ASEAN: Getting to Know a Coalition of Countries
ASEAN is an organization that was started on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok. Its fivev original members were Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malysia and Singapore. The organization was started because many Asian nations were in conflict with one another. The organization also helps to promote trade in the region by eliminating tarrif barriers and trade restrictions between member nations so that each country imports and exports goods to one another. ASEAN is a peaceful organization that has done much good for the Asian region of the world. In 1997, Laos and Myanmar joined and in 1999 Cambodia joined ASEAN. In total, the organization covers the well being of 500 million people.
The ASEAN organization gets together with fellow member nations and makes resolutions like that on security and trade. In 1992, the ASEAN Regional Forum was established to avoid conflict and create prosperity. Its aim is to build cooperate ties with other member nations. In a Singapore Summit in 1992, all tariff bariers were eliminated to increase trade between nations. In 1997, the ASEAN Vision was established which called for forging closer economic integration with other countries for a free flow of investment, capita and purchases.
In 1998, the Hanoi Plan of Action was passed which supports this vision for the organization. This plan’s goal is to also eliminate the huge disparities in wealth between the rich and poor and to eliminate unemployment. The economic cooperation has had wide reaching effects in its success. In 1993, the trade was at $43.2 billion dollars and it rose in 1996 to $80 billion. This has led to growth in intra-regional trade in Asia. The area of economic cooperation covers industry, finance, agriculture, forestry, factories, transportation, communication and many other areas.
The Asian nations are guided by many other programs that have been passed such as the ASEAN plan on action, the Plan of Action on Culture and Information, The Plan on Science and Technology, Environment, Abuse, and crime. ASEAN is also helping with the U.S. on fighting the war on terror, AIDS and sex trafficking.
The way ASEAN works is that it fosters peace and stability through economics. For example, if two Asian nations are about to go to war, ASEAN will threaten them with sanctions or a decline in their trade to other member nations which would hurt both of their economies. This acts as a deterrent to prevent countries in ASEAN from going to war.
ASEAN does not have a military of any kind or any enforcement mechanism other than the threat of sanctions. There have been cases such in Cambodia and Laos where ASEAN was ignored.
The strength of the organization lies in its strong ties between member nations and the cooperation fostered between them. Without it, ASEAN would not be the success that it is today.
