Know Your ASEAN 9789812304735, 9812304738, 9789812304872, 9812304878

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KNOW YOUR ASEAN

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) was established as an autonomous organization in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institute’s research programmes are the Regional Economic Studies (RES, including ASEAN and APEC), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS).

KNOW YOUR ASEAN sets down, in clear and simple language, the basic facts about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It does so in the form of 40 questions and their answers. This is the second edition of the booklet that was among the contributions of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies to the observance of the 40th anniversary of ASEAN’s founding on 8 August 1967.

2nd Edition

ISEAS Publishing, an established academic press, has issued almost 2,000 books and journals. It is the largest scholarly publisher of research about Southeast Asia from within the region. ISEAS Publishing works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about Southeast Asia to the rest of the world.

The booklet provides facts on ASEAN’s establishment, membership, financing and decision-making. It recalls the association’s contributions to regional security. It explains what ASEAN is doing to integrate the regional economy and promote regional cooperation on the environment, infectious diseases, counter-terrorism, poverty reduction, and natural disasters. It clarifies such issues as non-interference and human rights. It touches on ASEAN’s relations with other countries and international institutions. Since the first edition was published in 2007, many developments have taken place in ASEAN and Southeast Asia, including the adoption of the ASEAN Charter. Hence, the need for an updated version of the text. Through this booklet and their other work, ISEAS and its ASEAN Studies Centre hope to contribute to the expansion of public understanding about ASEAN, recognizing the fact that regional solidarity, integration and cooperation are possible only with sufficient public support. As in the first edition, the publication’s design and cartoons are by Miel, the award-winning Senior Executive Artist and leading cartoonist of the Straits Times.

BM328 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore 119614 http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg

ISBN 978-981-230-487-2

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P U B L I C A T I O N

Reproduced from Know Your ASEAN (2nd Edition) (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010). This version was obtained electronically direct from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies < http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg >.

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) was established as an autonomous organization in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institute’s research programmes are the Regional Economic Studies (RES, including ASEAN and APEC), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS). ISEAS Publishing, an established academic press, has issued more than 2,000 books and journals. It is the largest scholarly publisher of research about Southeast Asia from within the region. ISEAS Publishing works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about Southeast Asia to the rest of the world.

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First published in Singapore in 2010 by ISEAS Publishing Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore 119614 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. © First edition 2007 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore © Second edition 2010 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore This book project has been supported by the Lien Foundation, Singapore. ISEAS Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Know your ASEAN. 2nd ed. 1. ASEAN. 2. Regionalism (International organization). I. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. JZ5333.5 A9K732010 2010 ISBN 978-981-4311-34-2 (soft cover) ISBN 978-981-4311-35-9 (E-book PDF) Printed in Singapore by Utopia Press Pte Ltd

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Contents

  1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6.   7.   8.   9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

ASEAN’s members Founders and date of birth Reasons for setting up ASEAN Dates of admission of newer members Important accomplishments Non-interference in internal affairs ASEAN and human rights ASEAN and Myanmar Regional peace and stability ASEAN and the South China Sea ASEAN is not a military alliance The ASEAN Regional Forum The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Increasing jobs and reducing poverty The development gap Trading within ASEAN Regional economic stability Promoting tourism Protecting the regional environment

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21. Dealing with communicable diseases 22. Combating terrorism, illicit drugs, and transnational crime 23. Coping with natural disasters 24. ASEAN and women’s issues 25. The regional cultural heritage 26. Bringing young people together 27. The ASEAN Secretariat 28. The ASEAN Charter 29. ASEAN’s flag and emblem 30. Working in the Secretariat 31. Funding ASEAN 32. Managing ASEAN affairs 33. Making ASEAN decisions 34. ASEAN’s working language 35. ASEAN and the international community 36. The Dialogue system 37. The ASEAN Dialogue Partners 38. Working with the United Nations 39. Working with the Asian Development Bank 40. Learning about ASEAN

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1.  How many members does ASEAN have, and which countries are they? ASEAN has ten members: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

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2.  Which of them founded the association and when? ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Otherwise known as the Bangkok Declaration, the document had five preambular and five operative paragraphs. The five founding countries were represented by Adam Malik, Presidium Minister for Political Affairs and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia; Tun Abdul Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Defence and Minister for National Development of Malaysia; Narciso Ramos, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines; S. Rajaratnam, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore; and Thanat Khoman, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

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3.  Why did they decide to organize ASEAN? The ASEAN Declaration laid down seven “aims and purposes” for the association: ■

Economic growth, social progress and cultural development;

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Regional peace and stability;

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Economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative collaboration;

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Mutual assistance in training and research;

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Collaboration in agriculture and industry, trade, transportation and communications, and the improvement of living standards;

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Promotion of Southeast Asian studies; and

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Cooperation with regional and international organizations.

Underlying all this was the determination of the founding states to prevent disputes between them from erupting into conflict and settle any such disputes by peaceful means as well as to cooperate in improving the lives of their peoples.

