Intergovernmental Organization of Southeast Asian Countries. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Dossier. at the present stage

ASEAN is an economic, political and cultural intergovernmental organization consisting of 10 states located in Southeast Asia. The abbreviation ASEAN stands for Association of SouthEast Asian Nations. Translated from English, it means "Association of Southeast Asian Nations". The block was established on August 8, 1967 in the city of Bangkok. On the same day, the first members of the association signed a corresponding declaration. Nevertheless, the contractual registration of the organization took place only in 1976, when an agreement on friendship and partnership between the countries of Southeast Asia was signed in Bali. From this article you will learn what the ASEAN Association is and what activities it conducts.

Member countries

To date, the association includes 10 states, but this was not always the case. In 1967, the organization was formed by five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Myanmar and Laos in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. Later, states such as Timor and Papua New Guinea received observer status. Both countries are not members of ASEAN, but participate in a number of its activities.

Structure

Twice a year, the leaders of the ASEAN countries gather for a summit, which is considered the highest body of the organization. As a rule, it lasts 3 days and consists of a large number of meetings between partners of the association. The Conference of Foreign Ministers (CMFA), which is held several times a year, is the governing and coordinating body of this organization. In the initial stages, the ASEAN leaders' summit was held every 3 years, and the Ministerial Council was always organized a year earlier, in preparation for the main meeting. Meetings of ministers of finance are also organized annually. The ministers of economy and agriculture meet less frequently. The frequency of their meetings depends on the characteristics of the year. One way or another, all decisions of parliamentarians are approved by the ministries of foreign affairs.

The day-to-day management of the organization is handled by a standing committee. It includes the minister of foreign affairs of the presiding state and the ambassadors of the ASEAN member states. The permanent secretariat of the organization is located in the city of Jakarta. It is headed by the Secretary General, who changes every 5 years. In addition, 29 committees and 129 working groups deal with association issues. On average, more than 300 events are held within ASEAN per year.

The chairmanship of the organization is transferred in the order of the established queue, in accordance with the arrangement of the participating countries alphabetically in English. The chairman of the association changes every year. The head of the Ministerial Council is the foreign minister of the state that led ASEAN last year.

Association goals

According to the Bangkok Declaration, the organization pursues the following goals:

1. Peace and stability in the region, which are achieved through the observance of the UN Charter.
2. Accelerating the development (economic, cultural and social) of the participating countries, based on active cooperation and mutual assistance.
3. Maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships with international organizations pursuing similar goals.

Creation

The forerunner of ASEAN was the ASA, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The alliance was organized in 1961. It consists of three states: the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. In 1967, the foreign ministers of five countries in the region (Indonesia and Singapore were added to those listed above) met in the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs and signed the so-called Bangkok Declaration. This is how the alliance called ASEAN began its history. The top five countries, or rather their foreign ministers, are considered the founding fathers of the alliance.

The main motives for the creation of the organization were the desire of the ruling elite to concentrate their forces on state building, the general fear of communism, distrust of the world's leading states and the desire for active economic growth.

Extension

The seventh in the list of ASEAN countries was Vietnam, which joined the organization on July 28, 1995. Two years later, two more countries joined the association - Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. Together with them, Cambodia was supposed to join the organization, however, due to internal political conflicts in the country, the entry procedure had to be postponed until better times. By 1999, the situation in the state improved, and on April 30 it became the tenth member of the alliance.

"ASEAN Plus Three"

In the early 2000s, the association experienced a rapid growth in the number of states claiming integration and the desire of entrenched members to expand the alliance. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Council, in addition to the then ASEAN members, to counterbalance America's growing influence in APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), which, in addition to the then ASEAN members, was to include three more states - Japan, China and South Korea. In this regard, the new organization was to be called ASEAN Plus Three. But due to strong resistance from America and Japan, this proposal fell through.

In 1992, the ASEAN countries signed an agreement on a common preferential tariff. The document was a schedule for the phased introduction of feed-in tariffs in order to increase the competitiveness of the region as a world-class production base. This agreement was to become the foundation for the organization of a free trade zone between the ASEAN countries.

