Secretary-General of ASEAN
at the
ASEAN’s 40th Anniversary Reception hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom
London, 31 May 2007

This year marks ASEAN’s 40th Anniversary.

"One ASEAN at the Heart of Dynamic Asia" is the official theme of this Anniversary and it captures succinctly the trailblazing nature of regionalism in Southeast Asia and the key role of ASEAN in the broader Asian development, not only as it turns 40 but perhaps for the next 40 years.

ASEAN and the UK have enjoyed good relations in these 4 decades. Trade and investment flows between the two sides have been significant, notwithstanding the up and down swings from time to time. The prognosis for the future is positive. More substantive cooperation is being undertaken.

Accomplishments

On economic front, ASEAN has made progress in liberalizing its trade in goods and services, and investment regime over the past 40 years. Intra-regional trade in goods is now more than USD 320 billion a year.

ASEAN’s efforts on free trade can be dated back to the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 1992. Significant reduction in tariffs has been achieved since then. ASEAN is tackling the non-tariff barriers to trade.

In addition to trade in goods, ASEAN has also been making progress on liberalization of trade in services, opening up investment, streamlining customs procedure, harmonizing standards and reducing development gaps.

To expedite economic integration effort, 12 priority sectors have been identified for fast-tracked integration by 2010. These include agro-based products, air travel, automotive products, e-ASEAN, electronics, fisheries, health care, logistics, rubber-based products, textiles & apparels, tourism, and wood-based products. Nine of these sectors account for over 50% of total trade in goods.

On the non-economic front, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), together with the other ASEAN sectoral bodies for Defence, Law and Transnational Crime, have fostered closer dialogue among the relevant authorities/agencies, promoted better understanding of security challenges affecting ASEAN (and its dialogue partners) and enhanced capacity of relevant bodies to deal with them through information sharing and intelligence exchange. Under the ARF, a number of useful initiatives were started to share experiences and best practices in areas such as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber terrorism, defence technology, and maritime security.

ASEAN is also managing natural disasters (such as earthquake and tsunami) and spread of communicable diseases (such as SARS, Avian Influenza and HIV and AIDS) in a more effective manner through better coordination, preparedness and emergency response mechanisms.

ASEAN citizens are getting to know each other better through a number of region-wide socio-cultural initiatives. For example, the ASEAN Youth Camp and the ASEAN Youth Cultural Forum provide inter-cultural learning opportunities among ASEAN youths to help them develop adequate knowledge and good understanding of diverse cultures as well as greater awareness and sense of community in ASEAN (ASEANess). Another illustration is in education. University students and teaching staff are increasingly their interactions through various programs like the ASEAN Study courses, research exchanges and academic attachments. ASEAN Education Ministers are collaborating on teacher training and curriculum development, particularly to share the experiences of multi-cultural and multi-ethnic community development.

To consolidate and strengthen ASEAN’s community building, the ASEAN Leaders decided in December 2005 to establish the ASEAN Charter. Drafting work has reached about 70 percent of the envisaged scope and coverage. The aim is to have the ASEAN Leaders endorsed the draft at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2007.

Challenges

In spite of the accomplishments, ASEAN still faces a number of serious challenges ahead as it pursues its integration target of an ASEAN Community by 2015

For each of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community, the Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community, the first step is to draw up a comprehensive roadmap with clear targets and timeline.

For example, for the ASEAN Economic Community, a Blueprint is being developed as a master plan to guide ASEAN economic cooperation and integration over the next 8 years, by first identifying the characteristics of the AEC.

These characteristics are defined as (1) a single market and production base, and a region that is (2) highly competitive, (3) equitably developed and (4) well integrated into the global economy.

Measures required to realize the above 4 characteristics of the AEC will then be identified with clear milestones and timeline for implementation. Decision making, monitoring and compliance mechanisms will also form parts of the institutional requirements for an effective implementation of the Blueprint.

The essential condition is to come up with a comprehensive, bold yet practical and coherent plan for each of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community. The next challenge is to carry out these plans in an effective and timely manner.

Another challenge for ASEAN is how to strengthen its institutions, particularly through the ASEAN Charter. Currently, ASEAN is a loosely-organised regional body. With the Charter, ASEAN will become a more rules-based organization in order to better meet the challenges posed by regional integration, the expansion of its external linkages and rapid globalisation. While doing so, ASEAN must remain an effective player on the regional and international stage. In this context, the ASEAN Charter will set the framework and lay the legal foundation for ASEAN to restructure its existing mechanisms and improve its decision-making process to enhance efficiency and ensure prompt implementation of all ASEAN agreements and decisions. The Charter will also provide ASEAN with a legal personality.

Being in the heart of Asia, ASEAN must be alert and nimble in response to political and strategic developments. The major powers of the world such as the European Union, the United States and ASEAN’s big neighbours like China, India, Japan and Australia have significant interests in Southeast Asia. ASEAN’s outward-looking and inclusive approach has brought an unprecedented period of growth and peace in the region. To continue facilitating this, ASEAN leadership must stay cohesive and skilful.

Conclusion

ASEAN has come a long way in the past four decades. To make it stronger and more relevant in regional and international affairs in the next 40 years, ASEAN citizens and Leaders must wholeheartedly embraced the shared goal of one ASEAN in which all have a strong sense of community and great pride in their ASEAN-ness.