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4.  When did the others join the association? Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, six days after its independence. Viet Nam became a member on 28 July 1995. Laos and Myanmar were admitted on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. This was in keeping with the statement in the ASEAN Declaration that the “Association is open for participation to all States in the South-East Asian Region subscribing to (its) aims, principles and purposes”.

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5.  In general terms, what have been the most important accomplishments of ASEAN? By establishing and adhering to norms for interstate relations, forming networks of cooperation among leading policy makers, and developing a regional consciousness among increasing numbers of Southeast Asians, ASEAN has contributed to the prevention of conflict in the region. No two ASEAN members have ever gone to war with each other. Indeed, war has become all but unthinkable among ASEAN countries. ASEAN has succeeded in keeping the relevant powers engaged in Southeast Asia in an inclusive manner largely through the system of Dialogue Partnerships, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ASEAN Plus Three process, and the East Asia Summit.

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ASEAN has laid the foundations for regional economic integration through the ASEAN Free Trade Area and other agreements, even as its members maintain economies that are open to the world. ASEAN has also fostered regional cooperation in the protection of the environment, combating transnational crime, preventing the spread of communicable diseases, and many other fields. Through the years, Southeast Asians from many walks of life have formed expanding networks on the basis of ASEAN, cultivating habits of regional amity and cooperation among increasing numbers of people.

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6.  Why are ASEAN countries committed not to interfere in one another’s internal affairs? The policy of non-interference in countries’ internal affairs is neither the invention nor the monopoly of ASEAN. This principle dates back to as early as the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, which established the notion of the sovereignty of the nation-state. It is enshrined in resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and in the constituent acts of regional associations. It underpins the entire interstate system. However, when ASEAN declines to do something about a problem internal to one of its members, it does so not because of a rigid adherence to some doctrine but out of self-interest — no member would like others to interfere in its own affairs — or out of the realistic recognition that many internal problems cannot be solved by measures imposed from outside.

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Nevertheless, there are cases in which a state is clearly unable to protect its own citizens from massive and grievous harm. There are instances when a domestic event has a severe impact on neighbouring countries and peoples or affects regional peace and stability. In such cases, external intervention would not be interference but either humanitarian action or self-defence. Over the years, ASEAN has spoken out on events within its individual members, including the Philippine crisis in 1986, the land and forest fires in Indonesia, the situation in Myanmar, and, most recently, the turmoil in Thailand.

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7.  What is the ASEAN stance on human rights? The ASEAN position on human rights can be found in the Joint Communiqué of the July 1993 ASEAN Ministerial Meeting: “16. The Foreign Ministers welcomed the international consensus achieved during the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, 14–25 June 1993, and reaffirmed ASEAN’s commitment to and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as set out in the Vienna Declaration of 25 June 1993. They stressed that human rights are interrelated and indivisible comprising civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. These rights are of equal importance. They should be addressed in a balanced and integrated manner and protected and promoted with due regard for specific cultural, social, economic and political circumstances. They emphasized that the promotion and protection of human rights should not be politicized.

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“17. The Foreign Ministers agreed that ASEAN should coordinate a common approach on human rights and actively participate and contribute to the application, promotion and protection of human rights. They noted that the UN Charter had placed the question of universal observance and promotion of human rights within the context of international cooperation. They stressed that development is an inalienable right and that the use of human rights as a conditionality for economic cooperation and development assistance is detrimental to international cooperation and could undermine an international consensus on human rights. They emphasized that the protection and promotion of human rights in the international community should take cognizance of the principles of respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of states. They were convinced that freedom, progress and national stability are promoted by a balance between the rights of the individual and those of the community, through which many individual rights are realized, as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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“18. The Foreign Ministers reviewed with satisfaction the considerable and continuing progress of ASEAN in freeing its peoples from fear and want, enabling them to live in dignity. They stressed that the violations of basic human rights must be redressed and should not be tolerated under any pretext. They further stressed the importance of strengthening international cooperation on all aspects of human rights and that all governments should uphold humane standards and respect human dignity. In this regard and in support of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of 25 June 1993, they agreed that ASEAN should also consider the establishment of an appropriate regional mechanism on human rights.” The new ASEAN Charter commits the member-states to the protection of human rights among other norms for their domestic behaviour. An ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights has been formed, its members have been appointed, and its Terms of Reference have been adopted.

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8.  What is the ASEAN position on the Myanmar issue? ASEAN has been stressing the importance of national reconciliation in Myanmar and the holding of the 2010 general elections in a free, fair, and inclusive manner. ASEAN has called on Myanmar to release those in detention, including Daw Aung San Kyi. However, ASEAN does not favour economic embargoes and boycotts to bring about change in the internal situation in that country, considering such measures to be ineffective, counter-productive and harmful to the people of Myanmar.