In 1997, after the financial crisis in East Asia, Malaysia's proposal to create a new commonwealth was resurrected in the city of Chiang Mai, thanks to which it went down in history as the Chiang Mai Initiative. The leaders of the ASEAN countries felt that further integration of the region in the current economic situation is simply necessary. The first result of the bloc's work on the implementation of the plan was the creation of the ASEAN Plus Three Association. Thanks to the expansion, a dozen participating countries have been able to establish close relationships with China, Japan and South Korea.

Shortly after the formation of ASEAN Plus Three, a summit followed, in which, in addition to these states, Australia, India and New Zealand also participated. The meeting of the new group, now with 16 members, was the prerequisite for the creation of the planned East Asian Community, which was to become a semblance of the European Community. The ASEAN Eminent Persons Group was established to study the various positive and negative prospects of this policy and develop the charter of the organization.

In 2006, the organization received observer status in the UN General Assembly. In response, she granted the United Nations the status of "dialogue partner".

Peace and stability

In addition to working on the economic growth of each country from the ASEAN list, the bloc deals with issues of ensuring stability and peace in the region. In December 1995, Southeast Asia became a nuclear-weapon-free zone. This was evidenced by the corresponding agreement. On March 28, 1997, it gained force, after all member states of the bloc, except for the Philippines, ratified the document. However, the agreement received full legal force only on June 21, 2001, when the last country of the block did ratify it. In fact, this document meant a ban on nuclear weapons in the region.

Care for nature

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the issue of protecting the environment has become particularly acute. The organization took up the discussion of environmental measures. One of these was the bloc's agreement on transboundary smoke pollution, which was signed in 2002. The document was intended to control the level of smoke pollution in the air of Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, the agreement was meaningless, since in 2005 and 2006 two heavy hazes occurred in the skies of the region.

Other environmental measures taken by the organization include:

1. Signing of the Cebu Declaration on the energy security of East Asia.
2. Organization of the ASEAN Conservation Network, aimed at protecting wildlife.
3. Conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean Development.

In 2003, a declaration was signed that went down in history as the Bali Accord II. It included the concept of "democratic peace", which illustrated the belief of all participating countries that democratic processes can contribute to peace and stability in the region. Even countries whose systems rejected democracy agreed that this should be pursued jointly.

Papua New Guinea and East Timor

In 1976, Papua New Guinea received observer status in ASEAN. This meant that representatives of the country could take part in many activities of the alliance. In 1981, this status changed to an even more significant one - a special observer.

In March 2011, at a summit held in Jakarta, the bloc received a letter of declaration from East Timor, in which this state expressed its desire to join the list of ASEAN members. Indonesia has given the country a very warm welcome and granted it observer status.

After the summit in Bali in 1976, the association embarked on a program of economic cooperation. In the mid-1990s, a number of difficulties arose that significantly slowed down these processes. As a result, only in 1991 the program was revived. This was facilitated by the Thai proposal to create a free trade zone within the region.

free trade

In 2007, ASEAN celebrated two important dates at once - the 40th anniversary of its creation and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States. On August 26 of the same year, the association announced its intention to conclude free trade agreements with China, South Korea, Japan, India, New Zealand and Australia by 2013. In parallel with this, by 2015 the association was to receive the status of the Economic Community. Already in November 2007, the ASEAN members signed the Charter, which defines relations between them and gives the association the status of an international legal entity.

On January 15, 2007, a declaration on the energy security of East Asia was signed in Cebu City. In addition to the ASEAN members, it was signed by six more states: China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. The Declaration assumed the promotion of energy security through the search and implementation of alternative energy sources instead of traditional fuels.

On February 27, 2009, a free trade agreement was signed between New Zealand, its main partner Australia and 10 countries of the ASEAN regional bloc. This agreement promised 12 states an increase in their combined GDP by $50 billion by the 2030s.

On February 26, 2013, ASEAN members, along with six major trading partners, launched the 1st round of negotiations in Bali to establish a "comprehensive economic partnership" in the region.

Maritime security

Another key focus of ASEAN is maritime security. In 2007, a dialogue mechanism between government departments and academia of the alliance began to operate on issues of ensuring freedom of navigation. It received the name "Marine Forum". Since 2012, 6 ASEAN partner countries, as well as America and Russia, have joined it.

