13Анан Чантара-Опакорн - магистр права (Йельский университет), адъюнкт-профессор и директор юридических магистерских программ в области коммерческого права (Таммасатский университет), преподаватель Совета юристов Таиланда.
СТРЕМЛЕНИЕ К СОГЛАССОВАННОСТИ И ИНТЕГРАЦИИ АССОЦИАЦИИ СТРАН ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНОЙ АЗИИ
Ассоциация стран Юго-Восточной Азии (АСЕАН) была образована в 1967 году как геополитическая и экономическая организация, способствующая политическому и социоэкономическому сотрудничеству, миру и безопасности в регионе, свободному перемещению ресурсов, в том числе труда и капитала, а также взаимодействию АСЕАН и прочих стран и международных организаций. Благодаря природным и трудовым ресурсам, страны АСЕАН привлекли прямые иностранные инвестиции. Несмотря на значительный экономический потенциал, долгое время АСЕАН воспринималась как объединение десяти развивающихся стран, что сделало очевидной необходимость дальнейшей интеграции стран-участниц. Усилиями АСЕАН были созданы несколько международных форумов для усиления влияния и укрепления отношений в регионе и за его пределами. Одним из факторов, стимулирующих сотрудничество стран-участниц АСЕАН, была угроза распространения коммунизма в Индокитае. Хотя Договор о мире не содержал положений о военном сотрудничестве, он направлен на взаимодействие в сфере безопасности и политической стабильности. Несмотря на экологическое и экономическое разнообразие стран-участниц Ассоциации, многие проблемы окружающей среды имеют международный характер в Юго-Восточной Азии.
Ключевые слова: страны Юго-Восточной Азии, ассоциация, природные и трудовые ресурсы, сотрудничество, безопасность.
Anan Chantara-Opakorn, Master of Law (Yale University), Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Laws Program in Business Laws (Thammasat University), Lecturer at the Lawyers' Council of Thailand.
ASEAN HARMONIZATION AND INTEGRATION EFFORTS
The Association of South East Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization, formed in 1967, to promote political and socio-economic cooperation, peace and security in the region, and to promote cooperation between ASEAN and external countries and international organizations. Because of its natural resources and labor advantages, ASEAN has been attractive to foreign direct investment and tourism. Although ASEAN has potential economic strength, it has been viewed as just an integration component of 10 developing countries. The need for further integration of the region has therefore become apparent. ASEAN created several forums to expand its role and relationship with external countries. The threat of communism in Indochina was a drive for strengthening of the economic cooperation of ASEAN. The Treaty of Amity made no demands on military cooperation, but it was understood that this treaty was an agreement focusing on political and security cooperation. Despite ecological and economic diversity, many environmental problems are widespread and transnational in character in the South-east Asian region. The geo-physical and climatic conditions unleash a number of natural and man-made hazards: typhoons, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis, landslides, wild fires, air pollution in the cities, and water contamination that is caused by the discharge of wastewater from industrial and agricultural sources. These examples demonstrate a demand for long-standing institutional cooperation in the region. Although a few environmental agreements have been signed, cooperative implementation and enforcement has not yet been clearly instituted. The Agreement on Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for the
ASEAN Free Trade Area is a cooperative arrangement that will reduce intraregional tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers over a period of 10 years, commencing on January 1, 1993. ASEAN has intensively increased the cooperation regarding counterterrorism and war prevention in the recent decade.
Key words: the countries of South-East Asia, the Association of natural and labor resources, cooperation, and security.
1. ASEAN as a geo-political and economic organization.
a. Geographical area.
ASEAN stands for Association of South East Asian Nations. It is a geo-political and economic organization, established on August 8 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration ("Bangkok Declaration) by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. These five countries are referred to as "the Founding Fathers" of ASEAN [1]. At present, ASEAN comprises of 10 Member States. ASEAN is located in the region of Southeast Asia. It has a combined population of 600 million or 8.8% of the world's population. ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million square kilometers, which is 3% of the total land area of the Earth.
b. Economic strength.
The primary objective of the cooperation is to protect the regional peace and stability and then move forward towards the acceleration of economic growth. In the year 2010, its combined nominal GDP had increased to 1.85 trillion USD, which was 3% of the aggregated GDP of the world, and with the growth rate of 7.4%. The total combined volume of trade was 2.04 trillion USD, representing 6.8% of the world trading, with a total increase of 32.9 %. The major trading partners of ASEAN are China, Japan, the EU, U.S.A., South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. As of 2011, the average annual population growth rate was 1.3 percent, the combined GDP has grown up more than 2 trillion USD and the total trade in terms of prices was more than 2.3 trillion USD (1.2 trillion for the exports and 1.1 trillion for the imports) [2]. In the year 2011, the combined GDP growth rate was 4.7 percent. The ratio of exports to GDP was 57 percent and the ratio of total trade to GDP was 109.7 percent.