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9.  What has ASEAN done to promote peace and stability in the region? ASEAN has renounced the use or threat of force as a mode of managing relations between states. It has opposed invasion and occupation as a way of bringing about change in neighbouring countries. In line with this position, ASEAN took a leading role in bringing about a political settlement of the Cambodian conflict of 1979–1991. Following the settlement, ASEAN brought all the states of Southeast Asia into one regional association, thus healing the division of the region. In the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, ASEAN has adopted norms for interstate relations that its members have generally adhered to. By formal treaty, ASEAN has declared Southeast Asia a nuclear weapons-free zone. Belonging to a regional association and benefiting from it have given ASEAN members a stake in good relations with one another.

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Through the system of Dialogue Partnerships, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the East Asia Summit, ASEAN has engaged the leading powers in the affairs of the region in a balanced and constructive way. The ASEAN Plus Three forum and process have strengthened relations between Southeast and Northeast Asia; they have also provided an additional venue for China, Japan and Korea to discuss Northeast Asian affairs among themselves, a matter of no small importance for the stability of East Asia. The East Asia Summit gathers the leaders of the ASEAN-10, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand in annual, toplevel discussions of the great strategic, economic and other human issues of our time. Russia and the United States have expressed their interest in taking part in this process.

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10.  How does ASEAN deal with the conflicting claims to the South China Sea? Four ASEAN countries and China have conflicting claims to jurisdiction of varying kinds over all or parts of the South China Sea. Pending the resolution of the jurisdictional disputes, ASEAN supports their peaceful management. In 1992, ASEAN issued a declaration calling for peaceful means in settling those disputes. In 2002, the ASEAN countries concluded with China a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

In that document, they reaffirmed their commitment to the peaceful resolution of jurisdictional and territorial disputes, to freedom of navigation and overflight, and to the exercise of self-restraint. In particular, they undertook to refrain from occupying features in the South China Sea that were uninhabited at that time. At the same time, they agreed to take measures to build mutual confidence and to carry out cooperative activities in the area.

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11.  Is ASEAN a military alliance? Having no common enemies, actual or potential, ASEAN is not a military alliance or a defence pact, although individual members are free to enter into military arrangements with other countries provided that they do not threaten the security of neighbours. Nevertheless, for many years, defence ministers, armed forces chiefs, and the heads of the military services and intelligence agencies have been in close contact with one another. Security and defence officials take part in the ASEAN Regional Forum. Regional armed forces units have been increasing their cooperation in such civil endeavours as disaster relief and search and rescue. Security authorities have been cooperating in anti-terrorism efforts. In May 2006, a new ASEAN defence ministers’ forum convened its inaugural meeting. As an association, ASEAN does not conduct peacekeeping operations. However, several of its members take part in UN PKOs.

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12.  What is the ASEAN Regional Forum? Following the end of the Cold War and the settlement of the Cambodian problem, ASEAN decided that East Asia needed a forum for consultation and dialogue on regional security issues in the light of the evolving configuration of power in the region. Thus, ASEAN invited its observers, Dialogue Partners and consultative partners to gather regularly in the ASEAN Regional Forum. It is the only Asia-Pacific-wide venue for the discussion of security issues. Held for the first time in July 1994, the ARF ministerial meeting is the forum’s centerpiece. It takes place on the occasion of the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and is presided over by the AMM chairman. The ARF seeks to foster mutual confidence and clarify positions on security issues through consultations and dialogue at the ministerial and senior-officials levels. Through seminars, workshops, training and joint exercises in a variety of fields, ARF participants develop the capacity of working together in practical ways, aside from promoting mutual confidence and professional networking. Amongst the subjects of these cooperative activities have been peacekeeping operations, search and rescue, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, transnational crime, and maritime security.

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Defence-related confidence-building measures have included meetings of the heads of defence colleges, the exchange of policy documents, and seminars and workshops on laws on armed conflict, the conversion of defence industries to civilian purposes, logistics outsourcing, and civilian-military relations. In addition to the ten ASEAN memberstates, sixteen countries and the European Union participate in the ARF. The countries are Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and the United States.

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13.  What is the value of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia? Signed by the heads of government of the ASEAN member-states on 24 February 1976, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia lays down the basic principles for inter-state relations in the region: ■

Respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations;

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Freedom from external interference, subversion or coercion;

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Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;

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The peaceful settlement of disputes;

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Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

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Effective cooperation among themselves.

In order to advance these purposes, the treaty commits the signatories to cooperate in the promotion of regional peace, economic development, and social justice and to refrain from any act that would threaten others.

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The treaty provides for a ministerial-level High Council that is to “take cognizance” of a dispute that cannot be settled through direct negotiations and recommend “appropriate means of settlement” or measures to prevent the situation from deteriorating. In December 1987, the treaty was amended to open it to accession by states outside Southeast Asia. The adoption of ASEAN’s principles for interstate relations by many countries outside Southeast Asia has further reinforced the fabric of peace and stability in the region. So far, sixteen “non-regional” states are parties — Papua New Guinea, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Australia, Timor-Leste, France, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, North Korea, the United States, Canada, and Turkey. The treaty is being amended to enable the European Union to accede to it.

