ASEAN

For information about the submarine cables, see ASEAN (cable system). The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an intergovernmental forum of all 11 states in Southeast Asia. ASEAN mainly focuses on economic development in the region, peaceful coexistence, and following international norms. It works on the principle of consensus and respects the sovereignty of each country. This means that ASEAN as a whole cannot force a member state to change its domestic laws.

ASEAN has a population of more than 680 million people. Its gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for purchasing power parity, is around 6.3% of global GDP. The member countries have very different economies. They range from the least developed countries, like Laos, to emerging economies, like Vietnam, to developed economies, like Singapore. Many projects in the region have started from initiatives between member states. Examples include the ASEAN Power Grid, the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the ASEAN Integrated QR Code Payment System, and the mutual ASEAN visa-free policies. Every two years, ASEAN organises a sporting event to encourage cultural exchange, known as the SEA Games.

ASEAN has strong ties with countries in East Asia and South Asia. It has a strong interest in the security of the South China Sea and the wider Indo-Pacific region. In diplomacy, ASEAN follows a principle of centrality. This means that concerns from other countries or organisations about Southeast Asia should be sent to ASEAN rather than to individual states. All Southeast Asian countries, many great powers, and international organisations have a dedicated diplomatic presence near ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta.

ASEAN began with the ASEAN Declaration, which was signed by five Southeast Asian countries in 1967. It was originally founded to contain communism. Over time, it shifted its focus to economic development and to preventing foreign interference in Southeast Asia as a whole. As more countries joined, the member states signed a binding ASEAN Charter in 2008. As of 2026, ASEAN is dealing with several serious challenges. These include the worsening civil war in Myanmar, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and managing US–China tensions. Even so, ASEAN is widely considered a successful example of regional cooperation. Its focus on de facto standards is seen as the opposite of the legal nature of the European Union.

History

Main article: History of ASEAN

Southeast Asia sat between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, a meeting point for trade and ideas. Since around 100 BCE, trade on these routes helped the economy grow and brought in new ideas, including abugida scripts and the Chinese script in Vietnam. Many countries were later colonised by Europeans, including French Indochina, British Burma, and the Dutch East Indies. Only Thailand, then called Siam, was never formed from a European colony. After Japan's defeat in World War II, decolonisation movements spread across Southeast Asia and led to the independent countries of ASEAN seen today. The predecessor of ASEAN was the Association of Southeast Asia, formed in 1961. ASEAN itself was created on 8 August 1967, when the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed the ASEAN Declaration at Saranrom Palace in Bangkok. The member countries wanted to speed up economic, social, and cultural development and promote peace in the region. Fear of the desire to contain communism also helped bring the group together.

Over the years, ASEAN grew to include all 11 countries of Southeast Asia. Brunei joined in 1984, and Vietnam joined in 1995. Laos and Myanmar joined in 1997, and Cambodia joined in 1999. Timor-Leste joined ASEAN on 26 October 2025 during the 47th ASEAN Summit, completing a two-decade accession process. In 2008, the member states launched the ASEAN Charter, which formally made ASEAN a legal entity and aimed to create a single trade bloc for a region of 500 million people. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was set up in 2009, though it could not punish countries that broke citizens' rights. Since 2017, the political and military situation in Myanmar, including the 2021 Myanmar coup, has posed serious challenges for ASEAN and its unity.

Member states

Main article: Member states of ASEAN

List of member states

Observer states

Main article: Enlargement of ASEAN

Right now, one country is trying to join ASEAN: Papua New Guinea.

• Accession of Papua New Guinea to ASEAN (observer status since 1976)

Two countries want to become observers in ASEAN: Fiji and Bangladesh.

• Accession of Fiji to ASEAN.

• Accession of Bangladesh to ASEAN (trying to gain observer status, with the goal of becoming a full member.)

One country also tried to join ASEAN but later stopped. That country was Sri Lanka.

• Accession of Sri Lanka to ASEAN (invited as one of the founders of ASEAN; tried to join in 1981; both times rejected by Singapore)

Dialogue partners

• Australia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

Sectoral Dialogue partners

• Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, South Africa, Switzerland, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

Development partners

• Chile, France, Italy, Netherlands and Peru.

The ASEAN Way

The ASEAN Way is an approach to solving problems that respects the cultural norms of Southeast Asia. It is an informal and personal way of working, in which leaders use compromise, consensus, and consultation. It puts agreement first and avoids conflict. Through quiet diplomacy, ASEAN leaders can talk without their discussions being seen by the public, so members avoid the embarrassment that may lead to further conflict. Some people have said that the ASEAN Way might be usefully applied to global conflict management.

