In her dealings and engagement with the rest of the world, ASEAN has adopted the policy of Non-Interference which implies that the organization does not in any way interfere in the affairs of other nations. The organization has received criticism as well as praise in equal measure in the way it has handled issues among the member nations as well as among her neighbouring nations.

Achievements realized by ASEAN

The formation of ASEAN has seen the Southeast Asia rip massive benefits ranging from economic benefits to political and social stability in the Southeast Asian region. For instance, in the mid -1970s following the end of war in Vietnam, ASEAN region achieved greater cohesion due to the change in the balance of power in the region that emerged as a result of the end of war in Vietnam. 1970s was a period marked by dynamic economic growth among her member nations. The massive economic growth strengthened this organization enabling it to respond in unison to the 1979 Vietnam invasion of Cambodia. Within the same period of 1970s, the organization signed significant treaties which strengthened peace and stability among her member nations. For instance, in 1976, ASEAN held its first summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia where several agreements touching on industrial developments projects were signed.

During this similar summit, the nations signed a Treaty of Amity and Cooperation as well as reaching a Declaration of Concord. 1980 just like the 70s was characterised by a series of major achievements by ASEAN. For instance, this period marked the end of the Cold War. This allowed the member nations of ASEAN to assume greater political independence and have much control in the affairs affecting the Southeast Asia region. This control later made ASEAN to emerge as an influential voice on issues concerning regional trade as well as issues of security. This control contributed to the expansion of the membership of ASEAN characterised by the joining of the organization by nations such as Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia increasing the membership from five to ten member states.

The massive growth in the 1990s characterised by peace and stability in the Southeast Asia region led to a proposal by Malaysia for the formation of an East Asia Economic Caucus which was to include membership of other nations in the Southeast Asia region such as the People’s Republic of China, South Korea as well as Japan. The reason given by Malaysia for the formation of the East Asia Economic Caucus was to counterbalance the growth and influence of the US which had dominated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Unfortunately, this move was opposed by Japan and the US leading to its collapse. Nonetheless, the collapse of this suggestion by Malaysia did not stop the resolve of ASEAN to have a major influence in the Asian region.

In 1997, another integration, the ASEAN Plus Three was formed. To promote trade among the member states, ASEAN members pushed for the abolishing of trade tariffs in the region. Following this push, in 1992, ASEAN members came up with the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) a move which saw the trade tariffs phased out among the Southeast Asia nations. This move saw the region gain a competitive advantage and act as a production base in the region which made the member nations compete favourably in the global market. On 28 January 1992, with the intention of acting as a powerhouse on the international market, ASEAN nations signed an agreement in Singapore which led to the formation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area. The main aim of the ASEAN Free Trade Area was to promote the local manufacturing industry among the ASEAN member countries. Research conducted to establish the economic growth in the Southeast Asia region following the formation of the ASEAN free trade area in 1993 indicted that trade in the region had grown tremendously moving to 24 percent by 2015 from 19.2 percent recorded then previous year.

The introduction of tariff free trade saw the region record over 90 percent sale of goods across the region. To further emphasize on her initial call for the formation of an Asian integration to counter the influence of the US in the region, Malaysia came up with another proposal. Through a proposal known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, Malaysia in a conference held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, proposed for the integration among the ASEAN economies together with the neighbouring nation of China, Japan and South Korea. The move to form the Chiang Mai integration came at a time when the Southeast Asian nations were facing the 1997 Asian financial crisis. To evade any chances of future financial crisis, the nations adopted the Chiang Mai Initiative that allowed for the swapping of the national currency as a way to provide financial support within the Southeast Asia region.  ASEAN has been instrumental in the promotion of peace and stability in the Southeast Asia region.