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14.  Why have ASEAN countries concluded the treaty on a Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone? Signed in December 1995, the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty commits ASEAN members not to “develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over nuclear weapons; station or transport nuclear weapons by any means; or test or use nuclear weapons” in Southeast Asia. They also undertake not to allow any other state to do any of those things except for the matter of transport. They are committed not to dispose of radioactive materials or waste on land, in the sea or in the air or allow others to do so. Through the treaty, ASEAN members reassure one another that they will not develop or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or allow the deployment of such weapons on their soil. The treaty, therefore, strengthens peace and stability in the region. It is ASEAN’s contribution to the global nuclear nonproliferation regime. ASEAN is currently negotiating with France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, four of the five internationally recognized nuclearweapon states, the terms of a protocol in which those states would undertake to respect the

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terms of the treaty. China, the fifth official nuclearweapon state, has expressed its readiness to sign the protocol.

15.  What is ASEAN doing to increase jobs and reduce poverty in Southeast Asia? Stimulating economic growth, increasing jobs and reducing poverty are primarily the responsibility of individual countries. However, ASEAN cooperates in this vital endeavour in several ways. One is by significantly contributing to peace and stability in the region, without which investments are discouraged, economic development is retarded, and lives and livelihoods are disrupted. ASEAN has laid the foundations for regional economic integration, through which investors can be attracted by the prospect of a large regional market. ASEAN countries also learn from one another in matters like vocational training for young people in skills needed by a modern economy.

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16.  What is ASEAN doing to reduce the development gap between its older and newer members? The Initiative for ASEAN Integration is a programme in which the older members of ASEAN and others in the international community help the newer and less economically advanced ASEAN members to develop more rapidly. It does this primarily through training, help in institution building, policy advice and feasibility studies. Launched in 2002 as a device for narrowing the development gap between ASEAN’s older and newer members, the IAI now focuses on transport and energy, human resource development, information and communications technology, capacity building for regional economic integration, tourism, quality of life, and general development issues.

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17.  How much do ASEAN countries trade with one another? Trade within ASEAN tripled over the past decade to US$458 billion in 2008 out of its total global trade of about US$1.7 trillion. Thus, intra-ASEAN trade accounts for about 27 percent of the region’s total trade, the largest share of its foreign trade. The ASEAN countries also trade heavily with the developed countries, notably Japan, the United States and the European Union, and, increasingly, with China.

18.  What is ASEAN doing to keep the region economically stable? ASEAN seeks to integrate the regional economy by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to intraASEAN trade, streamlining and coordinating customs procedures, harmonizing product standards, liberalizing trade in services, and strengthening transportation and communications links. By doing so, ASEAN hopes to encourage investments by

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17.  How much do ASEAN countries trade with one another? Trade within ASEAN tripled over the past decade to US$458 billion in 2008 out of its total global trade of about US$1.7 trillion. Thus, intra-ASEAN trade accounts for about 27 percent of the region’s total trade, the largest share of its foreign trade. The ASEAN countries also trade heavily with the developed countries, notably Japan, the United States and the European Union, and, increasingly, with China.

18.  What is ASEAN doing to keep the region economically stable? ASEAN seeks to integrate the regional economy by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to intraASEAN trade, streamlining and coordinating customs procedures, harmonizing product standards, liberalizing trade in services, and strengthening transportation and communications links. By doing so, ASEAN hopes to encourage investments by

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attracting them with the prospect of a large regional market of more than 580 million people with a combined gross domestic product of US$1.5 trillion. The size of such an integrated market enhances efficiency and lowers costs. Together with China, Japan and Korea and with the support of the Asian Development Bank, ASEAN conducts a periodic review and surveillance of the regional economy in order to be able to anticipate possible economic trouble. This is part of the forum and process called ASEAN Plus Three. ASEAN Plus Three has formed a currency pool meant to provide support for countries whose currencies are under speculative attack or are otherwise under pressure. ASEAN Plus Three is also developing an Asian bond market so as to make better use of Asian savings.

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19.  How does ASEAN promote tourism into the region? The annual ASEAN Tourism Forum, which usually takes place in January in ASEAN countries by rotation, is one of the largest and most successful tourism events in the world. In the ATF, ASEAN national tourism organizations, hotels, resorts, airlines, and tour operators meet with thousands of travel writers, travel agencies and other buyers of tourism services to get acquainted and make deals. ASEAN countries cooperate in tourism promotion. Occasionally, ASEAN airs tourism spots on international television. In 2002, ASEAN concluded a broad tourism agreement that commits them to liberalize the tourism industry, collectively promote tourism in the region, and cooperate in ensuring the safety of travelers and of ASEAN residents affected by tourism.

