Regional cooperation in Asia
Regional cooperation in Asia and the Pacific
Economic and political cooperation is not yet so well-established in the Asia-Pacific region as it is in Europe. Many states believe it is important to keep their own distinct economic and political profile. That said, diverse regional cooperation structures are emerging in this region too.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), founded in 1967, enjoys special status in the region. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in its turn has served as a trans-Asian platform for economic dialogue between the countries in the Pacific region since 1989. In 1994 the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was established to provide a framework primarily for security policy dialogue between the foreign ministers. Since the end of 1997 the three largest economies in the region – China, Japan and South Korea – have also been represented in multilateral regional structures through ASEAN+3. With the first East Asia Summit (EAS), attended by the ASEAN+3 countries plus Australia, New Zealand and India, another body was established. In addition, there are the regional organizations of South Asia (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC) and the Pacific (Pacific Islands Forum, PIF), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as supraregional fora for dialogue such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and various subregional associations such as the Mekong River Commission (MRC) launched by the Mekong riparian states.
ASEAN Summit, 24 October 2009, Hua Hin, Thailand
(picture-alliance/landov)
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
ASEAN was founded in 1967 and currently has ten member states (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam). Cooperation in ASEAN has thus far focused on economic integration. As well as aiming for competitiveness, balanced economic development and integration into the global economy, ASEAN hopes to establish an economic community with a common market for goods, services, capital and labour by 2015. ASEAN has for some time been in the process of setting up the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) through gradual reductions in customs duties.
The ASEAN Charter, which entered into force on 15 December 2008, gave cooperation within ASEAN additional fresh impulses, particularly in the political and security spheres and in the cultural and social fields. The Charter provides a foundation for the further development of the ASEAN community and gives ASEAN a legal personality. It also records the ASEAN states’ commitment to the rule of law, democracy and good governance and envisages the formation of a human rights body. The establishment of a group of permanent representatives of the ASEAN states in Jakarta is an important step towards more effectively institutionalized cooperation. It is now also possible for third states to accredit ambassadors to ASEAN. The German ambassador to Indonesia fulfils this function for Germany.
Website of the 14th ASEAN Summit
Since 2007 ASEAN has had observer status at the United Nations and the ASEAN Secretariat has been a member of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
ASEAN+3
ASEAN+3is the name given to the regional framework for dialogue between the 10 ASEAN member states and the 3 East Asian powers China, Japan and South Korea. ASEAN+3 was formed in the late 1990s in response to the Asian financial crisis and works mainly on economic, trade and financial policy, but also on environmental and health issues. The multilateral cooperation of ASEAN+3 has also found expression in a number of agreements. For instance, ASEAN has free-trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea.
East Asia Summit (EAS)
The 16 heads of state and government of the 10 ASEAN states as well as of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India have been meeting since 2005 in the framework of the East Asia Summit. The most recent meeting was held in Singapore in November 2007.
ASEAN final declaration from the 2007 East Asia Summit in Singapore
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was founded in 1994 following a decision by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers. ARF deals with security issues and is the only institutionalized security-policy discussion forum in the Asia-Pacific region. Along with the ten ASEAN member states, another 16 countries – Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and the USA – currently participate, as well as the EU.
Bangladeshi children greet SAARC Summit participants, Nov 2005
(picture-alliance/dpaweb)
SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in 1985 by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Since 2007 Afghanistan has been the eighth member. The EU, along with China, Japan, South Korea and the US, attended the SAARC Summit as an observer for the first time in New Delhi in 2007. SAARC itself has had observer status at the UN since December 2004.
SAARC concentrates on economic and trade issues. The agreement to create the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which entered into force in 2006, marked a milestone in regional economic cooperation. SAFTA has been ratified by all member states. SAARC’s action programme refers to cooperation in seven key areas, including agriculture and rural development, environment and forestry, human resources development and transport.
Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF: till 2000 South Pacific Forum) was founded in Wellington in 1971. It provides a forum for dialogue and cooperation in the political, economic, environmental, cultural, educational and social spheres and is the only multilateral forum in the Pacific region which also looks at security policy aspects. PIF’s 16 member states are: Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
SCO Summit in Beijing, 14 October 2009
(picture-alliance/photoshot)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) emerged in 2001 from the “Shanghai 5” set up in 1996. The original five members were the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan; Uzbekistan joined in 2001. Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan became “observers” in 2004/05, Belarus and Sri Lanka “dialogue partners” in 2009. Afghanistan has been invited as a special guest to the organization’s summits for several years. The SCO has held observer status at the United Nations since December 2004. Furthermore, it maintains cooperation agreements with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The SCO’s original focus was security cooperation in the member states’ border regions. Now, however, other areas such as economic and trade issues also feature. The SCO’s focuses today are subjects like stability in the region, the fight against terrorism, “separatism and extremism” and energy security issues. At the SCO summit in Tashkent in 2004 it was decided to set up a Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure. The SCO members carried out joint military manoeuvres in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)
APEC was founded in 1989 on the initiative of Japan and Australia and currently has 21 “member economies”: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Viet Nam. Together these economies account for over 50% of global GDP (approx. USD 19.25 trillion) and about 41% of global trade. APEC aims to strengthen economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, not least by dismantling tariffs and other barriers to trade. So at their summit in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994 the APEC countries agreed to set up a free trade area within the economic community (Bogor Goals). Summits at head of state and government level are held annually with the participation of business executives. Climate protection appeared on APEC’s agenda for the first time at the 15th summit in Sydney in 2007.