Because of its natural resources and labor advantages, ASEAN has been attractive to foreign direct investors. In 2010, ASEAN was able to attract foreign investment of more than 74 million USD. 26.6 percent of investment was from Europe, 15.3 percent from the U.S., 15.3 percent from Japan, 6.8 percent from South Korea, 4.8 percent from China, and the rest from India, Australia and Canada.
ASEAN is also attractive to tourists. There were 72.2 million tourists visiting ASEAN in 2010. The increase of the tourism business is most likely due to the cultural diversity of the region and price attractiveness.
If ASEAN was integrated as a single entity, it would rank among the ten largest economic communities in the world.
c. The continued expansion.
Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on January 7, 1984, Vietnam on July 28, 1995, and Lao PDR and Myanmar on July 23, 1997. Cambodia wanted to join ASEAN at the same time as Lao and Myanmar. However, due to the political struggles within the country, Cambodia had to defer its membership for about two years. Cambodia finally joined ASEAN on April 30, 1999, after the stability of its government was achieved. Since then, ASEAN has the totality of 10 member states. During the 1990s, ASEAN experienced an increase in both membership and drive for further integration. In March 2011, Timor Leste submitted a letter of application to become the 11th member of ASEAN. According to Timor Leste's argument for acceptance, the country was already very much part of Southeast Asia [3] Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia,
Brunei, the Philippines and Myanmar have expressed public support to have Timor Leste join ASEAN. Singapore, however, while agreeing with Timor Leste's ASEAN membership, objected to its early membership on the grounds that Timor Leste is not ready to absorb the many challenges and complexities of ASEAN membership.
Although ASEAN has potential economic strength, it has been viewed rather dismissively as an economic integration of 10 developing countries. Leaders of Member States, therefore, have felt the need to call for a further integration of the region. In 1990, Malaysia introduced the establishment of the East Asia Economic Caucus [4] with the intention of counterbalancing the influence of the US in the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and in the Asian region [5]. The proposal failed because of the strong opposition from the US and Japan.
In the beginning of 1997, ASEAN began creating organizations within its framework to achieve this goal. "ASEAN Plus Three" was the first effort toward this goal to improve the existing ties with China, Japan and South Korea. This was followed by a larger forum of East Asia Summit. Participants of the East Asia Summit included these three countries, as well as India, Australia and New Zealand. This was an effort working towards the promotion of the East Asia Community.
Timor Leste submitted a letter of application to be the 11th member of ASEAN at the summit in Jakarta in March, 2011. Indonesia and most Member States of ASEAN, except Singapore, have expressed public support for Timor Leste to join ASEAN.
Papua New Guinea, a Melanesian state, was accorded the Observer status in 1976 and Special Observer status in 1981 [6]. In 2006, ASEAN was given an observer status at the United Nations General Assembly [7]. As a response, ASEAN granted the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations [8].
ASEAN had created several forums to expand its role and relationships with external countries. The East Asia Summit (EAS) is an example of this effort. The EAS is held annually. The members of the summit are all the 10 Member States of ASEAN in addition to China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. All together, these countries represent nearly half of the world's population. In October 2010, Russia and the US were formally invited to participate as full members of the EAS. At the EAS, ASEAN takes the leadership position. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur in December, 2005, with Russia attending as a guest. The Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment was issued in November, 2007, at the 3rd summit in Singapore. During the 6th summit held on November 19, 2011, in Bali, Indonesia, the US and Russia joined the summit.
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) has been created as a a setting for formal, official and multilateral dialogue in Asia-Pacific region. The main objectives of the ARF are to foster dialogue and consultation and to promote confidence building in the region. The members of the ARF are all the Member States of ASEAN, as well as Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, and the United States. Taiwan has been excluded since the beginning. Accordingly, issues regarding the Taiwan Strait have never been discussed in the ARF. The first meeting of the ARF was in 1994.
The ASEM, or the Asia-Europe Meeting, was initiated in 1996 as an informal dialogue forum for strengthening cooperation between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially the members of EU and ASEAN.Likewise, The ASEAN-Russia Summit is another forum held annually whereby leaders of ASEAN Member States meet with the President of Russia.
d. The birth of ASEAN.
ASEAN was formed in 1967 in order to promote political and socio-economic cooperation, peace and security in the region, as well as to endorse cooperation between ASEAN with the external countries and international organizations. There was little activities during the first 10 years of its establishment. The significant turning point was the year 1975, when the
Indochina- comprising of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia- succumbed to the influence of communism. Thailand then put an effort on urging ASEAN to call a summit meeting. Thailand's effort was successful. The 1st ASEAN Summit was held in Bali, Indonesia, on February 23-24, 1976. The ASEAN Member States of that time have expressed their concerns about the threat of communism in the region and reaffirmed their solidarity in socio-economic cooperation, security and peace building. The purpose and direction of ASEAN became clearer when the Declaration of ASEAN Concord (Bali Concord) and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) were signed. These instruments formed an important foundation of extensive economic cooperation among the Member States.