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20.  What is ASEAN doing to protect the regional environment? The most urgent environmental problem that Southeast Asia faces periodically is the haze caused by land and forest fires. Even before the severe haze episode of 1997–98, ASEAN had taken some cooperative actions to prevent the haze and mitigate its impact, mostly as prescribed in the 1995 ASEAN Cooperation Plan on Transboundary Pollution. These included the strengthening of the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre in Singapore, work towards a common air-quality index, and a fire danger rating system. In response to the 1997–98 episode, ASEAN adopted the Regional Haze Action Plan, a detailed

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set of measures for preventing land and forest fires and mitigating their effects, including regional fire-fighting arrangements and the education and involvement of local communities. In 2002, ASEAN concluded the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution formalizing the parties’ commitments. The agreement entered into force in November 2003. In other environmental matters, ASEAN has designated twenty-seven protected areas as ASEAN Heritage Parks, launched a programme for water resource management, set up an ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, established a project to restore degraded forests and ecosystems, agreed on a set of marine water-quality criteria, and adopted a programme on environmental education and public awareness.

21.  What is ASEAN doing to stop communicable diseases from spreading in the region? The SARS crisis of 2003 struck down lives and ravaged economies in several countries. However, quick ASEAN action, in cooperation with other countries and the World Health Organization, helped to stop the spread of the disease. The ministers of health of ASEAN and those of China, Japan and

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Korea met to work out solutions to the problem, followed by special ASEAN and ASEAN-China summit meetings. The involvement of the leaders was important, as the anti-SARS measures required the cooperation of several agencies in each country. Those measures included strict quarantine, thermal screening at airports, and common protocols for land, sea and air travel. The determination of each country to carry them out was crucial. Since then, ASEAN and its partners have turned to taking measures against a possible pandemic of avian influenza. With Japanese funding, vaccines have been stockpiled in Singapore, together with personal protective equipment, particularly for health workers. ASEAN has adopted a work plan on HIV/AIDS, with ASEAN, Australia, China, Japan and Korea collaborating on an Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme. ASEAN maintains a website for disease surveillance.

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22.  What is ASEAN doing to combat international terrorism and other transnational crime, including the drugs problem? ASEAN, on its own and together with others, has repeatedly brought its political weight to bear in condemnations of terrorism. Southeast Asian countries have, within an ASEAN framework, closely collaborated among themselves and with others in combating international terrorism, including its funding. At their January 2007 summit meeting, ASEAN’s leaders signed an anti-terrorism convention indicating definitions of terrorism, laying down measures for cooperation in anti-terrorism, and specifying the rights of terrorism suspects.

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ASEAN has concluded a multilateral treaty on mutual legal assistance to facilitate cooperation against terrorism and transnational crime. The ASEAN forums on transnational crime have adopted a work programme that the member-countries are carrying out. The ASEAN Senior Officials on Drugs, a forum that has been in existence since 1984, is the main mechanism for dealing collectively with the problem of illicit drugs. ASEAN has four training centres related to this work. Located in different cities in the region, the centres conduct training and awareness programmes in law enforcement, preventive drug education, treatment and rehabilitation, and the detection of drugs in bodily fluids. ASEAN also cooperates in this area with China and with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

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23.  What is ASEAN doing about natural disasters? ASEAN cooperation in dealing with natural disasters is handled by the Committee on Disaster Management, which has an ASEAN Regional Programme on Disaster Management. The programme includes a response action plan, training, information sharing and communications, partnerships with governments and nongovernmental organisations, and public awareness. In July 2005, the member-countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response to strengthen regional cooperation. It covers early warning and preparedness, prevention, mitigation and disaster risk reduction, and regional emergency response. Before the establishment of the ASEAN Co-ordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance, the ASEAN Secretariat has been helping coordinate relief assistance in times of disaster affecting ASEAN member-countries, including the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

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24.  Where does ASEAN stand on women’s issues? The formal status of women in Southeast Asia is generally equal to that of men. However, as elsewhere, many women are victims of violence, abuse or trafficking. In 2004, the ASEAN foreign ministers signed the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the ASEAN Region, making clear where the ASEAN governments stand on the issue of violence against women. ASEAN has called for the full implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. ASEAN also cooperates in the training of women in useful skills.

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25.  What does ASEAN do to preserve, promote and enhance the regional cultural heritage? ASEAN countries have collaborated in the preservation of heritage sites around the region. They undertake joint research in this area. ASEAN has mounted joint productions of original performing arts pertaining to Southeast Asian traditions. It has mounted photographic exhibitions and published illustrated books on the arts and crafts of the region.

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26.  What is ASEAN doing to bring the region’s young people closer together? Young people of Southeast Asia regularly gather in ASEAN youth camps and jamborees. ASEAN undertakes youth exchange programmes. Some member-states provide scholarships for students from ASEAN countries. Singapore has announced an ASEAN Youth Fund to finance joint activities of ASEAN youth. Since 1974, the Japanese Government has been sponsoring a cruise for more than 300 young people from ASEAN and Japan every year. The cruise, which stops at Southeast Asian and Japanese ports, promotes friendships and mutual discovery among the youth.

