The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed on 8 August 1967 and originally comprised five member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has gradually expanded to include: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and, most controversially, Burma (Myanmar). The organisation also extends its regional reach through a series of forums and bi-lateral agreements with neighbouring states. One of the most significant of these is ASEAN Plus Three which promotes and facilitates relations between ASEAN and three other Asian states: China, Japan and South Korea.
The Governing Principle of ASEAN
ASEAN is, due to a free trade agreement, first and foremost an economic bloc, and, although it strives to maintain political stability throughout the region it aims to achieve this through a deepening economic integration between member states, adhering to a strict policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states.
At its inception the rationale behind ASEAN was that it should be a mechanism to facilitate nation-building within newly-independent states as the region gradually freed itself from the shackles of colonialism. The fear of smaller member states - such as Singapore and Brunei - was that their territorial integrity could be threatened by larger, more powerful neighbours during the formative years of their independence.
The ASEAN Way
The following fundamental principles pertaining to non-interference and peaceful co-existence were enshrined in the organisation in 1976, when the five founding members signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation:
- 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 the internal affairs of one another
- Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner
- Renunciation of the threat or use of force
- Effective cooperation among themselves
This approach, which has come to be known as the ASEAN Way, is maintained through informal cooperation and minimal institutionalisation. It has proven to be extremely effective and, despite the at times unsettled nature of many of the member states' governments during the past three decades, there has not been a single armed conflict between ASEAN member states.
How ASEAN is Organised by its Member States
In-keeping with its informal approach, ASEAN does not run along similar lines to the European Union (EU), or even its predecessor the European Community (EC), so it is wholly erroneous to think of ASEAN as an Asian version of the EU. ASEAN business is instead conducting through a series of summits, of which there have been fifteen since the initial one in 1976; the sixteenth is scheduled to take place in Hanoi, Vietnam sometime in April 2010.
These summits - which are now expected to be held biannually - not only comprise of meetings between each member states' respective leader but also provide an opportunity for dialogue between government representatives of all levels. Additionally, other fora are held within the framework of ASEAN summits, including the aforementioned ASEAN Plus Three, ASEAN-CER (which manages ASEAN 's dialogue with Australia and New Zealand) and an annual meeting between ASEAN leaders and Russia's President.
The Problem With Burma's Membership of ASEAN
In recent years, the one of the biggest problems for the ASEAN members has been how to handle its errant neighbour Burma. Criticism of Burma's lamentable human rights record as well as the continued house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi from the United States and the European Union led to the regime missing its hosting turn in 2006, but pressure has been steadily growing for the member states to produce a strong public response to the military junta's actions.
Any attempt to interfere in Burma's internal affairs would of course be a flagrant contravention of the organisation's governing principles, but a case can be made that Burma itself has already contravened at least two of the principles enshrined within the 2008 ASEAN Charter, namely:
- Adherence to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government
- Respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice
Unquestionably Burma has been in breach of the above articles of a charter that it willingly signed and that should be reason enough for the other nine member states to 'get tough' and at least threaten the junta with suspension from ASEAN or impose economic sanctions.
Such an outcome seemed increasingly likely during 2009 following widespread international criticism of the junta's decision to illegally extend Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest, with an inter-parliamentary ASEAN group calling for Burma's membership to be suspended. In the end there was no criticism or action forthcoming at the most recent ASEAN summit, which can only serve to reinforce the impression of many observers that ASEAN is little more than a "talking shop".