2. From the threat of communism to democratic peace.
a. The threat of communism.
From its historical background, one may say that the threat of communism in Indochina was the key to strengthening of the economic cooperation of ASEAN. This is clearly evidenced by the 1st ASEAN Summit in Bali in 1976. The 2nd ASEAN Summit was held in Kula Lumpur the following year in order to confirm the member states' strong commitment to their economic cooperation and their solidarity. In 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. During 1977 to 1987, the effort of ASEAN focused primarily on forcing Vietnam out of Cambodia and counterbalancing the influence of Vietnam.
rd
After 1978, the fear of communism had calmed. The 3 ASEAN Summit was held in Manila in December, 1987. By that time, the situation in Cambodia was much improved. There was very little concern over security issues raised in this summit meeting. The era of the Cold War was nearly over, due to the political policy reforms sweeping Russia. In 1989, Vietnam withdrew its soldiers from Cambodia, and the Cold War officially ended by the end of the 1980s.
. During the 1990s, there was no more threat of communist take-over in the region.At this time, security issues became less important. ASEAN, then, had room to concentrate more on the economic issues at hand. The January, 1992, ASEAN Summit in Singapore marked the history of the ASEAN economic cooperation. Firstly, it was the first summit held after the end of the Cold War. Secondly, the summit meeting agreed with Thailand's proposal for the establishment of ASEAN Free Trade Area or AFTA.
b. The "ASEAN Way" of democratic peace.
The "ASEAN Way" has been adopted by the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in SouthEast Asia1 and was signed at the Bali Summit in 1976 as a set of fundamental principles of foreign policy among the member states. The principles cover the following:
1 The treaty was amended on December 15, 1987, by a protocol to open for accession by states outside Southeast Asia and again on July 25, 1998, to provide as condition of such accession on consent of all member states of the ASEAN. India and China were the very first states outside South-East Asia that signed the treaty at the Bali Summit in 2003. Japan signed it on July 2, 2004, South Korea on November 27, 2004, Russia on November 29, 2004, Australia onDecember 10, 2005, France on July 20, 2006, and North Korea on July 24, 2008. On July 23, 2009, the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, signed the treaty on behalf of the United States. On the same day, the European Union also signed the treaty. The treaty had been endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its twelfth Special Session, stating that:
"The purposes and principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and its provisions for the pacific settlement of regional disputes and for regional cooperation in order to achieve peace, amity and friendship among the peoples of Southeast Asia [are] in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations."
- Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations;
- The right of every state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion;
- Non-interference in internal affairs;
- Settlement of differences or disputes in a peaceful manner;
- Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and
- Effective regional cooperation.
Although no mention of military cooperation was made in this treaty, it was understood that this treaty was largely an agreement focusing on the political and security cooperation of member nations. The purpose of the treaty is to promote perpetual peace and everlasting amity and cooperation among the people of Southeast Asia, which would contribute to their strength, solidarity and mutual cooperation. There are two major mechanisms for the implementation of these principles, especially relating to security issues i.e. SOM (Senior Official Meeting), and Special SOM. SOM is the meeting among the foreign ministries of the member states. In the Special SOM, participants include senior officials of military security from the member states. ASEAN has relied on the informal process of consultation for conflict management rather than a formal one. This wasis usually mentioned about the "ASEAN Way" when it comes to solving conflicts among Member States.
In the 10th ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane, Laos on November 29-30, 2003, the meeting adopted the Vientiane Action Program, which officially recognized the need for ASEAN Charter to strengthen ASEAN. This was followed in December, 2005, by the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter, wherein ASEAN's leaders committed themselves to establishing a Charter»to serve as a legal and institutional framework of ASEAN to support the realization of its goals and objectives."
The ASEAN Charter would give ASEAN a legal status under international law and help it to be a rules based organization. During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (EPG) endorsed a report building on ASEAN Vision 2020 as the guidance of the ASEAN Charter and calling for the strengthening of the ASEAN Community. The EPG recommended including in the Charter, among other things, "the promotion of ASEAN's peace and stability through the active strengthening of democratic values, good governance, rejection of unconstitutional and undemocratic changes of government, the rule of law including international humanitarian law, and respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The ASEAN Charter was signed by the leaders of all member states on November 20, 2007, at the 13th ASEAN Summit held in Singapore during November 18-22, 2007. On December 15, 2008, the leaders of the member states met in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Charter was launched. The fundamental principles of the Charter include:
(a) Respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all AEAN Member States;
(b) Shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity;
(c) Renunciation of aggression and of the threat or use of force or other actions in any manner inconsistent with international law;
(d) Reliance on peaceful settlement of disputes;
(e) Non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States;
(f) Respect for the right of every Member State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion;
(g) Enhanced consultations on matters seriously affecting the common interest of ASEAN;
(h) Adherence to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government;
(i) Respect of fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice;
(j) Upholding the United Nations Charter and international law, including humanitarian law, subscribed to by ASEAN Member States;
(k) Abstention from participation in any policy or activity, including the use of its territory, pursued by an ASEAN Member State or non-ASEAN state actor, which threatens the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political and economic stability of ASEAN Member States;
(l) Respect for the different cultures, language and religions of the peoples of ASEAN, while emphasising their common values in the spirit of unity in diversity;
(m) The centrality of ASEAN in external political, economic, social and cultural relations while remaining actively engaged, outward-looking, inclusive of non-discriminatory; and
(n) Adherence to multilateral trade rules and ASEAN's rules based regimes for effective implementation of economic commitments and progressive reduction towards elimination of all barriers to regional economic integration, in a market-driven economy.
