ASEAN-KOREA Commemorative Summit 2009

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What's ASEAN

ASEAN is the cooperative organization in Southeast Asia established in August 8, 1967, with the signing of the Declaration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known also as the Bangkok Declaration. The Declaration states that the aim of the organization is to accelerate economic growth, as well as cultural and social development in the region and to promote peace and stability in Southeast Asia. The five original member countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand were later joined by Brunei Darussalam (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos (1997), Myanmar (1997), and Cambodia (1999). The ASEAN region covers a geographical area of approximately 4.5 million square kilometers and has a population of over 570 million people.

Its total GDP is over US$1,280 billion (2007) and its total trade is approximately $1,700 billion (2007) while the total investment into the area is over $52 billion (2006), according to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It now encompasses all the countries of the Southeast Asian region, with all its diverse peoples, cultures, religions, political and economic systems. Since its formation, ASEAN has achieved startling economic growth and increased international status and is now recognized as one of the world’s growth centers.

	ASEAN
Population(2007)	575,525,000
Land area	4,464,322㎢
GDP (US$ billions 2007)	1,282
Exports (US$ billions 2007)	887
Imports (US$ billions 2007)	815
FDI (Foreign Direct Investments in US$ billions 2006)	52

▒ History of ASEAN

ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the Association of Southeast Asia, commonly called ASA, an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand that was formed in 1961. In the mid-1960s, as the Vietnam War reached its peak, interest in peace and security within the Southeast Asian region also escalated. In order to cope with these environmental changes and to achieve common prosperity through economic cooperation in the region, countries in Southeast Asia pursued the establishment of an alliance in the region.

The bloc was established in 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand - met in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration, more commonly known as the Bangkok Declaration. The five foreign ministers - Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso Ramos of the Philippines, Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand - are considered as the organization's Founding Fathers.

With the membership of Brunei in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999, ASEAN grew into the 10-member country bloc it is today.

At the turn of the century, ASEAN has been actively focusing on the integration of the countries. At the 9th ASEAN Summit Meeting in Bali in 2003, the Bali Concord II was adopted to establish a community in the form of the EU, and to try to improve the three fields of politics/security, economy, and society/culture by the year 2020.

In 2004, to fulfill this declaration by establishing an ASEAN Development Fund, the ASEAN announced its intention to create an ASEAN Community through the Vientiane Action Program. During a Summit Meeting in January 2007, ASEAN members decided to move the date of the future establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community forward, to 2015.

In December 2008, the ASEAN Charter came into force - the ASEAN became a legal entity, the Secretariat of the ASEAN was established in Indonesia, and an ASEAN human rights organization is expected to be established in the future. The ASEAN Charter is expected to act as a milestone for the integration of the bloc - the ASEAN will grow into a more structural group, and ultimately provide a foundation to move closer to an “EU-style community.”