Latest events

Since 2016, the alliance has been operating as a triune community dealing with the political, economic and socio-cultural development of the member states. Currently, the total population of the countries that are members of ASEAN is almost 630 million people. The total BBB of the organization is about 2.4 trillion dollars, and the external turnover is about 2.3 trillion. Thus, ASEAN is one of the largest regional organizations.

Trade and economic organizations of the regional and subregional levels operate in the Asia-Pacific region. The latter include ASEAN- Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It was with this organization that the integration process in the Asia-Pacific region began, and it is in it that the most dynamic new industrial countries of Asia are united.

ASEAN includes: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines (1967), Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos (1997). Cambodia (1998).

The centripetal forces of Asian integration are: a strategically important geographical location at the crossroads of world trade routes, the transition to a liberal model of building a market economy, which implies the admission of foreign capital and the export orientation of the restructured economy.

The centrifugal forces hindering integration include differences in the level of economic development, political structure, religious and cultural traditions, as well as the insular dispersion of states.

The integration process within ASEAN includes:

• in accordance with the Agreement on the Establishment of a Preferential Trade Area (1977), the provision of trade benefits to member countries;
• in accordance with the AFTA Agreement (ASEAN Free Trade Arrangement) - the creation of a free trade zone. The agreement entered into force on
  January 1, 2002;
• ASEAN industrial cooperation schemes;
• in accordance with the Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA), the liberalization of the movement of capital.

After the financial crisis of 1997-1998. ASEAN countries are focusing on attracting (non-speculative) direct investment. By 2010, it is planned to provide foreign investors with the national treatment of the host country. The concept of economic growth triangles has already received practical development (Singapore, 1989). This refers to the development of border trade and economic relations between the three neighboring countries. Such "triangles" have a more liberal regime for the cross-border movement of all factors of production and a pronounced export orientation. For example, the "Platinum Triangle", the sides of which run along the Mekong River from southern China through Cambodia and Vietnam.

In the 1970s the system of so-called ASEAN dialogues with the leading states of the world, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region, was born. Full-scale dialogue partners are 9 countries (Australia, India, Canada, China, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, USA, Japan), as well as UNDP. Dialogue interaction is carried out with the help of Joint Cooperation Committees (JCCs). This partnership served as the basis for the creation of a mechanism for in-depth interaction between ASEAN and the Eastern "troika" (China, Japan, South Korea) in the 10 + 3 format, which was formalized in 2000 and provides for holding summits in the thirteen and 10 + 1 formats in parallel with ASEAN meetings.

In December 2005, the first ever summit between Russia and ASEAN took place (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). During the meeting, two large-scale documents were signed at once: the Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between Russia and the ASEAN Member States and the Comprehensive Program of Action for Cooperation for 2005-2015. Mutual expansion of ties in the field of economics, politics, security (the fight against terrorism), scientific, technical and information cooperation, interaction in the field of tourism and culture is expected. In particular, an agreement was reached on visa-free travel for citizens of Russia and Thailand. Sergei Lavrov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stressed that he sees the Association as an important partner in creating a multipolar world, forming an integral system of regional security, and countering new challenges and threats.

Features of the formation of ASEAN

In recent years, integration processes in East Asia have been gaining momentum. For almost 30 years, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, AssociationofSouthEastAsianNations- ASEAN"). It was formed on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok (Bangkok Declaration). It included Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. Philippines, then Brunei Darussalam (in 1984). Vietnam (in 1995). Laos and Myanmar (in 1997), Cambodia (in 1999), and Papua New Guinea has observer status.

The ASEAN countries are strategically positioned on the route from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, at the crossroads connecting the Pacific Basin with the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The grouping has large reserves of natural resources. ASEAN-10, which includes all 10 countries of Southeast Asia, has actually become a large regional grouping with a total area of ​​4.487 million km2.

According to the Bangkok Declaration goals organizations are: “(i) accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through a common endeavor ... to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian countries, and (ii) establish peace and stability in the region. .. through... adherence to the principles of the UN Charter.”