27.  Does ASEAN have a secretariat? Where is it located? ASEAN established a Secretariat with the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Secretariat on 24 February 1976. It is located in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The ASEAN Secretariat acquired a permanent headquarters on 9 May 1981, when the building donated by the Indonesian Government was inaugurated on a piece of land in South Jakarta.

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26.  What is ASEAN doing to bring the region’s young people closer together? Young people of Southeast Asia regularly gather in ASEAN youth camps and jamborees. ASEAN undertakes youth exchange programmes. Some member-states provide scholarships for students from ASEAN countries. Singapore has announced an ASEAN Youth Fund to finance joint activities of ASEAN youth. Since 1974, the Japanese Government has been sponsoring a cruise for more than 300 young people from ASEAN and Japan every year. The cruise, which stops at Southeast Asian and Japanese ports, promotes friendships and mutual discovery among the youth.

27.  Does ASEAN have a secretariat? Where is it located? ASEAN established a Secretariat with the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Secretariat on 24 February 1976. It is located in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The ASEAN Secretariat acquired a permanent headquarters on 9 May 1981, when the building donated by the Indonesian Government was inaugurated on a piece of land in South Jakarta.

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28.  Does ASEAN need a Charter? In the four decades of ASEAN’s existence, it operated without a formal charter. Although it had concluded a few formal agreements, ASEAN largely relied on informal arrangements, implicit understandings and personal relationships in moving forward its political solidarity, its economic integration, and its cooperation in many areas. In December 2005, ASEAN’s leaders decided that it was time for ASEAN to adopt a charter “embodying fundamental principles, goals, objectives and structures of ASEAN cooperation capable of meeting the needs of the ASEAN Community”. According to the leaders’ declaration, the charter would “serve as a legal and institutional framework of ASEAN” and “codify all ASEAN norms, rules, and values”. The declaration then set forth some of these norms and values. In addition to giving ASEAN “legal personality”, the charter would “determine the functions (and) develop areas of competence of key ASEAN bodies and their relationship with one another”. Accordingly, the leaders appointed an Eminent Persons Group, one from each member-state, to draw up recommendations for the contents of the proposed charter. After conducting extensive consultations, the EPG, at the ASEAN Summit in January 2007, submitted its report to the leaders, who endorsed it.

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A High Level Task Force of senior officials entered into inter-governmental negotiations in drafting the charter, each undertaking consultations in accordance with the country’s political practices. The ASEAN heads of government signed the Charter at the ASEAN Summit on 20 November 2007. The Charter went into effect on 15 December 2008, thirty days after the tenth instrument of ratification was deposited with the ASEAN Secretariat. In addition to its long-held rules for inter-state conduct, the Charter lays down norms for the internal behaviour of states by committing ASEAN countries, in its preamble, purposes and principles, to adhere to human rights, democracy, the rule of law, good governance, constitutional government, social justice and sustainable development. This commitment gives states and individuals something to invoke in case of egregious violations of the norms. The Charter also commits the association to establish an “ASEAN human rights body”. The terms of reference of the body, called the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, have been adopted and its members appointed. The Charter makes clear that the objective of regional economic integration is to “create a single market and production base”.

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The Charter seeks to establish mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes concerning ASEAN agreements, including the Charter itself. Such a mechanism had already existed for ASEAN economic agreements. The Secretary-General is to monitor compliance with the results of the dispute settlement and report on them to the ASEAN Summit. Although the mere adoption of a charter is not expected suddenly to change ASEAN’s nature and culture, it should make the association more credible and more efficient, its objectives clearer, and its institutions stronger and more effective, as well as confer on the association a legal personality separate from its member-states. It should also enable the association to augment its resources. It should, therefore, help in hastening ASEAN’s evolution and its adjustment to changing conditions in the region and in the world.

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29.  What do the ASEAN flag and emblem signify? ASEAN’s emblem is in the centre of the ASEAN flag. Here is the ASEAN Charter’s description of the flag: The ASEAN flag represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic ASEAN. The colours of the flag (and emblem) — blue, red, white and yellow — represent the main colours of the flags of all the ASEAN countries. The blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and dynamism. White shows purity and yellow symbolises prosperity. The ten stalks of padi (in the emblem) represent the dream of ASEAN’s Founding Fathers for an ASEAN comprising all the ten countries in Southeast Asia bound together in friendship and solidarity. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN.