To ensure regional peace and stability, ASEAN came up with various forums such as the formation of the ASEAN Plus Three group.  This consultative group bringing together the ten member nations of ASEAN together with Japan, China and South Korea was created in 1997 to promote peace and stability in the Southeast Asia region. ASEAN has been on the forefront in championing the peace and stability in the Southeast region. Moreover, the organization has put in place the East Asia Summit that sees heads of the member nations of ASEAN meet annually to discuss issues aimed at promoting security and prosperity in the Southeast region. For instance, on the 15^th December 1995, ASEAN signed a treaty, the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. This treaty was signed with the intention of ending the manufacture of nuclear weapons in the Southeast Asia region thereby making the Southeast Asia a nuclear-weapon-free zone. This treaty came into full force after all the nations had ratified it on 21^st June 2001 thereby banning the manufacture of nuclear weapons in the Southeast Asia region.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 United States terror attack, the members of ASEAN in an attempt to cushion the Southeast Asia region from any possible terror attack signed the declaration on joint action to counter terrorism. This move saw the Southeast Asia region maintain relative peace and stability throughout the period of major terrorist attacks across the world.

Challenges facing ASEAN

Despite its principles of sovereignty and consensus, ASEAN has in many occasioned succumbed to external pressure which has resulted in the organization facing contentious issues. Similarly, internal divisions among the member countries have affected the organization in making key decisions a while at the same time jeopardizing the cohesion making consensus difficult to be reached among the member nations on issues of great importance. For instance, the member states of ASEAN were torn in between and as a result found it difficult addressing the issue of military dictatorship in Myanmar in the mid-1990s. Moreover, the organization has failed to address the territorial disputes faced in the South China Sea. This issue of the South China Sea has split the member nations of ASEAN leading to the emergence of the claimant states and the non-claimant states. This has led to the support of China’s point of the view in the matter due to her massive wealth which she uses to influence the positions taken by member states of ASEAN in support of her position on the issue.

The failure to forge a unified stand and take a decisive stand on matters such as China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea has resulted to experts viewing ASEAN as an organization hindered by a lack of strategic vision, weak leadership as well as national priorities that are divergent in her decisions. The policy of non-interference has been cited by some experts as the major reason behind the ineffectiveness of ASEAN in the promotion of peace and stability in the Southeast Asia region. Adherence to the policy of non-interference and consensus in the resolution of problems facing the member nations has led to avoidance of problems facing member countries instead of confronting the problems.

Foreign policy experts such as Beeson of the University of Western Australia point out that the rise of China as a powerhouse in the region threatens not only the relationship between the organization and China but also puts at high risk the relationship of the member nations against one another. The issue of the maritime dispute experienced over the South China sea has put the stability of the organization to great test. Member states of ASEAN such s Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines and Vietnam are in opposition to China’s claim to features in the South China Sea. These nations in argument to the opposition of China maintain that if China is allowed to go ahead with the land reclamation and the building of artificial islands on the sea, it will pose a serious threat to the sovereignty of other nations in the Southeast region and at the same time threaten the existence of the other nations who are dependent on the South China Sea for survival.

On the other hand, the nations in support of China’s reclamation and building of the artificial islands on the sea such as Cambodia maintain that the positioning of the artificial islands by China on the South China Sea is geographically distant and will hence have no impact on the other nations who are dependent on the South China Sea for their survival. The failure by ASEAN to resolve the dispute on the South China Sea has seen the organization invite the effort of the US to help resolve the conflict. In response, the US has stepped up military cooperation with members of ASEAN such as Vietnam and Philippines. This has in the end put the peace and stability of the Southeast Asia region at risk making ASEAN fail in its initial mandate of maintaining peace and stability of the Southeast Asia region.

In conclusion, the formation of ASEAN has seen the Southeast Asia region grow in the various spheres such as economic, political as well as the social sphere. However, the emergence of China as a powerhouse, interference in the ASEAN’s affairs by foreign nations such as the US as well as the organization’s policy of non-interference in the affairs of the region have seen ASEAN loss its effectiveness as a force for maintaining peace and stability in the Southeast Asia region.

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