Critics argue that this approach can only be applied to Asian countries, because of differences in mindset and level of tension. They also say that its focus on consultation, consensus, and non-interference means ASEAN can only adopt policies that everyone agrees on, since members must see eye-to-eye before moving forward. Members may not share the same understanding of the ASEAN Way. Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos stress non-interference, while older member countries focus on cooperation and coordination. These differences make it harder to find common solutions and to decide when acting together is right.

Structure

Starting in 1997, the leaders of each member state adopted the ASEAN Vision 2020 at the group's 30th anniversary meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The vision aimed to build a single ASEAN community with peace and stability, a nuclear-free region, closer economic ties, and care for the environment and culture. It was made complete in 2003 through the Bali Concord II. The community was built on three pillars: a Political-Security Community, an Economic Community, and a Socio-Cultural Community. Their plans were adopted in 2009 in Cha-am, Thailand, and the community was moved up to begin by 31 December 2015. This change was decided at the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu in 2007.

The security plan was adopted at the 14th ASEAN Summit. In 2010, a proposal was made in Hanoi to help member states build their own defence industries and rely less on outside countries. The plan was formally adopted in 2011. ASEAN's economic plan was adopted in 2007 and sets out a goal of one single market, with free movement of goods, services, skilled workers, and investment. A tool called the AEC Scorecard tracks progress. Energy cooperation is guided by the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation, which supports the building of the ASEAN Power Grid. Experts also expect banks to face challenges as trade becomes freer, and two reports by Standard & Poor's point to the Philippines as likely to feel the most pressure.

Financial integration roadmap

The roadmap for financial integration is the newest regional effort to strengthen self-help and support among local communities. Carrying it out would help make the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) happen. A shared currency, once conditions are ready, could be the last step of the AEC. The roadmap sets out goals for growing capital markets, opening up capital accounts and financial services, and working together on currency.

Member states agree that strengthening food security helps keep the region stable and prosperous, and it would be part of ASEAN's community-building plans as it moves toward the AEC. Trade in rice and maize is one way ASEAN hopes to reach food security together, and trade facilitation can make food trade cheaper. The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) was also adopted at the 14th ASEAN Summit. It aims to build a people-centered community that shares an identity, cares for its people, and reduces the development gap.

Economy

See also: List of ASEAN countries by GDP and List of ASEAN country subdivisions by GDP

See also: Visa policy of ASEAN members

ASEAN wants its members to grow their economies together. By the end of 2015, it planned to build a single market based on the four freedoms, and it formed the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) that year. The group pushed back the goal of a common market to 2025. Between 1989 and 2009, member states grew by an average of 3.8% to 7% each year, which was more than the 2.8% average of APEC. Trade between member states was still low until the end of 2010. Realised foreign direct investment (FDI) was US$37.9 billion in 2009 and doubled to US$75.8 billion in 2010. Trade is also becoming freer through the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), which was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. Air travel is moving toward a unified and single aviation market through the ASEAN Single Aviation Market. In 2013, ASEAN and six trading partners began talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security was signed in 2007 with the other members of the EAS. It aims at energy security by finding energy alternatives to fossil fuels.

A shared currency is still being studied. The idea of an Asian Currency Unit (ACU) began in the middle of the 1990s, before the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Asian Development Bank is responsible for exploring it. Member states trade more with countries outside the region (80%) than with each other (20%), and their macroeconomic conditions differ, so greater agreement is being sought. Cross-border electricity trade remains limited, even though efforts to build an ASEAN Power Grid began in 1997. Tourism has grown, and 109 million tourists came to ASEAN in 2015. The first ASEAN Tourism Forum was held in Kuala Lumpur in 1981. The China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, announced in 2009 by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, began operating in 2010 with sponsorship from the Export-Import Bank of China. The International Finance Corporation of the World Bank invested US$100 million in it. In 2019, Reuters reported on a method traders used to avoid a 70% tariff on ethanol imported into Taiwan.

Foreign relations

ASEAN has good relationships with many countries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, and it presents itself as neutral in politics. Its heads of government meet at ASEAN Summits to discuss regional problems and to meet with countries outside the group. The first summit was held in Bali in 1976, and at the Manila meeting in 1987 the leaders agreed to meet every five years. Later they chose to meet more often, and in 2001 they agreed to meet every year. After the ASEAN Charter came into force in December 2008, the summit was to be held twice a year. ASEAN is also a major partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and works closely with China. It takes part in the East Asia Summit, which first met in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005 and discusses issues such as trade, energy, and security, and it has a role in regional community building. Other ministers meet on specific topics, such as defence or the environment. ASEAN also meets with Europe at the Asia–Europe Meeting, which began in 1996, and it appoints a representative to the governing board of the Asia-Europe Foundation.