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30.  How many people work in the ASEAN Secretariat and how are they recruited and appointed? As of March 2010, the ASEAN Secretariat has 73 openly recruited international staff members and 187 locally recruited personnel under a SecretaryGeneral and four Deputy Secretaries-General. The Secretary-General is appointed by ASEAN’s heads of government for a non-renewable term of five years on the basis of alphabetical rotation. The appointment of the Deputy Secretaries-General is approved by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the recommendation of the Secretary-General. Two of them are nominated by their governments in accordance with a pattern of rotation for nonrenewable terms of three years. The other two Deputy Secretaries-General are openly recruited on the basis of merit for three-year terms, which may be renewed for another three years. Normally, job vacancies in the internationally recruited professional ranks are advertised in ASEAN and other publications and on the ASEAN website. Applicants, who must be ASEAN nationals, are short-listed for interviews. Vacancies in the locally recruited staff are

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similarly advertised and are open to ASEAN nationals resident in Indonesia.

31.  How is the Secretariat funded? For 2009, the Secretariat’s operating budget amounted to about US$14.3 million, a big increase from previous years. Every member-state contributes exactly the same amount as the rest to the ASEAN Secretariat’s annual budget. The same holds true for the ASEAN Development Fund, the Science Fund, and the ASEAN Centre for Energy. However, there are specific ASEAN undertakings to which some members voluntarily contribute more than others according to ability and interest.

32.  How are ASEAN’s affairs managed? ASEAN’s highest decision-making body is the ASEAN Summit, which meets at least twice a year. According

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similarly advertised and are open to ASEAN nationals resident in Indonesia.

31.  How is the Secretariat funded? For 2009, the Secretariat’s operating budget amounted to about US$14.3 million, a big increase from previous years. Every member-state contributes exactly the same amount as the rest to the ASEAN Secretariat’s annual budget. The same holds true for the ASEAN Development Fund, the Science Fund, and the ASEAN Centre for Energy. However, there are specific ASEAN undertakings to which some members voluntarily contribute more than others according to ability and interest.

32.  How are ASEAN’s affairs managed? ASEAN’s highest decision-making body is the ASEAN Summit, which meets at least twice a year. According

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to the Charter, the Summit has the responsibility to decide, by any means they choose, on issues that cannot be resolved by consensus at lower levels. The foreign ministers, who meet at least twice a year as the ASEAN Coordinating Council, manage the affairs of the association. As the ASEAN PoliticalSecurity Community Council, the foreign ministers discuss and, if warranted, adopt common positions on current international and regional issues, particularly those involving peace and security. The foreign ministers’ meetings are occasions to meet other powers in the Post-Ministerial Conferences and the ASEAN Regional Forum. They are also opportunities for bilateral talks. The foreign ministers hold a “retreat” early in the year and meet in New York, usually in September, on the occasion of the General Debate at the UN General Assembly. The ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting, involving the top civil servants in the foreign ministries, supports the foreign ministers and makes decisions on issues within their competence. Many other ASEAN forums at different levels, with ministers at the top, carry out ASEAN cooperation in their respective areas — trade and industry, finance, transport, telecommunications and information technology, agriculture and forestry, energy, the environment, tourism, education,

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culture and the arts, health, rural development and poverty eradication, information, science and technology, transnational crime, education, and now defence. Many of these forums engage China, Japan and Korea in the ASEAN Plus Three and ASEAN Plus One processes. At their apex are the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Councils. Pursuant to the Charter, each ASEAN nation has appointed a Permanent Representative to ASEAN. Collectively, the representatives operate as a committee that supports the work of the ASEAN Secretariat and other ASEAN bodies. Each member’s ASEAN National Secretariat serves as a national repository of information on ASEAN, coordinates the implementation of ASEAN decisions, and promotes the formation of an ASEAN identity and awareness of ASEAN within the country.

33.  How are ASEAN decisions made? Normally, and like most other regional associations of sovereign states, ASEAN decides by consensus and not by publicly taking a vote. This does not necessarily mean that every decision has to be categorically and explicitly supported by every one of the member-states. It means that no member opposes the decision strongly enough to directly register its objection. In such a process, no member-

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state would feel “defeated” by a decision. In some cases, some ASEAN agreements go into effect without the ratification of all the signatories. The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty required only seven ratifications to enter into force. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution needed only six ratifications to become effective. Some ASEAN projects go forward on the basis of the ASEAN Minus X or Two Plus X formula; that is, two or more members — not necessarily all — may go ahead and engage in a cooperative project, which is open to the participation of the others when they are ready. Decision-making by the Summit does not rule out voting.

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34.  What is ASEAN’s working language? ASEAN conducts its meetings, formulates its correspondence, records its proceedings and decisions, issues its statements, and undertakes its other interactions in English. As an association, it has no translation or interpretation service.

35.  How does ASEAN relate to the rest of the international community? It is the common policy of all ASEAN memberstates to be open to the rest of the world, politically, economically, culturally and intellectually, being friends of all and enemies to none. Member-states take active part in international organisations like the United Nations and its agencies, the international financial institutions, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Commonwealth, in interregional interactions like the Asia Europe Meeting,

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34.  What is ASEAN’s working language? ASEAN conducts its meetings, formulates its correspondence, records its proceedings and decisions, issues its statements, and undertakes its other interactions in English. As an association, it has no translation or interpretation service.