It must be noted that Article 20 of the Charter postulates that decisions concerning ASEAN shall be made on consultation and consensus basis. Where consensus cannot be achieved, the ASEAN Summit may decide how a specific decision can be made. The EPG report has viewed this as the weakness of the decision-making process of ASEAN and had recommended the majority voting rule. However, the recommendation was excluded from the Charter.
3. The effort on environmental issues.
Despite ecological and economic diversity, many environmental problems are widespread and transnational in character in the South-east Asian region. The geo-physical and climatic conditions unleash a number of natural hazards on a regular basis. The most common are typhoons, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis, landslides, volcanic eruptions, droughts and wild fires. The air pollution in cities of ASEAN major member states is getting progressively worse. Water contamination is caused by the discharge of wastewater from domestic, industrial and agricultural sources. This waste has been dumped into rivers and nearby seas. There have also been issues concerning oil spills and other contaminants from shipping and maritime activities. The rate of deforestation is high and increasing dramatically. These examples demonstrate a demand of long-standing institutional cooperation in the region. At the turn of the 21st century, ASEAN started to discuss environmental agreements, including the signing of ASEAN agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution in 2002, as an attempt to control haze pollution in Southeast Asia [9]. Other environmental treaties introduced by ASEAN include: the Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1985, the Agreement on Disaster Management and Energy Response in 2005, the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity in 2005,the Cebu Declaration on East Energy Security [10], the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005 [11], and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. Despite these accords, cooperative implementation and enforcement had not yet been clearly achieved.
4. The initial economic cooperation and the free trade. a. CEPT.
The Preferential Trading Arrangement (PTA) was signed on February 24, 1977, before the 2nd ASEAN Summit, which was to be held in August of that year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The objective of the PTA is to promote greater economic cooperation and intraregional trade. This aim is to be administered by offering a range of trade concessions. For
example, it would enable: scheme of preferential duties and priority supply under long-term supply contracts of basic commodities; scheme of preferential interest rate and credit to be extended to exporters or importers of selected products; scheme of preferential margin per bid of government procurement; and tariff preferences on certain products. To be eligible for preferential treatment, products must meet certain rules of regulations.
The major problems of PTA is that most of the products traded among member states are in the Exclusion List and are not eligible for duties or tariff preferences; in addition, the margin of preference (MOP) is very limited and not very different from the MFN under the WTO tariff concession regime. Accordingly, in 1987, at the 3rd ASEAN Summit held in Manila, the Philippines, the PTA was improved by the reduction of products in the Exclusion List and the increase of the margin of preferences (MOP).
At the 4th ASEAN Summit in Singapore in January, 1992, leaders of the member states agreed to establish the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTEA) by the year 2008 in order to open ASEAN economies to the globalization of world markets. The Agreement on Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area was signed with the intention to be the main implementation of AFTA. During the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting in September, 1994, the target date of establishment of AFTA was pushed to 2003. However, CEPT Scheme became effective upon signing on January 28, 1992 [12].
CEPT is the agreed-upon tariff, preferential to ASEAN, to be applied to goods originating from ASEAN member states. According to Article 3, CEPT shall apply to all manufactured products, including capital goods, processed agricultural products, and those products falling outside the definition of agricultural products as set out in this Agreement. These products, except agricultural products, shall automatically be subject to the schedule of tariff reduction, as rendered in Article 4 of CEPT. In respect to PTA items, the schedule of tariff reduction provided for in Article 4 of this Agreement shall be applied, taking into account the tariff rate after the application of the existing margin of preference (MOP) as of December 31, 1992. Agricultural products were to be excluded from the CEPT Scheme. All products under the PTA, which were not transferred to the CEPT Scheme, were to continue to operate under the MOP The member states, whose tariffs for the agreed products were reduced from 20% and below to 0%-5% as granted on an MFN basis, were to likewise receive concessions. The member states with tariff rates at MFN rates of 0%-5% were to be deemed to have satisfied the obligations under this Agreement and would also receive concessions.
