Four narratives of ASEAN that makes it unique at 50

Venkatachalam Anbumozhi
Senior energy economist at Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia

PREMIUM

Jakarta / Thu, August 10, 2017 / 08:32 am

Four narratives of ASEAN that makes it unique at 50

Floral attraction: The Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat takes part in the Tomohon International Flower Festival (TIFF) 2017 in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, on Tuesday. The annual event aims to attract more tourists to the region and improve the local economy. (JP/Eva Aruperes)

Tuesday marked the completion of the golden jubilee of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was founded on Aug. 8, 1967. This regional grouping came into being with a membership of five countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Between 1984 and 1999, five other nations, namely, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, joined it to make it an association of 10 states. It is unique in its essential character for it is different from both the European Union. Unlike EU, it is not a supranational organization. It may be recalled that following the turn of the century, ASEAN set for itself the goal of graduating to an ASEAN Community by 2015, a program that was launched with three specific pillars — politicalsecurity, economic, and socialcultural — promised a comprehensive umbrella of functions. The member governments ar...