35.  How does ASEAN relate to the rest of the international community? It is the common policy of all ASEAN memberstates to be open to the rest of the world, politically, economically, culturally and intellectually, being friends of all and enemies to none. Member-states take active part in international organisations like the United Nations and its agencies, the international financial institutions, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Commonwealth, in interregional interactions like the Asia Europe Meeting,

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and in regional groups like APEC and the Asian Development Bank. ASEAN as an association is not only open to the world; it maintains active links with countries and regions that are strategically and economically important to it and to its members. It does this through the system of Dialogue Partnerships and through the ASEAN Regional Forum for political and security consultations, dialogue and cooperation. One of ASEAN’s most active and most extensive external linkages is the ASEAN Plus Three forum, which involves China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The East Asia Summit gathers the ten ASEAN members together with Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand in a leaders-led regional forum. In all of these endeavours in regionalization, ASEAN serves as the hub and driver.

36.  What is the ASEAN Dialogue system? The ASEAN system of Dialogue Partnerships serves as a channel for ASEAN as a group to forge and develop strong cooperative relationships with major powers and trading partners. It began in 1973 with the European Economic Community, now the European Union. Starting out as a platform for ASEAN to pry open markets for its products and

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to obtain development aid for its members, the Dialogue system has developed into a forum for the consideration of security, as well as economic, issues. The anchor of the system is the Post-Ministerial Conferences, in which, on the occasion of the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, ASEAN engages its partners at the ministerial level in reviewing the state of the relationships and outstanding international and regional issues. Between these ministerial encounters, there are senior-official and workinglevel forums for the pursuit of economic and cultural projects and the discussion of outstanding issues. The projects largely involve personal exchanges, training, capacity building, studies, and the establishment and operation of institutions and processes in many areas, including the environment,

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energy, cultural exchange, trade and investments, tourism, transport and communications, and information technology.

37.  How many Dialogue Partners does ASEAN have? At present, the ASEAN Dialogue Partners are Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. The UN Development Programme is also a Dialogue Partner and occasionally takes part in the developmentcooperation part of the Post-Ministerial Conferences.

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38.  Does ASEAN work together with the United Nations and its agencies? On ASEAN’s founding, the member-states proclaimed “adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter” as the basis, together with “respect for justice and the rule of law,” for promoting regional peace and stability. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia invokes “the spirit and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” ASEAN worked very closely with the UN on the Cambodian issue in the 1980s and subsequently with the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia. It cooperated with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in dealing with the problem of Indochinese asylum-seekers, largely the “boat people.”

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ASEAN consults the International Atomic Energy Agency on certain aspects of the implementation of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty. ASEAN works closely with the World Health Organization in the task of preventing an avian influenza pandemic, as it did in its successful effort to overcome the SARS problem in 2003. The UN Environment Programme, as well as the Asian Development Bank, has helped ASEAN in dealing with the problem of haze arising from land and forest fires. ASEAN has the support of UNAIDS and of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, respectively, in preventing and combating the spread of HIV/AIDS and in dealing with drug-trafficking, drug-addiction and their consequences. The ASEAN Secretariat and UNESCO have a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the promotion of a culture of peace. ASEAN has collaborated with UNDP, a Dialogue Partner, for many years. ASEAN became a UN observer in 2006.

39.  Does ASEAN work with the Asian Development Bank? The Asian Development Bank extends vital technical support to both ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three in their work of financial cooperation. This work includes the periodic review and surveillance of the regional economic situation, the multilateral

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currency pool to discourage currency speculation and provide relief to countries suffering from balance-of-payments difficulties, and the development of an Asian bond market. The bank supports research and training for these purposes. The ADB has also supported ASEAN work on environmental protection.

40.  How does one learn more about ASEAN? The best way of learning more about ASEAN is by going to the ASEAN Secretariat’s website, http:// www.asean.org. One can also get in touch with the ASEAN National Secretariat in the foreign ministry of one of the member-states.

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The foreign ministers of ASEAN’s founding countries sign the Bangkok Declaration establishing the association. From left, they are Narciso Ramos of the Philippines, Adam Malik of Indonesia, Thanat Khoman of Thailand, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, and S. Rajaratnam of Singapore. The new ASEAN Charter sets clearer and more detailed rules, principles, and commitments for the group. — Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Secretariat.

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Inaugurated in May 1981, the ASEAN Secretariat building is located at 70A Jalan Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta. The Indonesian Government donated the land and building. ASEAN member-countries contribute equal amounts for the Secretariat’s operations. — Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Secretariat.

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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia visits the ASEAN Secretariat and is surrounded by children in the national costumes of the ASEAN member-countries. Behind the President are Ong Keng Yong, ASEAN Secretary-General, 2003–2007, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda. — Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Secretariat.

for the Secretariat’s operations. — Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Secretariat.

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Southeast Asia’s leaders clasp hands in the traditional ASEAN way at the annual ASEAN Summit, in Hanoi in April 2010. — Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Secretariat.