There are two programs of tariff reduction under the CEPT Scheme, i.e. the Normal Track Program and the Fast Track Program. They operate under the following guidelines:
1) The Normal Track Program:
- Products with tariff rates above 20% had their rates reduced to 20% by 1 January 1998 and subsequently from 20% to 0-5% by 1 January 2003; and
- Products with tariff rates at or below 20% had their rates reduced to 0-5% by 1 January 2000.
2) The Fast Track Program:
- Products with tariff rates above 20% had their rates reduced to 0-5% by 1 January 200; and
- Products with tariff rates at or below 20% had their rates reduced to 0-5% by 1 January 1998.
There are 3 conditions for a product to be eligible for concessions under CEPT:
1) The product has to be included in the Inclusion Lists of both the exporting and the importing countries and must belong to the same tariff band, i.e., above 20% or 20% and below.
2) It has to have a program of tariff reduction approved by the AFTA Council.
3) It has to be an ASEAN product, i.e., it has to satisfy the local content requirement of at least 40%.
Products with tariff rates of 0-5% are deemed to have satisfied all of these conditions under the CEPT Agreement and would be granted concessions..
There are 3 instances when a product may be excluded from the CEPT Scheme:
1) General Exceptions:- A Member State may exclude a product which it considers necessary for the protection of its national security, the protection of public morals, the protection of human, animal or plant life and health, and the protection of artistic, historic or archaeological value. The provision on General Exceptions in the CEPT Agreement is consistent with Article X of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
2) Temporary Exclusions:- Member States, which are in the interim, not ready to include certain sensitive products in the CEPT Scheme may exclude such products on a temporary basis. Products in the Exclusion List cannot enjoy the CEPT tariff from other ASEAN Member States. The Exclusion List does not in any way relate to products covered under the General Exceptions provisions.
3) Unprocessed Agricultural Products:
(a) Agricultural raw materials and unprocessed products covered by the Harmonized System under Chapter 1 to 24 of the Harmonized System (HS) Code and similar agricultural raw materials and unprocessed products in other related HS headings; and
(b) Products which have undergone simple processing with minimal change in form from the original products.
Apart from tariff reductions, the CEPT Scheme provides for the elimination of QRs (quotas, licenses, etc.) and Non-Tariffs Barriers (NTBs) as well as exceptions to foreign exchange restrictions on CEPT products. The member states would eliminate all QRs on CEPT products upon receiving concessions applicable to these products. As for NTBs, these shall be eliminated by the member states on a gradual basis within a period of five years after the receipt of concessions applicable to the CEPT products. The member states were also expected to make exceptions to their foreign exchange restrictions relating to payments on CEPT products, as well as repatriation of such payments.
There provisions exist to safeguard competition. For instance, as a result of the implementation of the CEPT, the import of a particular product can increase to an extent that it cause detriment to sectors or industries producing like or competitive products. The importing member state may, in turn, suspend preferences provisionally as an emergency measure. Such suspension was to be consistent with Article XIX of GATT 1994. A member state taking such an emergency action was to give immediate notice to the AFTA Council through the ASEAN Secretariat, and such action may be subject to consultations between concerned member states.
In summary, CEPT is a cooperative arrangement that will reduce intra-regional tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers over a period of 10 years, commencing January 1, 1993. The aim of the CEPT Scheme was to reduce tariffs on all manufactured goods to 0-5% by the year 2003. The CEPT Scheme, therefore, was the main instrument for enabling ASEAN trade members a free trade area in the last 10 years. This means that over the last decade, ASEAN member states had common effective tariffs in AFTA, but the level of tariffs vis-a-vis non-ASEAN countries was determined on individual basis.
b. The AFTA.
The AFTA stands for ASEAN Free Trade Area which seeks the removal of obstacles to freer trade among the member states. The AFTA program was initiated in 1992 to create an integrated market among ASEAN member states, which consist of about 600 million people, and to make ASEAN economies more competitive and attractive to regional investments. Accordingly, the ultimate objective of AFTA is to increase competitiveness of the region as a producer of goods geared for the world market. The challenge of this aspiration is the liberalization of trade in the region through elimination of intra-regional tariffs and non-tariff barriers. By liberalizing their trade, ASEAN's manufacturing sectors are more efficient in the global market and consumers in member states are given leeway to source goods from the most
efficient producers in the ASEAN community. As a consequence, the intra-ASEAN trade expanded.
Because the combined market of ASEAN is much larger than the one within each member state, investors can enjoy diverse economies of scale when it comes to production. In this manner, ASEAN seeks to attract more foreign direct investment into the region. This will, in turn, stimulate the growth of support industries which are mostly comprised of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region.
5. The ASEAN Community and the three pillars.
When the AFTA was originally signed in Singapore on January 28, 1992, ASEAN had six state members - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The latter four members have not fully met AFTA's obligations to this day. However, they are officially considered part of the AFTA, as they were required to sign the Agreement upon entry into ASEAN, which entrusted them with longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reductions.
