Regional Economic Cooperation In ASEAN

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ASEAN was created on August 8, 1967 by five founding members; Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines. Malaysian foreign minister Ismail Abdul Rahman said at that time: ‘we have to come to a profound shared realization that we will not be able to survive as independent nations for long…, unless we think and act at the same time as residents of Southeast Asia’ . At perilous times when the nation-states were pressurized into joining either one of the two major blocs, Southeast Asian countries decided not to side with any superpowers of the Cold War, rather, they banded together to build, with their own hands and minds, a new way to the future and a new structure . Brunei became a member in 1984. After the Cold War, nations that…show more content…
From a theoretical framework, many factors influence the establishment of regional economic cooperation. Functionalists believe that collaboration occur on the basis of mutual interests of nation-states . This theory is in line with a general principle of Liberalism: nation-states cooperate in matters where national interests converge . According to Jacob Viner in his Customs Union Theory (1950), the rationale of customs unions—or within this line of argument, regional economic cooperation—among developing countries is that “two can do what one cannot" . The underlying presumption is that developing countries seek to avoid dependence on the West in pursuing industrialization . Given their weak position in the world economy, developing countries could achieve economic independence only through grouping with other developing neighboring countries rather than individually…show more content…
Right now, of the total trade value of ASEAN, 24% of it comes from intra-ASEAN trade . Moreover, in terms of security, ASEAN has progressed from the TAC 1976, furthering two principles : settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner; and renunciation of the threat or use of force by adopting ASEAN Charter in 2008 which ensured that ASEAN is an organization capable of smoothing out interstate differences in its own backroom, restraining its members from direct confrontations, and, in this way alone, contributing to socioeconomic progress of individual nations and the region as a whole . Positive trends have taken hold all along the way toward the ASEAN Political-Security Community. The ten countries’ defense ministers have been meeting regularly in conference since 2006 to work out the details of the Security Community . Planning joint operations against terrorists, pirates, drug traffickers, and other cross-border criminals, rescue operations at sea, and mitigation of the consequences of natural disasters are just to name a

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