ASEAN was more successful then failure
ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967. ASEAN maintained regional peace and security for
almost 5 decades for 625 million people. Its founding fathers continued to hold on to a shared
vision to resolve differences among Southeast Asian countries and face common threats. A third
world once impoverished region emerged as a dynamic economic powerhouse. If ASEAN were a
single country, it would already be the seventh-largest economy in the world, with a combined
GDP of $2.4 trillion in 2013. It is projected to rank as the fourth-largest economy by 2050. I agree
to a large extent that ASEAN was more successful than a failure.
Firstly, ASEAN was successful in a political aspect. It is the only Asia-Pacific wide venue for
peaceful discussion of security issues. Signed in December 1995, the Southeast Asia Nuclear
Weapon – Free Zone treaty commits ASEAN members not to “develop, manufacture or otherwise
acquire, possess or have control over nuclear weapons; station or transport nuclear weapons by any
means; or test or use nuclear weapons” in Southeast Asia. ASEAN nations assured each other that
they will not develop or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or allow the deployment of such
weapons on their soil. The treaty strengthens peace and stability in the region. This also contributes
to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It shows ASEAN’s desire to further strengthen its
strategic trust and to forge a security partnership in general or maritime cooperation. Thus, ASEAN
was a success politically as it helped strengthen peace and stability in the region by discussing and
solving problems related to security for example the use of nuclear weapons.
Secondly, a social success of ASEAN is the biennial sporting meet which is the brainchild of
former Thailand Olympic Committee vice-president Luang Sukhum Nayaoradit. It was founded by
Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was staged as South-east Asian
Peninsular (Seap) Games in 1959.Over 700 athletes and officials gathered in Bangkok for six days
and competed in 12 sports (athletics, aquatics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, football,
shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and weightlifting). In 1977, the Seap Federation included
Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. The competition was renamed the South-east Asian (SEA)
Games and took the number of nations to 10 with only East Timor absent – the island nation joined
from the 2003 edition onwards. It has since grown to become the biggest multi-sport spectacle of
the region. At the last SEA games in 2017 which took place in Malaysia, around 4646 athletes
participated at the event, which featured 404 events in 38 sports. The founding goals for these
Games were to design a regional sporting event will help promote cooperation, understanding and
relations among countries in the region. For a region that has seen the threat of fundamentalist
Islamic Terrorism organizations elevate in the past few years, Malaysia beefed up its security in the
build up to the Games (2017). With the deployment of 10,000 policemen to patrol its Capital and a
further 2,000 soldiers as part of the Anti-Terrorism Readiness Troops, this is a clear message to any
Terrorism Groups in the region that Malaysia does not condone extremism and the games are very
important as it serves a wider role of promoting friendship and developing bonds; formal or
informal. The Games provides this regional bloc of around 600 million people, with more than half
of the population under the age of 30, an avenue to set aside differences and come together as a
region under the pretext of good sportsmanship and fair play. Thus, ASEAN was a success socially,
when it founded the SEA games to unite the region and and compete to foster good relationships
with one another.
However, there were instances were ASEAN failed socially. In 2015, 25 percent of global human
trafficking victims requiring assistance by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
came from ASEAN countries. In 2015, 92 percent of 1,525 human trafficking victims assisted by
IOM in ASEAN countries were exploited as forced labour. Common sectors for forced labour are
domestic work, fisheries, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and entertainment. Between
2015 and 2016, the Global Slavery Index reported that there were cases of forced labour in the
Malaysian electronics industry and palm oil plantations, debt bondage in the apparel industries in
Vietnam, forced labour in the fishing industries in Indonesia, Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Thailand, as
well as exploitation of illegal domestic workers in Singapore. Thus, ASEAN failed socially in the
area of human trafficking.
In addition, ASEAN failed in economic aspect. Diversity among member states about economic
development is the main issue, while states like Singapore and Brunei have relatively high GDP's
per capita, others such as Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar have far lower levels of prosperity. IntraASEAN trade ties remain weak. Except for Laos, ASEAN countries' trade with economies outside
of ASEAN still outpaces intra-ASEAN trade by a factor of three. Trade within ASEAN has not
been as attractive to each ASEAN country compared to external trade. For example, Vietnam trades
with HK, China, South Korea more so than ASEAN countries. Thus, ASEAN failed economically
when it trades more outside the region, suggesting they care more about their own nations rather
than the whole region.
In conclusion, ASEAN was more successful than failing. ASEAN has been a peaceful region for
the last 50 over years despite very diverse development, political institutions, etc. Peace and
stability led to Globalization, taking advantage of free trade and trading blocs formed between
ASEAN and other key economies like USA. It will follow the rule of law and principles in
accordance to the UN. The ASEAN Declaration states that the aims and purposes of the
Association are firstly to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development
in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen
the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations, and secondly
to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the
relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations
Charter. In 1995, the ASEAN Heads of State and Government re-affirmed that “Cooperative peace
and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN.” and respect for the
independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations; would
prevail so that all differences or disputes must be done in a peaceful manner.