The AFTA's goals were to institute the reduction of the tariff to 0% and at least to 5% for the restricted products on the provided list.. Before the f economic crisis, the member states felt that it was time to establish a long-term vision for their economic union. Accordingly, the "ASEAN Vision 2020" was enacted. The main target of ASEAN Vision 2020 was to establish the AEA (ASEAN Economic Area).
However, in July, 1997, an economic crisis occurred in Thailand, affecting the whole South-east Asian region. This economic crisis was known as the "Tom Yum Kung Disease". ASEAN was not in the position to extend assistance to its member states; it offered no financial assistance nor intra-ASEAN investment, and therefore, the intra-market output dramatically decreased. The member states had no choice but to turn to the IMF, the U.S., EU and Japan. As a result, AFTA and AEA were affected. ASEAN Vision 2020 could not be implemented. The member states felt necessary to restore their own economies.
After the year 2000, ASEAN member states gradually recovered from the economic crisis. They have acquired lessons from the economic crisis, particularly their economic over-dependence on ASEAN, which was only really meant to operate as integration of countries in possession of their own set of economic priorities. At the 9th ASEAN Summit in 2003 in Bali, Indonesia, leaders of the member states resolved that an ASEAN Community shall be established in the year of 2020. At the 12th ASEAN Summit in 2007, in Cebu, the Philippines, leaders of the member states confirmed their strong commitment to the acceleration of the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015, as was signed in the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of ASEAN Community by 2015. The ASEAN Community would be comprised of 3 pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Each pillar has its own functional "blueprint", and together with the Initiative for the ASEAN Integration (IAI) Strategy Framework and IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), they form the roadmap for an ASEAN Community in 2009-2015.
ASEAN Charter was launched into force on December 15, 2008 in order to provide a legal status to the ASEAN Community. With the Charter, ASEAN will henceforth operate under a new legal framework and will establish a number of new organs to boost its communitybuilding process. Currently, the ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among its member states.
a. The security integration.
As mentioned earlier, the drive for cooperation in the region was ignited by the perceived threat of communism The threat became even more imminent in 1975, when Vietnam, Cambodia
and Laos were under the political control of communism and its neighbors feared the "domino effect" spread of the ideology. These countries are neighbors of Thailand, and Thailand was mostly affected by communist influence of that time.. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-East Asia signed in Bali in 1976 was the first treaty among the ASEAN member states that pertained to the concern of regional security. Prior to this, in 1971, Malaysia proposed an idea of making Southeast Asia region a neutral political area. The proposal was called ZOPFAN, standing for "Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality in South-east Asia". However, the SOPFAN objectives become less important after the end of the Cold War period.
The concern of regional security became important again in 1978, when Vietnam invaded Cambodia. SOM, the Special SOM and the Working Group were the central forum for security consultation.
When the Cambodian government stability was eventually restored, ASEAN had initiated the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) at the Singapore summit in 1992. This has been the result of a consultation forum convened to address regional security issues among the member states and the guest non-ASEAN countries. The first meeting of the ARF was in Bangkok in 1994, and it met annually thereafter. In 2003, when the Bali Concord II was introduced for the establishment of the ASEAN Community, the Political-Security Community initiative had been mandated to become one of the pillars of ASEAN.
In 2004, the Plan of Action involving measures necessary for the movement towards ASEAN Community was made. However, the Plan of Action was soon replaced by a blueprint of accords adopted during the 14th Summit at Hua Hin, Thailand, on March 1, 2009.
The ASEAN Political-Security Community (ASPC) aims to ensure that countries in the region live at peace with one another and in the world be securing a just, democratic and harmonious environment domestically.
The members of the Community pledge to rely exclusively on peaceful process in the settlement of intra-regional differences and regard their security as fundamentally linked to one another by geographic location, common vision and mutual objectives. ASPC has the following components, namely: political development, shaping and sharing of norms, conflict prevention, conflict resolution, post-conflict peace building, and implementing mechanisms.
The ASPC blueprint provides a roadmap and timetable to establish the ASPC by 2015. However, there is room for flexibility to continue programs or activities beyond the year 2015 in order to ensure the enduring quality of the programs. The APSC blueprint envisages ASEAN to be a rules-based community of shared values and norms—a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region with shared responsibility for comprehensive security; additionally, it hopes to create a dynamic and outward-looking region in an increasingly integrated and modern world. The APSC blueprint is guided by the ASEAN Charter and the principles and purposes contained therein are as follows:
1) The political development component of APSC.
Although the APSC Blueprint gives a significant weight on the promotion of democracy, human rights, and communication between people of Member States, in reality ASEAN Member States still have difficulties in internal democracy building. The function of the human rights mechanism to be established is also doubtful.
2) The shaping and sharing of norms.
At present norms and principles of ASEAN are contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-East Asia (TAC), ASEAN Charter, and the Treaty on the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), and other key agreements.