The adopted ASEAN Declaration stated the following: goals:

• acceleration of economic development, social and cultural progress of the countries of Southeast Asia;
• strengthening peace and regional stability;
• expansion of active cooperation and mutual assistance of the participating countries in the field of economy, culture, science, technology and training:
• development of more effective cooperation in the sphere of industry and agriculture;
• expanding mutual trade and raising the living standards of citizens of the participating countries;
• establishing strong and mutually beneficial cooperation with other international and regional organizations.

ASEAN is open to all Southeast Asian countries that recognize its principles, goals and objectives. This document fixes the status of the annual conference of foreign ministers as the main working body of ASEAN, competent to make decisions on the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration, discuss the fundamental problems of the Association's activities, and resolve issues of admission of new members.

Features of the development of regional economic integration within ASEAN are determined by a number of factors.

• High dynamics of economic growth and political stability in the region.
• Uniformity (but differentiation) of the economies of the participating countries and the resulting difficulties in expanding mutual trade.
• Participation in the integration processes of the state with different levels of economic development and different political systems.

Organizational structure of ASEAN

The supreme body of ASEAN is the meetings of heads of state and government. The governing and coordinating body is the annual meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CMFA). Meetings of ministers responsible for other sectors are held: agriculture, fisheries, energy, environment, finance, informatization, investment, labor, justice, poverty eradication, science, technology, social security, transport, tourism, etc. An agreement was reached on the establishment of an inter-parliamentary ASEAN associations (AsianInterparliamentaryorganization- AIPO).

The current management of ASEAN activities is carried out by the Standing Committee, chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the host country of the next meeting of foreign ministers. Jakarta has a permanent Secretariat headed by the ASEAN Secretary General. The General Secretary is appointed on a rotating basis. The first General Secretary was the Indonesian diplomat Hartono Rektoharsono. The staff members of the ASEAN Secretariat are selected through open competition throughout the region.

The chairmanship of the organization is carried out in the order of priority for a period of one year in accordance with the alphabetical arrangement of countries in English. Accordingly, the Philippines presides in 2006, and Singapore in 2007, in order. The Council of Foreign Affairs is chaired by the foreign minister of the country that led the organization last year. ASEAN has 11 specialized committees.

To support international relations in the region and beyond, ASEAN has established committees consisting of heads of diplomatic missions located in the following capitals: Brussels, London, Paris, Washington, Tokyo, Canberra, Ottawa, Wellington, Geneva, Seoul, New Delhi, New York, Beijing, Moscow, Islamabad.

Legal basis relations between the ASEAN countries is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (Bali Treaty) 1976. At present, the ASEAN member countries have developed a mechanism for the possible accession to the Treaty of non-regional states, including Russia, which invariably declares its positive attitude towards this document .

History of formation and political development

The first steps towards interstate cooperation in Southeast Asia can be found back in the Cold War years. However, then it had a pronounced military-political character and was reduced to participation in the global confrontation between the two systems, for example, as part of such an odious bloc as SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). Attempts at interstate associations on an economic basis were of a subordinate nature and could not claim an independent role in international relations (for example, the Association of Southeast Asia). In this regard, ASEAN, which arose on the eve of the period of detente, was more fortunate. It has managed to develop into a non-military regional association of countries with high international prestige.

An important step in the political development of ASEAN was the adoption in November 1971 of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality in Southeast Asia. It stated that the neutralization of the region was a "desirable goal", that all participating countries would make the necessary efforts to ensure recognition and respect for Southeast Asia as a zone that rejects outside interference. The neutralization plan assumed the settlement of contradictions at two levels: among the ASEAN members themselves and between ASEAN and extra-regional powers ready to accept an obligation to recognize the neutral status of the ASEAN sub-region and guarantee non-interference in its internal affairs.

