ASEAN

Promotes economic and political integration and regional peace in Southeast Asia — motto “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.”

Foundation and the ASEAN Way

• Established by the Bangkok Declaration (1967) to build a common front against communism; a Cold War product initially focused on security. Headquarters Jakarta; three pillars — Political-Security, Economic, Socio-Cultural.
• The ASEAN Way — consensus over majority rule, non-interference, respect for sovereignty; grounded in Panchsheel and portrayed as “Asian values.” Entrenched by the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), 1976 and ZOPFAN (1971).
• Economic integration — AFTA (1992) cut tariffs and lifted intra-regional trade (Robert Keohane’s neo-liberal institutionalism); AEC single market and production base; RCEP extends integration to major Asia-Pacific economies. Wider architecture — ARF, ASEAN Plus Three, East Asia Summit, ADMM+. Own Charter (2008).

EU vs ASEAN

As a third-world model, successes and challenges

• Kishore Mahbubani (with Jeffery Sng), The ASEAN Miracle — ASEAN practises “Pragmatic Regionalism”, building its own model rather than imitating the EU; a “beacon of hope” and an example of soft regionalism.
• C. A. Fisher — ASEAN defied all scepticism; the region once called the “Balkans of Asia” became a zone of peace. No war between members since founding. Amitav Acharya — norm localisation and norm subsidiarity explain its durability.
• Challenges — consensus can block decisive action (Rohingya crisis, Myanmar); persistent non-tariff barriers and low intra-ASEAN trade; US-China rivalry and Indo-Pacific militarisation (QUAD, AUKUS); the South China Sea dispute; the February 2021 Myanmar coup and a stalled five-point consensus.

India and ASEAN — the Act East ladder

Sectoral dialogue to strategic partner. 1992 (Sectoral dialogue partner) → 1996 (Full dialogue partner) → 2002 (Summit-level partner) → 2012 (Strategic partner) → Trade (AIFTA (2010), services (2015))