What Is The Association Of South East Asian Nations?

Meanwhile, Australia has recognized the significance of ASEAN in assuring Australia’s foreign regional and domestic security. There are certain institutions such as the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum (Harvey, 2015). In recent years, Australia has worked robustly with the EAS to ensure its security and interests are protected. In return, the EAS has not only supported in regional security but it also has

When it comes to the political profile, seven different countries have competing maritime claims (mostly over the Spratly and Paracel Islands), some of which become even more complicated as some overlap with other nations’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Despite the “intraregional distrust, deeply rooted historical issues, and rapidly increasing military spending” in the region surrounding the South China Sea, one expert argues that “not only has the conflict not escalated into a serious military conflict; it has, in fact, been mitigated… in fact, a more stable peace has developed.” (Costlow, 2012, p.6).

This essay will reason that in a more contested Asia-Pacific strategic environment, Australia will not need to develop a more independent strategic and defence policy, but should reduce reliance on its United States’ ally. The Asia-Pacific region is continuously undergoing great economic growth and development and many countries are enjoying the benefits derived from it, including Australia. On the other hand, the world is seeing a rise of military and economic powerhouses in the region, most notably China. This topic is critical for academics and policy makers to understand the implications of the contested environment and how to deal effectively with all the consequences that could undermine the region’s prosperity, peace, and stability.

Emergence of the Asian markets as strong and influential participant in the world trade has transformed the market place.

The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organization within the SCS that could peacefully moderate the territorial disputes.

The current situation in the East South China Sea is of great importance to the United States’ strategic and economic interests in the region. The destabilization of the region will have adverse effects around the world and could lead to a major military conflict between many nations. The nation of China has been expanding their territorial lines farther and farther into the South China Sea and it has led to Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippians expand theirs as well, these expanding territorial lines and large military presents of China and the United States have created a fear of conflict. These expansions are due to natural rich resources the waters have to offer and the greater strategic advantage that

For instances, Singapore is East Asia’s economic powerhouse. Singapore accumulates 55,182.48 in gross domestic product for the year 2013, that is slightly more than the United States brought in 2013. Their economy is mainly supported by shipping out machinery, goods, chemicals and mineral fuels, etc. Singapore gets many visitors due to its impressive machinery and transport systems that have been improving

The “Pivot to Asia”, or rebalancing, was created as a strategic move to place the United States in the center, of what is recognized as to where the majority of economic and political history will occur in the 21st century. More than half the worlds population resides in Asia, making its development essential to American economic and strategic interests (Lily Kuo, 2015). Benefits of the “Pivot” for the US will greatly increase economic, diplomatic, development, and security ties with the region, and in part be advantageous domestically. Over the years, strong ties have been implemented and strengthened through alliances, trade, values, immigration and family links. There is concern that the “Pivot to Asia”, has been neglected, however, there

Campbell (2014) indicate that the Asia-Pacific region exert an inevitable gravitation pull. It comprise 67% of the world 's population, contains the world 's largest democracy (India), the second and third-largest economies (China and Japan), the most populous Muslim-majority country (Indonesia), and 1/3 of the global economy (Xi, 2014). Asia is an important and irrefutable interest of the United States. Since the second world war, America has been actively and deeply engaged with the region militarily, economically and diplomatically (Betts, 1993). For half a century, the East Asian region has been built around American- led mutual strategies, and has stayed remarkably stable under its regional security order (Ikeneberry, 2004). America has five defense treaty allies in Asia, including Australia, Japan, Philippines, South Koreas and Thailand; as well as strategically important partnership with India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and etc. (Campbell, 2014).

The aim of the first pillar is for the creation of a single market and production base which can be done by minimizing the barriers to trade and investment. Based on AEC scorecard, it has a score of 65.9% of completed measures or 114 out of 173. Below is a summary of the 5+2 core elements that the pillar focuses on and a snapshot of important actual progress:

The territorial and maritime disputes over the South China Sea (SCS) have been ongoing for decades. The disputes have been considered to be one the fiercest-contested in Asia. The South China Sea is an enclosed sea surrounded by several different states. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia all surrounded the South China Sea. The main cause of tension in this dispute is because China claims to have “historical sovereignty” over all of the South China Sea. Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have come up with different discussions and suggestions on how to end the disputes with favorable conditions for all contending states. They use the principles of the United Nation Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and form the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). The states surrounding the South China Sea possess 12 nautical miles territorial sea and 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Thus, the South China Sea is not only international waters, instead, it is also overlapping exclusive economic zones. According to UNCLOS, disputes over exclusive economic zones must be resolved through negotiations by the contending states. Many of these contending Southeast Asian states have negotiated their maritime boundaries, however, China fails to comply. China claims that it owns all of the South China Sea, and therefore, has no need to

The EU recognizes that developmental efforts applied to individual cultural entities induce stability and a pro-western belief system (CS L2, 2013, 17). This framework serves to foster the integration of international partnerships with neighboring states and global partnerships with international powers such as the United States, Russia, the African Union, and the United Nations to pursue global stability through political, financial, and military efforts. The EU has also developed plans to invest and integrate with international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), (MERCOSER) and, Interpol to provide assistance in the foundation and continuance of an effective law and order structure, as well as fair trade principles within emerging democracies, and to assist recovering states with re-establishing financial and governmental integrity. These results will lead to an enhanced strategic position and level of security for the EU and its allies

In Asia, the economic growth has been phenomenal and the deepening of economic integration and larger trade volumes have led to both developed and developing nations to experience steady economic growth, especially at 10.1% in 2007 (ADB, 2015). Nevertheless, especially with China’s economic slowdown, the Asian region is facing problems such as decrease in labor force, labor productivity, and overall trade growth (ADB Report, 2015). In order to consolidate economic integration of the region, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was implemented on December 31, 2015. The AEC is based on four pillars which are the following: a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy (ASEAN Secretariat, 2015). The establishment of the AEC creates opportunities of a huge market worth over USD 2.5 trillion while the region was the seventh largest economy in the world with a population of over 622 million people and the largest market base in the world behind only China and India (ASEAN Secretariat, 2015). Moreover, the ASEAN Economic Community can be viewed as a yardstick of ASEAN’s progress in building a more economically integrated regional organization. The AEC aims to create a single market and production base in achieving freer flow of goods, services, labor, and capital (ASEAN Secretariat, 2015). In doing so, tariff elimination alone cannot create an open market;

Improving the value of exports is the primary goal of Thailand’s international trade policy. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) was established as an effective cooperative strategy for gaining market advantages through regional market integration. Thailand aims to capitalize on trade agreements by networking and entering partnership with neighboring countries. Currently, Thailand’s cross-border trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) plays a crucial role in globalization, because it facilitates rapid and convenient trade and investment. Countries seek new export markets to disperse the risk of domestic market concentration, as evidenced by the economic recessions affecting

The first paragraph of this essay will explain the concept of security dilemma, security issues in the constructivist approach and the construction of identity in international relations. The second paragraph will introduce ASEAN and its identity. The paragraph before last will mention the interaction of the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America in the region which resulted in a security dilemma in ASEAN, then the last section will be the conclusion and the summary of answers to the aforementioned.