CHAPTER 122 AEC Is on the Way, but It’s No Big Deal1
Many ask: What’s this ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) all about? If it’s that important, why do we know so little about it? Can you help explain? Here goes: ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)2 kicked off as a political entity some 46 years ago.2 It has since evolved over time, standing today on three pillars: (1) political-security, (2) economic, and (3) sociocultural. Experience from the 1997–1998 financial crisis highlighted the necessity for closer economic collaboration to protect mutual national interests. This is reinforced by the recent rise of China and India, strengthening ASEAN’s determination to create a stronger and more cohesive community.
The 1997 ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur brought this into sharper focus with the ASEAN 2020 Vision Declaration to transform the region into a stable, integrated, and competitive region. By 2003, the Bali Summit committed the group to accelerate the establishment of the AEC from 2020 to 2015. Since then, the 2007 AEC Blueprint sets out clear timelines for ASEAN members to strive toward becoming an integrated economic community by 2015 with: (1) a single market and production base; (2) a highly competitive economic region; (3) increasingly more equitable and inclusive economic development; and (4) a region fully integrated into the global economy.
The endgame will finally revolve around (1) a core ASEAN center; (2) an inclusive ASEAN; (3) an efficient and transparent ...
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