3) Conflict prevention.
APSC emphasized the importance of the conflict prevention mechanisms known as Confidence Building Measures (CBM), the meetings of the Defense Ministries, ASEAN arms registration, and development of an alert system. However, it is still not certain whether these measures and mechanisms will be accomplished by the year 2015. It must be also noted that,
although ASEAN has been established more than 40 years ago, the first meeting of Defense Ministries was just taken place recently.
4) Conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution and pacific dispute settlement is also mentioned in the blueprint. However, there has been a debate over the recent years among the member states whether ASEAN should have its own peace-keeping force or not. Indonesia has strongly supported this concept. However, many countries in the region fear that the peacekeeping force mechanism may be abused for interference of internal affairs.
After the event of September 11, 2001, in the U.S., and the bomb in Bali in October 2002, ASEAN has increased its interest in counter-terrorism. The most important document is the ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, under which ASEAN member states were called on to increase their cooperation in these respects. The effort culminated in the signing and ratification of 12 counter-terrorism treaties, the Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crimes (AMTC), increased role of ASEAN against terrorism, establishment of the Southeast Asian Counterterrorism Center in Malaysia, the meeting of AMMTC Plus 3 (China, Japan and South Korea), and the cooperation with the U.S., EU, Russia and Australia in this regard.
It can be said that ASEAN has intensively increased the cooperation of member states and other countries regarding counterterrorism in the recent decade, and one can expect more strategies and actions to be taken by ASEAN in this regard.
b. Economic integration.
Among the 3 pillars, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) seems to acquire the most attention from member states at the present moment. Leaders of ASEAN member states adopted the ASEAN Economic Blueprint at the 13th Summit on November 20, 2007, in Singapore. The blueprint serves as a coherent master plan guiding the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. AEC envisages the following key characteristics: (a) a single market and production base, (b) a highly competitive economic region, (c) a region of equitable economic development, and (d) a region fully integrated into the global economy.
According to the blueprint, the AEC will establish ASEAN as a single market and production base, which will in turn render ASEAN more dynamic and competitive with its new mechanisms and measures used to strengthen the implementation of its existing initiatives. The single market will also lead to the acceleration of regional integration in the priority sectors, which will facilitate the movement of business people, skilled laborers and other entrepreneurs, in turn strengthening the institutional mechanism of ASEAN.
ASEAN single market and production base comprises of 5 core elements:
(i) Free flow of goods.
Through ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), ASEAN has achieved significant progress in the removal of tariffs. However, free flow of goods would require not only no tariffs but the removal of non-tariff barriers as well. In addition, another major component that would facilitate free flow of goods is trade facilitation measures such as integration of customs procedures, establishment of the ASEAN Single Window, continuation of the enhancement of the Common Effective Preferential Tariffs (CEPT) Rules of Origin.
The Common Effective Preferential Tariffs for ASEAN Free Trade Area (CEPT-AFTA) Agreement has been reviewed and enhanced to become a comprehensive agreement. Accordingly, ASEAN member states have adopted the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement on April 26, 2009in replacement of CEPT, the reasoning being the contribution of a legal framework to realize free flow of goods that is applicable to ASEAN needs for accelerated economic integration towards 2015.
(ii) Free flow of services.
The free flow of services aims at removal of substantial restrictions to service suppliers in providing services and establishing companies across national borders that are subject to
domestic regulations. Liberalization of services has been carried out through rounds of negotiation, mainly under the Coordination Committee on Services. Negotiation of some specific services sectors, such as financial services and air transport, are carried out by their respective Ministerial bodies.
The AEC blueprint targets the removal of restrictions on trade in services for 4 priority service sectors - air transport, e-ASEAN, healthcare and tourism- by 2010. Its other priority is the removal of restrictions on logistic services by 2013, and removal of restrictions on trade in services for all other services sectors by 2015.
Concerning the liberalization of financial services, the ASEAN minus X formula has been adopted in the blueprint. It intends the countries that are ready to liberalize to proceed first and be joined by others later.
ASEAN member states have concluded the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) on h December 15, 1995, during the 5th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, where they officially formalized the ASEAN integration commitment. It is interesting to note that the signing of AFAS took place only one and a half years after the conclusion of the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in April, 1994. AFAS provides a legal framework of the rules of trade in services for progressive improvement of market access and national treatment in ASEAN. It requires member states to enter into negotiations on measures affecting trade in specific service sectors. s. Prior to the adoption of the AEC blueprint in 2007, negotiations occurred in rounds of meetings since 1997 and resulted in agreed-upon packages of commitments.
