Asean Matters! Reflecting on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations edited by Lee Yoong Yoong.
The initiative to establish the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community was adopted by the ten leaders at the 2003 Bali Summit in Indonesia. Since then, the concept of a community building process in ASEAN has become an issue that attracts a great deal of attention from scholars and experts around the world.
ASEAN Matters! Reflecting on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations carries essays with different perspectives on critical issues relating to the three pillars in building the ASEAN Community, namely the ASEAN Political and Security Community; the ASEAN Economic Community; and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. In a nutshell, this book provides broad and invaluable insights into the role ASEAN plays in enhancing peace, prosperity, and stability in the Southeast Asian region.
Written in a highly accessible style, the contents include both a thorough review of current issues and a succinct overview of the past and future direction of ASEAN. The book reiterates the continued and strengthening relevance of ASEAN, 43 years after its founding.
Unlike most other books on ASEAN, a majority of the essays are written by former professional staff at the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as from current office holders. This gives the volume a high degree of authenticity and unique insights. More interestingly, it also includes viewpoints from experts, scholars, diplomats and officials who either have extensive research knowledge or had been involved in ASEAN’s external and economic relations with the dialogue partners, such as China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union (EU), among others.
Contents:
Foreword
Tommy Koh
Introduction
Lee Yoong Yoong
Acknowledgements
The Contributors
THEME ONE ASEAN’S HISTORY, IMAGE AND CHALLENGES
Chapter 1
ASEAN: What It Cannot Do, What It Can and Should Do by Rodolfo C. Severino
Chapter 2
ASEAN’s Potential and Role: A Review by Tran Duc Minh
Chapter 3
The Promises and Contradictions of ASEAN by Liu Yanling
Chapter 4
Can We Do Anything about the Unimplemented ASEAN Agreements? by Bernard K.M. Tai
Chapter 5
ASEAN’s Perception Problem by S. Tiwari
Chapter 6
ASEAN: The Challenge Is Upon Us by Bandol Lim
Chapter 7
Covering ASEAN for Three Decades by Kavi Chongkittavorn
Chapter 8
Three Decades of ASEAN Linkage: Brunei Darussalam, from 1984 Towards 2015 by Pushpa Thambipillai
Chapter 9
ASEAN and East Timor: Family Someday? by Noordin Azhari
THEME TWO POLITICS AND SECURITY
Chapter 10
ASEAN: A Pillar of Regional Stability by Johari Achee
Chapter 11
Relevance of ASEAN in Forging Regional Peace, Security and Prosperity by Nicholas T. Dammen
Chapter 12
The Nargis Experience: Pragmatic Solutions Towards Change by Moe Thuzar
Chapter 13
ASEAN Efforts in Dealing with Transnational Crime by Un Sovannasam
THEME THREE ECONOMICS
Chapter 14
ASEAN Economic Integration: The Strategic Imperative by Ong Keng Yong
Chapter 15
Overcoming the Obstacles: Increasing ASEAN Relevance in the Promotion of Regional Trade by David Martin
Chapter 16
Trade Dispute Settlement within ASEAN by David Chin Soon Siong
Chapter 17
From AFTA to Free Movement in ASEAN: A Bridge Too Far? by Lok Hwee Chong
Chapter 18
ASEAN Integration Enters the Critical Stage: A Private Sector’s Narrative by Tai Hui
Chapter 19
The Germination of Asian Financial Security by Suthad Setboonsarng
Chapter 20
Does ASEAN Benefit Business? by Raul L. Cordenillo
Chapter 21
ASEAN and Australia Partnership: Time for Business and People to Lead by Christopher Findlay and David Parsons
Chapter 22
Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline: More than Just a Pipe Dream by Zainal Abidin Matassan and Lee Yoong Yoong
Chapter 23
Encompassing the AEC Blueprint into ASEAN’s Subregional Frameworks: A Commentary by Gary P. Krishnan
THEME FOUR SOCIO-CULTURAL
Chapter 24
Population Ageing in ASEAN: Prospects and Implications by Kang Soon Hock and Yap Mui Teng
Chapter 25
Making ASEAN Relevant to the Young by Diana Lee
Chapter 26
ASEAN and Human Capital by Faizal Bin Yahya
Chapter 27
The ASEAN Quest for Greater Engagement and Commitment by Braema Mathiaparanam
THEME FIVE EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Chapter 28
Lao PDR’s Role in ASEAN-China Trade Ties by H.E. Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh
Chapter 29
ASEAN’s Diplomatic Importance to China by Sheng Lijun
Chapter 30
ASEAN as a Mover of Asian Regionalism by Akiko Fukushima
Chapter 31
What I have Always Wondered about ASEAN: A Perspective from ROK by Lee Sun-Jin
Chapter 32
India’s Place and ASEAN’s Primacy in the New East Asia by P.S. Suryanarayana
Chapter 33
Reflections on Regionalism: The ASEAN Journey by Simon Murdoch
Chapter 34
ASEAN and Latin America: Time for a Vibrant Connectivity by Paulo Alberto da Silveira Soares
Chapter 35
Building a Strategic Partnership: A Review of Relations between ASEAN and the ILO by Ng Gek-Boo
THEME SIX THE FUTURE
Chapter 36
The Future of ASEAN: Obsolescent or Resilient? 283 by Amitav Acharya
Chapter 37
How Can ASEAN Stay Relevant? by Joergen Oerstroem Moeller
Chapter 38
ASEAN into the Future: Towards a Better Monitoring and Evaluation of Regional Co-operation Programmesby Azmi Mat Akhir
Chapter 39
Strengthening the Foundation for an ASEAN Community by Wilfrido V. Villacorta
Glossary
Annex I: Press Statement
Index
Lee, Yoong Yoong, ed. 2011. Asean Matters! Reflecting on the Association of Southeast Asian. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies and World Scientific Publishing Co. Ltd.
(326 pages, ISBN-13 978-981-4335-06-5, ISBN-10 981-4335-06-1)