Title of Report ASEAN INTEGRATION

Reporter Jene T. Sotto, PHD-ELM

The History of ASEAN

ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established on
August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of became known as ASEAN
Declaration or the Bangkok Declaration by the five Founding Fathers of the
organization namely: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Brunei joined in 1984 after gaining independence from the United Kingdom.
Vietnam joined in 1995. Laos and Myanmar (Burma) were admitted into full
membership in July, 1997 and Cambodia became the tenth member in 1999.
The ASEAN Emblem
The ASEAN emblem represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic
ASEAN.
Its varied colors: Blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and
dynamism. White shows purity and yellow symbolizes prosperity.
The rice stalks represent the dream of ASEAN’s Founding Fathers of binding
together in friendship and solidarity. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN.
How ASEAN Integration came into being?
During the 30th founding anniversary of the ASEAN in 2007, the member
countries agreed to a unified region and called it ASEAN Vision 2020. However,
during the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines, the member countries decided
to make it happen five years earlier , thus it became ASEAN Integration 2015.

ASEAN Integration 2015

Basically, ASEAN integration aims to turn the member countries into one big
stable community. There are three pillars to this agreement namely:
1. ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)
For a peaceful, democratic, and harmonious environment. All member
countries recognize that ASEAN countries are linked to one another thus there is a
need to safeguard the security of each country. While disputes cannot be helped,
there have been no wars and deeper struggles.

2.ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)

 Is for an equitable economic development and highly-competitive union. The
integration hopes to transform the region into a single market that is geared towards
global economy.
3.ASEAN Socio-cultural Community (ASCC)
Is for a socially responsible and people oriented-region. This is meant to
improve people’s lives by investing heavily on education, training, job generation,
and social protection.

Opportunities and benefits offered by the Asean community

Opportunity to buy cheaper and wider range of goods and services from within the
region
Ever wanted that famous snack from Thailand? Or even those lovely coffee
beans from Vietnam? With the help of ASEAN Integration, goods and services
across the region will easily become more accessible as tariffs are lowered or even
eliminated within the region.
Visa-free travel
With affordable plane fares, it’s easy to travel these days but better yet if is
visa-free . As a citizen of the ASEAN, you can travel visa-free to all ten ASEAN
countries, but with limited time period. How many countries have you visited?
Perhaps we can make it a part of your bucket list.
Assistance in times of disasters from the ASEAN Coordinating Center for
Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Center)
The Philippines, being a disaster-prone country, “received assistance through the
AHA Center, be it in the form of financial donations, goods and services (medical
and transport), or through the capacity building of our disaster response teams.”
Better connectivity
The National Broadband Plan of the Philippines, recently signed by Philippines
President Duterte, is the Philippines’ contribution to the objectives of the ASEAN
ICT Masterplan of 2020 , ” propelling ASEAN towards a digitally enabled economy
that is secure, sustainable, and transformative; and enabling an innovative, inclusive
and integrated ASEAN Community.”

Opportunity to earn more.

 Since the region’s 10 economies are integrated into one large economy, the
move could lead to larger market opportunities for intra-ASEAN trade in local
materials and products, thereby creating more job opportunities across the ASEAN.
The adoption of policies to protect migrant workers
One of the outcome documents that is being hoped for is Achieving the
ASEAN Community Vision 2025, is on The ASEAN Declaration for the Protection
and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.
Some of these opportunities have not been realized yet but it is something to
look forward to .
There are potential benefits in a life of : a secure environment, a better living
standard , better job prospects, sufficient income and stable prices, a better education
to our children, effective help in case of disaster and emergencies and the freedom to
travel , work and settle.

References:
ASEAN Secretariat.(2015). ASEAN Integration. Retrieved from
https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-emblem/
Chalermpalanupap,T. & Mun, T.S. The spirit of ASEAN’s founding fathers lives
On. Retrieved from
https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/spirit-aseans-founding-
fathers-lives