The end of the Second Indochina War in the spring of 1975 gave a powerful impetus to the development of the legal and organizational base of ASEAN. At the first ASEAN summit in Bali (Indonesia) approved Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia And Declaration of consent. The first document consolidated the principles by which the five founding states of the Association undertook to be guided in the development of mutual relations, as well as in the settlement of emerging disputes and conflicts. The agreement stipulated that the ASEAN partners would make efforts to peacefully resolve emerging mutual contradictions in the interests of strengthening peace in the region, renounce the threat of the use of force, and resolve all contentious issues through friendly negotiations. The text of the Treaty reflected the idea of ​​turning Southeast Asia into a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality. In the ASEAN Declaration of Consent, I proclaim that the "five" countries that founded it, jointly and individually, will strive to create favorable conditions for the establishment and development of cooperation between the states of Southeast Asia.

In organizational terms, the Bali summit decided to create a permanent ASEAN Secretariat, and the ASEAN leaders considered the problems of neutralization and security in close connection with giving the region a nuclear-free status. Due to the particular complexity of the problem, it was only in 1995 that the participating states managed to approach the signing Treaty on the Establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Southeast Asia(South-East Asia Nuclear Free Zone). However, for its practical entry into force, it is necessary to sign a separate protocol to the Treaty by all nuclear powers. Its signing is hampered by disagreements over whether India and Pakistan should be considered nuclear powers. The fate of the Treaty depends on the recognition or non-recognition of the nuclear status of these countries by ASEAN and other nuclear powers.

In 1994, within the framework of preventive diplomacy, on the initiative of ASEAN, the mechanism of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was launched. The task of the ARF is to ensure, through dialogue and consultations, a conflict-free development of the situation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. The ASEAN countries and their extra-regional dialogue partners, including Russia, the United States, China, Japan, and others, participate in the annual meetings of the ARF. The ARF participants set the task of moving from the implementation of confidence-building measures through preventive diplomacy to the creation of a reliable security system in the Asia-Pacific region. There are two areas of cooperation within the framework of the ARF: dialogue at the official intergovernmental level; interaction between non-governmental organizations and academia.

Taking into account the particular complexity and potential explosiveness of the situation in the South China Sea region, where the territorial claims of six coastal states and territories (Brunei, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines) collide and mutually overlap, the ASEAN countries in 1992 came out with Manila Declaration. She called on all parties involved to limit themselves to peaceful means in settling disputed issues, as well as to avoid actions to militarize the islands located in the South China Sea and start joint development of their resources. In July 1996, at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Conference in Jakarta, the idea of ​​adopting a "regional code of conduct" in the South China Sea region was put forward, which would be the foundation for strengthening mutual understanding in this region. However, as of late 2002, the terms and timing of the adoption of such a code are the subject of protracted debate between ASEAN and China.

Military-political cooperation

The leaders of the ASEAN countries throughout the history of the Association categorically rejected the possibility and desirability of its transformation into a military-political bloc. Assessing the military-political situation in Southeast Asia as generally stable, ASEAN members strive to maintain the balance of power of the major powers in the Asia-Pacific region. This means maintaining the US military presence. Thailand and the Philippines maintain their previous military-political agreements with Washington on joint defense and military assistance. The territory of these countries is used to maintain the American presence in the region, the transit of the US Air Force and Navy for operations in "hot spots", including the Persian zapiv. As part of the US global anti-terrorism campaign, a group of US military personnel is deployed in the Philippines to fight the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Malaysia and Singapore are members of the "five-sided defense agreement" together with the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Development of trade and economic cooperation within ASEAN

ASEAN has both political and socio-economic aspects of development, and the importance of the latter is constantly expanding (Fig. 1 and Table 1).

Economic cooperation in ASEAN is concentrated mainly in the field of trade. In 1977, the Agreement on Trade Preferences was signed, ASEAN PTA (ASEANpreferentialTradingArrangements, ASEANRTA), provided for:

• trade preferences based on the conclusion of long-term contracts;
• mutual provision of merchant loans at preferential rates;
• liberalization of non-tariff barriers in mutual trade;
• expanding the scale of tariff preferences, etc.

Fig 1. Key activities within ASEAN

Preferences were granted as a result of negotiations and on the basis of voluntary proposals and were valid in relation to all countries of the grouping. It is established that each state will recommend for liberalization at least 50 commodity items per quarter.

Table 1

Agreement on the creation of the South-East Zone. free from nuclear weapons) Read also: How the states bombed the USSR in 1950 The most brutal executions in the world Up