ASEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
FORUM 2015
St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
10 November 2015
Convenors:
Pierre Sauvé,1 Matthew J Walton2 and Sufian Jusoh3
Introduction
To mark the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015, the Asian Studies Centre at St
Antony’s College, University of Oxford, the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies
(IKMAS) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and the World Trade Institute, University of
Bern, will host an ASEAN Economic Integration Forum at St. Antony’s College, University of
Oxford, on 10 November 2015.
The main objectives of the ASEAN Economic Integration Forum 2015 are to discuss a host of
economic governance challenges facing ASEAN Member States as they strive to establish
the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and to explore forward looking proposals to
enhance the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community 2025 objectives.
Discussions at the Forum will focus on three main themes:
1. The adequacy of ASEAN’s institutional architecture, in comparison with other
regional institutions and in its own regional context
2. Lessons deriving from multi-speed integration within ASEAN and beyond
3. The state of play of the AEC 2015 goals
1
Director of External Programs and Academic Partnerships, World Trade Institute, University of Bern,
Switzerland.
2
Aung San Suu Kyi Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies, St. Antony’s College, University of
Oxford.
3
Senior Fellow, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS, UKM), Distinguished Fellow, Institute
of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia and of the World Trade Institute,
University of Bern, Switzerland.
The Convenors have invited prominent speakers and experts on ASEAN and Asian economic
integration and related topics to share their insights on prospects for continued regional
integration beyond 2015.
Program
(October 19, 2015)
Time
0900-0915
Program
Registration of Participants
0915-0930
Welcoming remarks and Forum aims:
Matthew J Walton, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
0930-1045
Session 1: Understanding the regional context:
the institutional architecture of ASEAN
Chair: Matthew J Walton (St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford)
Speakers:
Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, University of Oxford (tbc)
ASEAN: a waning voice in international governance?
Claudio Dordi, Bocconi University
Deep integration with shallow institutions: Looking at ASEAN through a EU
lens
Lee Jones, Queen Mary University, UK
Anatomy of a probable failure: the domestic political economy of ASEAN
and the AEC
Discussant:
Rashila Ramli, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia
Q&A
1045-1115
1115-1245
Networking Break
Session 2: ASEAN and/in Asia:
the promise and limits of overlapping integration
Chair: Ambassador Muhamad Noor Yacob, former
Representative of Malaysia to the World Trade Organisation
Speakers:
Permanent
Sufian Jusoh, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies
Jurgen Kurtz, University of Melbourne (tbc)
How does ASEAN coexist with the TPP, RCEP and other regional initiatives?
Juanita Elias and Lena Rethel, Warwick University, UK
Incorporating the everyday political economy of Southeast Asia
Discussant:
TBC
Q&A
1245-1330
Networking Lunch
1330-1400
Luncheon Talk
Speaker: The Honorable Tunku Zain Al-Abidin, Institute for Democracy and
Economic Affairs, Malaysia
Introduced by Sufian Jusoh, IKMAS
1400-1530
Session 3: How close are we to stated AEC goals?
Chair: Rashila Ramli, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Speakers:
Julien Chaisse, Chinese University Hong Kong
The impact of TPP on the ASEAN Investment Framework
Pierre Sauvé, World Trade Institute
The Services Dimension of ASEAN Integration
Michael Ewing-Chow, National University of Singapore
The Morning After (the AEC): Wither ASEAN?
Discussant:
Tham Siew Yean, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies
Q&A
1530-1615
Business and foreign policy perspectives on ASEAN integration
Two short comments from and discussions with a representative of the UK
business community engaged in ASEAN countries and with a
representative of the UK government working on ASEAN-related issues
1615-1630
Closing: Remarks by the Convenors
1730-1900
19.00
End of Forum
Keynote address: Looking Ahead: What’s in store for ASEAN?
Kevin Watts, Vice-Chairman, HSBC, and Chairman of the Advisory Panel of
the UK-ASEAN Business Council (tbc)
Drinks and High Table Dinner, St Antony’s College