute and transmit thepublication as well as to remix and adapt it provided it is only for non-commercial purposes, that you appropriately attribute the publication, and that you distribute it under an identical licence. For more information on this licence see: <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-sa/3.0/>. International IDEA publications are independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of International IDEA, its Board or its Council members. Graphic design by Turbo Design CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 4 2. ASEAN’S INSTITUTIONAL MANDATES ............................................................... 5 3. CONFLICT IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA AND THE ROLE OF ASEAN ...... 7 4. ADOPTING A POST-CONFLICT ROLE FOR
    [Show full text]
  • The Struggle of Becoming the 11Th Member State of ASEAN: Timor Leste‘S Case
    The Struggle of Becoming the 11th Member State of ASEAN: Timor Leste‘s Case Rr. Mutiara Windraskinasih, Arie Afriansyah 1 1 Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia E-mail : [email protected] Submitted : 2018-02-01 | Accepted : 2018-04-17 Abstract: In March 4, 2011, Timor Leste applied for membership in ASEAN through formal application conveying said intent. This is an intriguing case, as Timor Leste, is a Southeast Asian country that applied for ASEAN Membership after the shift of ASEAN to acknowledge ASEAN Charter as its constituent instrument. Therefore, this research paper aims to provide a descriptive overview upon the requisites of becoming ASEAN Member State under the prevailing regulations. The substantive requirements of Timor Leste to become the eleventh ASEAN Member State are also surveyed in the hopes that it will provide a comprehensive understanding as why Timor Leste has not been accepted into ASEAN. Through this, it is to be noted how the membership system in ASEAN will develop its own existence as a regional organization. This research begins with a brief introduction about ASEAN‘s rules on membership admission followed by the practice of ASEAN with regard to membership admission and then a discussion about the effort of Timor Leste to become one of ASEAN member states. Keywords: membership, ASEAN charter, timor leste, law of international and regional organization I. INTRODUCTION South East Asia countries outside the The 1967 Bangkok Conference founding father states to join ASEAN who produced the Declaration of Bangkok, which wish to bind to the aims, principles and led to the establishment of ASEAN in August purposes of ASEAN.
    [Show full text]
  • ASEAN's Pattaya Problem by Donald K Emmerson
    ASEAN's Pattaya problem By Donald K Emmerson The turmoil in Thailand is about domestic questions: who shall rule the kingdom, and what is the future of democracy there? But the crisis also raises questions for the larger region: who will lead the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and what is the future of democracy in Southeast Asia? In mid-2008, Thailand began its tenure as ASEAN's chair. The chair is expected, at a minimum, to host successfully the association's main events, most notably the ASEAN summit and multiple other summits between Southeast Asia's leaders and those of other countries. Accordingly, Thailand had planned to welcome the heads of ASEAN's other nine member government plus their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea in a series of meetings in the Thai resort town of Pattaya on April 10-12. (The other nine are Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Brunei, Cambodia and Indonesia.) Summitry called for decorum - serene images of Thai leaders greeting their distinguished guests. Bedlam came closer to describing the scene in Pattaya when Thai protesters opposed to the new government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stormed the summit's venue and forced its cancellation. Heads of state and government who had already arrived at the seaside resort 150 kilometers southeast of Bangkok were evacuated by helicopter. Planes carrying other leaders to Thailand were turned back in mid-flight. No one blames ASEAN for Thailand's political travails. Because of it, however, the regional organization has lost major face.
    [Show full text]
  • Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015
    Association of Southeast Asian Nations Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 One Vision, One Identity, One Community Association of Southeast Asian Nations Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. For inquiries, contact: Public Affairs Office The ASEAN Secretariat 70A Jalan Sisingamangaraja Jakarta 12110 Indonesia Phone : (62 21) 724-3372, 726-2991 Fax : (62 21) 739-8234, 724-3504 E-mail : [email protected] General information on ASEAN appears online at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org Catalogue-in-Publication Data Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat, April 2009 352.1159 1. ASEAN – Summit – Blueprints 2. Political-Security – Economic – Socio-Cultural ISBN 978-602-8411-04-2 The text of this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted with proper acknowledgement. Copyright ASEAN Secretariat 2009 All rights reserved ii Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 Table of Contents Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for the ASEAN Community (2009-2015) ..........................01 ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint .........................................................................................05 ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint ....................................................................................................21
    [Show full text]