ASEAN

ASEAN

1. How does Singapore benefit from ASEAN membership?

   • ASEAN has enabled Singapore to forge better relations with its neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. It provided an avenue for Singapore to discuss their differences with neighbouring countries peacefully. It also allows countries to manage environmental issues such as the haze problem through peaceful dialogue.

2. Aims

   • Promote economic, social and cultural development of the region. Promote the peace and stability of the region. Provide opportunities for member countries to discuss and resolve differences peacefully.

3. What does ASEAN logo symbolises?

   • Blue, red, white and yellow represent the main colours ofthe crests of all the ASEAN countries. Blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and dynamism. White represents purity and yellow symbolises prosperity. The 10 stalks of padi represent all the 10 countries in Southeat Asia bound together in friednship and solidarity. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN

4. Organisations of ASEAN

   • Indonesia, Malaysia, the philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodai

5. How does Singapore contribute to ASEAN?

   • Education and professional exchange: one of Singapore's contributions to ASEAN is technical knowledge and expertise for member countries.
   • Economic cooperation and assistance: To help narrow the economic gap between member countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam with other countries of ASEAN, then Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong launched the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) project in 2000. AS part of the initiative, Singapore offered a five-year aid package of over S$80 million to selected member countries between the year 2000 to 2003.
   • Environmental collaboration: In 1997, the forest fires in Indonesia created a serious haze problem in the region. To tackle the haze problem, Singapore also assisted Indonesia in the monitoring of forests fires through the use of satellite images.

6. ASEAN's initiaive

   • ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA): As a region, Southeast Asia has been an attractive destination for foreign investors sine the 1980s because the region is politically stable and economically vibrant for investments. However, the region is facing fierce competition from new economic powers such as China and India because of the lower cost of productions and the larger market in these countries. ASEAN countries realise that economic integration is necessary to remain economically viable in this era of globalisation. As such, ASEAN launched AFTA in 1922. It aims to remove import taxes among Southeast Asian countries. The long term plan of AFTA is to integrate the Asian economies into a single preduction base, create a regional market of 500 million people and remove all import taxes among member countries by 2015.
     • ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF): The ARF was created in 1994 to maintain peace by promoting political and security dialogue and cooperation among countries in the Asia- Pacific region. Through such forums, ASEAN aims to provide an avenue for the countries in the region to discuss security issues and resolve conflicts peacefully.

7. Failure of ASEAN

   • Who: Vietnam and China
   • What: Conflict between China and Vietnam and Phillipines
   • When: May 1 2014
   • Where: South China Sea
   • Why: National Pride and resources
   • How:China National Offshore Oil Corporation deployed an oil rig on a patch of disputed territory 150 miles from Vietnam’s coast. China claims that the rig has been placed within its own territory, Vietnam claims that the oil rig has been placed in its resource-rich exclusive economic zone. Soon after, China sent ships to Vietnam to rescue Chinese workers after protests and riots against China’s plan to set up an oil rig in disputed waters near Vietnam’s shore. The 80-vessel Chinese flotilla on the disputed waters has certainly ignited anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam.

8. Success of ASEAN

   • How: Average taxes after launch of AFTA dropped from 12.76% in 1993 to 23.9% in 2003
   • Whats: Create a regional market of 500 million people. Integrate the Asian economies into single production base.
   • Who: Southeast Asian countries
   • When: 1992
   • Where: Southeast Asia

9. Why was ASEAN formed?

   • In the 1960s, the southeast Asian region was going through economic, political and security challenges within and outside their borders. Faced with all these disputes and conflicts, the Southeast Asian political leaders saw the need for a regional organisation to maintain stability and build thrust. Thus, ASEAN was formed.