Suchergebnisse

"This book entitled ASEAN-U.S. Relations: What Are the Talking Points? is a result of a workshop organized by the ASEAN Studies Centre of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. The workshop was timely then, as the two sides, all of ASEAN, and the United States held their first-ever summit in Singapore in November 2009, heralding a new era of renewed engagement. The United States is very important for ASEAN, as a guarantor of regional stability and a vast market for ASEAN products. At the same time, ASEAN has gained more public attention from the United States, particularly since the advent of the Obama administration. This publication will serve as a reminder that ASEAN and the United States have shared many benefits as well as concerns for many years. Their continued engagement will undoubtedly ensure regional peace and order. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in ASEANs external relations." –Professor Charnvit Kasetsiri Former Rector of Thammasat University and Visiting Professorial Fellow, ISEAS "Much has been made in the last few years of Washington's 're-engagement' with ASEAN, warmer ties with several Southeast Asian states, and the review of U.S. policy towards Myanmar. What explains this change and where are U.S.-ASEAN ties headed in the future? This timely collection of short essays and speeches by eleven leading academics and senior officials provides valuable background to what it calls a 'new era' in U.S. policy and thoughtfully explores where future challenges and opportunities might lie. The chapters are practically focused and forward looking, offering critical perspectives as well as policy recommendations. Covering security issues, aid, Myanmar, the South China Sea, and the evolving U.S. role in regional institutions, ASEAN-U.S. Relations: What Are the Talking Points? will be essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the changing dynamics of American policy in Southeast Asia." – Dr David Capie Senior Lecturer in International Relations Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

This study argues that the extensive use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would:((1) enhance policy coordination within the intergovernmental organization; (2) promote inclusive regionalism by providing new avenues for broaderstakeholder participation in regional affairs; (3) help develop a stronger regional identity, particularly among the young; and (4) improve "network management" or coordination of the collaborativeactivities of the member states.But this study is not merely about making ASEAN more effective. Bylooking at how ICT - with its ability to overcome distance and time -could be a tool for enabling effective non-state actors in regional rulemaking, it also contributes to the literature on Global eGovernance

In November 2008, the Regional Economic Studies Programme of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) and the Singapore office of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada organised a forum on 'Regional Economic Integration - ASEAN and Canadian Perspectives'. The forum concluded that fundamentally the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were two different kinds of agreements. First, while NAFTA focused entirely on trade and investments, the scope of AFTA was much broader, going beyond issues of trade and investments alone. Secondly, NAFTA was a lightly institutionalized regional trade agreement. There was no formal policy of institutional or policy development, and it lacked legislative instruments. Although ASEAN had a secretariat, its regional institutions remained weak in comparison to those of the European Union. Thirdly, the dispute-settlement mechanism in ASEAN was different from that of NAFTA. The ASEAN provisions were scattered over a number of documents and covered both economic (trade and investment) issues and other disputes (e.g., political or territorial), while NAFTA provisions were contained in a single document and could be applied only to matters related to trade and investments. Finally, although many studies presented trade liberalisation as a win-win proposition, the distribution of costs and benefits was mostly uneven. In the case of Canada, short-run gains in efficiency from expanded trade could be identified, but it was harder to determine longer-term dynamic gains. On the other hand, in the case of ASEAN, it was still grappling with the issue of the development divide, especially since the admission of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam into the group

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Possessing a significant share of the world's oil and gas reserves and including some of the world's fastest growing economies, the GCC is a significant regional grouping. As with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Council has made significant progress towards economic integration. Seeking to draw out lessons applicable to ASEAN, this report looks at the structure and evolution of the GCC. This includes the context within which the Council was established, its rationale, and economic importance. It then follows the organization's development over time, paying particular importance to its progress from Customs Union and Common Market towards Monetary Union. The report then sets out the key challenges ahead for the Council, and concludes by highlighting the structural, organizational, and political lessons that resonate with ASEAN and its membership

In June 2009, the ASEAN Studies Centre of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organized ISEAS' annual roundtable, this time on the subject of "The Global Economic Crisis: Implications for ASEAN". The roundtable concluded that the crisis had a significant impact on the region, and ASEAN needed to have a better co-ordinated approach if it was to weather the storm. The region had taken into account the fact that the developed countries like the US and the EU would take a longer time to come out of the crisis. Hence, while export-led growth policies had served the region well in the past, governments now had to adopt policies that were oriented more to the domestic or regional markets. Another conclusion of the roundtable had to do with the notion of 'security'. The current economic crisis was considered as a new kind of insecurity. Hence, the future treatment of regional security should be reconceptualized, so that there could be better prospects of anticipating future threats from the economic realm. Lastly, the roundtable judged that ASEAN had not fully addressed the implications of the current crisis on the poor. In the light of the tendency of the crisis to push increasing number of people to become poor, ASEAN cooperation in labour and social protection needed to aim at preventing the crisis from causing further social damage

The origins, evolution and impact of the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement are examined in this book. ANZCERTA is often referred to as a benchmark for trade agreements. Not only does the book examine the agreement and how it evolved, but it also provides lessons for others, particularly in ASEAN, as they work on regional on bilateral economic relations. The special features of the Agreement are identified, and its evolution is charted. Current debates are reviewed, and assessments of its impact are discussed. Ten lessons for the designers of other agreements are presented

ASEAN : life after the Charter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- List of Contributors -- Introduction -- 1. ASEAN Legal Personality Under Its New Charter - Its Nature, Meaning and Implications: Status of the Work and Issues Involved -- 2. Does ASEAN Exist? The Association of Southeast Asian Nations as an International Legal Person -- 3. Life In ASEAN After the Entry into Force of the ASEAN Charter: Implications and Follow-ups -- 4. Translating the Design into a Bloc: The Domestic Implementation of the ASEAN Charter -- 5. ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) -- 6. The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement 2009: Its Objectives, Plan and Progress -- 7. The ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community: A Watershed for Regional Economic Integration? -- 8. Implications of an Uncertain Global Economy on Integration Initatives -- 9. Challenges to Achieving the ASEAN Economic Community -- 10. ASEAN: An Integrated Market? -- 11. A Miscellany of Trade Issues -- 12. Policy Issues for ASEAN Countries -- Index.