About-The “ASEAN” is a 10 member regional, intergovernmental organisation aiming to promote economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration between its members and other countries in Asia.
- It was established in 1967 in Bangkok(Thailand), with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its Founding members.
- Secretariat-Jakarta(Indonesia).
Members-Its 5 founding members are namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- Later 5 more members were added which includes Brunei Darussalam(1984); Vietnam(1995); Lao PDR and Myanmar(1997); Cambodia(1999), making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.
The ASEAN Charter- A legally binding document that entered into force in 2008 at the presence of ASEAN Foreign Ministers.
Institution Mechanism:
- Chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
- ASEAN Summit-held twice a year-is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN. The Summit sets the direction for its policies and objectives.
ASEAN led forums:
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF):
- Established in 1994, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is 27 member grouping which provides a platform for security dialogue and develop cooperative measures to enhance peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The ARF is chaired by the ASEAN Chair of that year.
East Asia Summit:
- It is a premier Leaders-led forum held annually, started in 2005 with Kuala Lumpur Declaration, for dialogue and cooperation on issues of common interest to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity in East Asia.
- Priority Areas: There are 6 priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS which are a) Environment and Energy b) Education c) Finance d) Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases e) Natural Disaster Management and f) ASEAN Connectivity.
- EAS comprises of 18 participating countries, including the ten ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.
- The United States and Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in Bali in 2011.
ASEAN Plus Three: The group started in 1997 brings together ASEAN’s ten members, China, Japan, and South Korea.