ASEAN's foreign ministers' statements were not usually disputed before 2012, but they became more contested as disagreements over the South China Sea grew. After the 2022 visit by United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, ASEAN and its members restated their support for the One China policy. In November 2022, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked ASEAN countries to give up their neutrality and condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian war and the Iran war have also affected regional views. A ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute survey published in April 2026 found that 52% of Southeast Asian respondents favoured China over the United States during the Iran war, while 48% still preferred the US.

Environment

Around the year 2000, ASEAN began discussing environmental agreements. In 2002, it signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution to control haze pollution, which is arguably the region's most high-profile environmental issue. This agreement was unsuccessful because haze outbreaks happened in (/wiki/2005_Malaysian_haze), (/wiki/2006_Southeast_Asian_haze), (/wiki/2009_Southeast_Asian_haze), (/wiki/2013_Southeast_Asian_haze), and (/wiki/2015_Southeast_Asian_haze). Thirteen years after signing the agreement, the long-term Southeast Asian haze problem had not changed for 50% of the member states, and it remained a crisis every two years during summer and fall. Other issues include trash dumping from countries such as Japan and Canada, which has not yet been discussed or resolved, and deforestation. Indonesia lost more forest than all the other member states combined from 2001 to 2013. Plastic waste, threatened mammals, fish, and plants are also major concerns.

ASEAN's economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, but it releases about 1.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ into the air each year. This makes ASEAN a bigger source of greenhouse gas emissions than Japan or Germany, and it is the only region where coal is expected to increase its share of the energy mix. The International Energy Agency reports that oil is the largest part of the region's energy mix, while coal has been growing fastest. ASEAN has been criticised for not doing enough to mitigate climate change, even though it is the world's most vulnerable region in terms of climate impact. The region has many chances to use renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. The proposed ASEAN Power Grid could move clean energy from large producers like Vietnam to other countries. Vietnam has become a regional leader, with solar and wind making up 13% of its electricity in 2022, up from nearly zero in 2017. Indonesia and Vietnam have pledged to phase out coal power by the 2040s. The head of the Indonesian energy company PLN, Darmawan Prasodjo, has said the ASEAN Power Grid is key to unlocking green energy in Southeast Asia.

See also: ASEAN Power Grid

Education

ASEAN education ministers have agreed on four priorities to strengthen the region's education. These include helping ASEAN citizens, especially young people, learn about ASEAN, building a shared ASEAN identity through education, developing ASEAN's human resources in education, and strengthening the ASEAN University Network. The ministers meet every year, and ASEAN Senior Officials on Education (SOM-ED) carry out the programs. SOM-ED also manages higher education cooperation through the ASEAN University Network (AUN), which was founded in November 1995 by 11 universities and has 30 member universities today. In November 2011, ten vocational schools and centres were set up in China to help develop skilled workers for the economic and social growth of ASEAN countries. Singapore offers ASEAN students a scholarship for secondary school, junior college, and university, covering housing, food, medical care, and school fees. The Australian Government also offers "Australia for ASEAN" scholarships for Master's degrees to future leaders from ASEAN countries, with each member state able to receive ten.

ASEAN also created the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework, which links the different national qualifications framework systems used by ASEAN member states. ASEAN ministers for economics, education, and labour approved the framework between August 2014 and May 2015. Each ASEAN member state has also set up its own national qualifications framework, as shown below:

Demographics

In July 2019, about 655 million people lived in ASEAN, which is about 8.5% of the world's population. In 2019, 55.2 million children were aged 0–4, and 46.3 million people were older than 65. These made up 8.4% and 7.1% of the total ASEAN population. The region's population grows by 1.1% each year. Thailand has the slowest growth at 0.2% per year, and Cambodia has the fastest at 1.9% per year. As of 2017, there were 99.4 males for every 100 females in ASEAN.

Urbanisation

See also: List of cities in ASEAN by population

About half (around 50.1%) of Southeast Asia's people lived in cities and towns in 2020, and this is expected to rise to 55.6% by 2030, which would be almost 405 million people. Many people live in Java Sea and Gulf of Thailand coastal areas, where big cities sit close together. About 13% of ASEAN citizens live in 28 cities with more than one million people, and another 14% live in 367 towns of between 100,000 and one million people. The largest area is Jabodetabek, or Greater Jakarta, with about 42 million people in 2025, followed by the Greater Manila Area with about 28 million. Jakarta, Manila, and Bangkok are the three largest metropolitan areas and are widely called megacities. Other large city regions include Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, and Surabaya. Some areas link several cities together, such as the Jakarta–Bandung mega-urban corridor on Java, the Singapore–Johor Bahru–Batam growth triangle (SIJORI), the Bangkok–Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the Greater Mekong Subregion, and the Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP–EAGA).