Since the entry of AFAS into force, The ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) had signed 8 Protocols to Implement 8 Packages of Commitments under AFAS, which cover a wide range of services sectors. These packages are as follows:
- 1st Package, signed on 15 December 1997 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
- 2nd Package, signed on 16 December 1998 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam;
- 3rd Package, signed by 31 December 2001 (Ad-Referendum Signing);
- 4th Package, signed on 3 September 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia;
- 5th Package, signed on 8 December 2006 in Cebu, the Philippines;
- 6th Package, signed on 19 November 2007 in Singapore;
- 7th Package, signed on 26 February 2009 in Cha-am, Thailand;
- 8th Package, signed on 28 October 2010 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
At present and per the mandate of the AEC blueprint, ASEAN member states are working towards full completion of their commitments for the 8th Package.. It should be noted that beginning with the 5th Package, all the previous AFAS and GATS commitments were consolidated into a single comprehensive schedule along with the new/improved commitments made under the subsequent packages.
(iii) Free flow of investment.
ASEAN cooperation in promoting investment flows was implemented through the 1998 Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) and the ASEAN Agreement for the 1987 Promotion and Protection of Investment, commonly known as the ASEAN Investment Guarantee Agreement (AIGA). In 2007, the ASEAN Economic Ministerial meetings came to consensus to review the AIA and AIGA, with an objective towards consolidation of these two agreements to create a free and open investment regime, to attract investments and to achieve ASEAN economic integration.
In February 2009, the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) was signed. ACIA is a comprehensive agreement covering liberalisation, protection, facilitation and promotion and includes new provisions as well as improvements to AIA/AIGA provisions.
With the passing of ACIA, ASEAN is confident of remaining in the forefront as a major recipient of foreign direct investment flows. In 2008, foreign direct investment flows to the region remained steady, even in the face of adverse global circumstances.
(iv) Free flow of capital.
According to the AEC blueprint, the liberalization of capital movements is to be guided by the following principles:
a) Ensuring orderly capital account liberalization consistent with member countries' national agenda and readiness of the economy;
b) Allowing adequate safeguard against potential macroeconomic instability and systemic risk that may arise from the liberalization process, including the right to adopt necessary measures to ensure macroeconomic stability; and
c) Ensuring the benefits of liberalization to be shared by all ASEAN countries.
It is clear that the member states are not ready for liberalization of free flow of capital. The blueprint, therefore, focuses on greater account mobility.
(v) Free flow of skilled labors.
The liberalization of the movement of labor is permitted only for skilled laborers. The AEC blueprint also contemplates facilitation of issuance of visas and employment passes for ASEAN professionals and skilled labors who are engaged in cross-border trade and investment related activities, and harmonization and standardization to facilitate the free flow of services (by 2015) in order to facilitate their movement within the region.
c. Socio-cultural integration.
The establishment of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) is to contribute to the realization of a people-oriented and socially responsible community, which would facilitate enduring solidarity and unity among the peoples of the member states by forging a common identity and building a caring and sharing society where the well-being, livelihood, and welfare of the people are enhanced. The ASCC, hence, focuses on the sociocultural dimension of the ASEAN Community.
The ASCC envisages the following:
(a) Human development;
(b) Social welfare and protection;
(c) Social justice and rights;
(d) Ensuring environmental sustainability;
(e) Building the ASEAN Identity; and
(f) Narrowing the development gap.
Although ASEAN covers a large geographical area and represents a significant percentage of the world population, it has targeted the year of 2015 as the year to complete its vision of the ASEAN Community Member states, such as Thailand, were advised to cooperate externally as much as possible, creating economic alliances with both the member states but also with other willing countries.. Economic integration and liberalization of trade, either in goods or services or investment and labor, will most likely enhance the prosperity and standard of living for the constituents in all member states. For the creators and contributors to the principals and framework of ASEAN,, the challenge lies not only in the accomplishment of the establishment of the ASEAN Community, especially of the AEC pillars, but for the integration and liberalization of these larger regions. Otherwise, ASEAN will be relegated to a weak alliance of developing countries that could benefit from cooperation but that choose a mostly independent route to development.
REFERENCES
1. For the history of the economic cooperation of ASEAN, please see Narongchai Akarasanee, "ASEAN in the Past Thirty-Three Years: Lesson for Economic Cooperation" in Reinventing
ASEAN (eds. Simon S.C. Tay, Jesus P. Estanisleo and Hadi Soesastro)(Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001).
2. These statistics are available at http://www.asean.org/news/item/selected-key-indicators.
3. For Timor Leste's reason to join the ASEAN, please see http://www.eastasiaforum.ors/2011/05/16/why-timor-leste-should-join-asean-now
4. http://www.asean.org.9303.htm
5. http://www.asiaviews.org/?content=ger53rger5676648&voices=20060125184254
6. http://www.asean.org/3839.htm
7. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/view article.php
8. http://asia.news.yahoo.com/07307/4/2ykdn.html
9. http://www.asean.org/8914.htm
10. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=43618), Philippines Daily Inquirer, 13 March 2007.
11. http://www.asean.org/17933.htm
12. http://www.asean.org/12375.htm