Culture

ASEAN holds cultural activities to help bring the region closer together. These include sports, educational activities, and writing awards, such as the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, ASEAN Heritage Parks and the ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award. The ASEAN region is also recognised as one of the world's most diverse regions in terms of ethnicity, religion, and language. Member states work together on information to help build an ASEAN identity. The ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information was established in 1978, and its representatives meet every year to agree on projects. On 14 November 2014, foreign ministers launched the ASEAN Communication Master Plan, which explains the character, structure, and vision of ASEAN to people in the region and around the world.

ASEAN Media Cooperation sets rules for digital television as broadcasters move from analogue to digital. ASEAN also has songs written for the region, such as "The ASEAN Way", its official anthem. Music plays an important part in ASEAN events, and the main sporting event is the SEA Games, which brings together athletes from the eleven member states every two years. Many other championships are held across the region, including the Southeast Asian Football Championship, which has been held since 1996.

Global influence and reception

Many people see ASEAN as one of the most influential organisations in the world. It plays a role in diplomacy and trade across the region and beyond. The ASEAN Free Trade Area is one of the largest and most important free trade areas in the world. Together with its dialogue partners, ASEAN is part of some of the world's largest groups, including APEC, EAS and RCEP. The ASEAN Summit is a major meeting where world leaders discuss problems and global issues. Critics say ASEAN has weakly promoted human rights and democracy, especially in junta-led Myanmar, and some scholars think its policy of non-interference has made it harder to deal with Myanmar, human rights abuses and haze pollution. ASEAN has not suspended Myanmar as a member, even after the military crackdown on unarmed protesters in Yangon, and it rejects economic sanctions. The European Union has refused to hold regional free trade talks for these political reasons. During a UN vote on the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya, most member states abstained or voted against condemnation. Only Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei voted to condemn it. Some observers call ASEAN a "talk shop" that is "big on words, but small on action".

The head of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Tim Huxley, says that the group's diverse political systems, including many young states, block far-reaching cooperation beyond economics. He adds that without an outside threat to unite against after the Cold War ended, ASEAN has been less successful at restraining its members and resolving border disputes. At the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, activist groups held anti-globalisation protests. Corruption is also widespread, and "tea money" is still needed to get business done and receive public services. The Corruption Perceptions Index 2015 showed the same concern. Business and economy experts at the Lippo-UPH Dialogue in Naypyidaw raised unresolved issues about the 2015 integration deadline, and Kishore Mahbubani warned against expecting a big change overnight. Former Philippine National Statistical Coordination Board Secretary General Romulo A. Virola said the Philippines seemed unready for integration. Nestor Tan of BDO Unibank Inc. said integration would be more of a threat than an opportunity for local firms, and Standard & Poor's believed Philippine banks were not yet ready for tougher competition. The US Chamber of Commerce also expressed concern that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) might miss its deadline. Former Secretary-General Rodolfo C. Severino warned that failing to deliver could hurt credibility and make member states fall behind in competing for export markets and foreign direct investment. A report in Vietnam News said the deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade was concerned that local businesses knew little about the AEC. The Asian Development Bank also doubted that Cambodia could meet the AEC deadline. A 2019 report from the Asian Trade Centre found that non-tariff barriers still block integration in many sectors.

Security

ASEAN's members see it as one of the main places to talk about security. Its charter says its main aim is to build shared understanding and cooperation so that members can "respond effectively to all forms of threats, transitional crimes and transboundary challenges." ASEAN works through cooperative security, which means it uses trust-building steps and openness to lower tension between members. Piracy in the Strait of Malacca is one of the region's biggest non-traditional security threats, and it has made coordinating policy hard. A ReCAAP report from 2020 noted more incidents in several places in Asia during early 2020. Ministers said ASEAN should work harder against transnational crime during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, ASEAN's piracy plans have not been updated, and a shared navy idea from 2015 was carried out by smaller groups instead. Agreement is difficult because members have different interests and unsolved territorial disputes, especially at sea, which affects work on maritime security.

Other issues include human rights concerns and political leaders who are known to have abused human rights, with little accountability. Myanmar is in a serious civil war, and its military government has carried out human rights violations against the Rohingya people. Thailand has seen repeated military involvement in government since a 2006 coup, including a 2014 coup, which has raised concerns about regional stability. Navies from ASEAN countries take part in the ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise, or AMNEX.