Introduction

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an alliance promoting economic and political cooperation by fostering dialogue among its ten members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Besides an important multilateral organization in Asia, ASEAN is also becoming a major economic powerhouse in the region having enacted free trade agreements (FTA) with China, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, and Korea. However, ASEAN still faces distinct challenges: Member nations continue to vie over maritime sovereignty, and ASEAN's policy of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of member states has attracted considerable international criticism in the wake of Myanmar's human rights crisis.

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ASEAN has proved a vital and welcoming partner in Asia for the United States as it moves to secure economic interests in a shifting global framework. Anxiety over Chinese economic and military expansion has also motivated the United States to deepen engagement with multilateral institutions to secure U.S. influence in the region. In recent years, Washington has strengthened economic and security ties with ASEAN by joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, participating in ASEAN summits, and formally establishing a U.S.-ASEAN annual summit.

Addressing Regional Security Issues

ASEAN was formed in the midst of the Vietnam War in 1967, uniting Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand against the potential threat of communist-led insurgency. It was intended as a security community, promoting social and political stability during a turbulent time, says CFR Senior Fellow Sheila A. Smith. In addition to preventing intraregional flare-ups, ASEAN provided a way for the countries to create "a voice for themselves in the broader Cold War arena so the Southeast Asian area would speak as one on particular issues," she says. To that end, in 1971 ASEAN signed a declaration that Southeast Asia was a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality. The resolution was intended as a statement that ASEAN countries refused to be included in Cold War dividing lines, says Sheldon Simon, a professor of political science at Arizona State University.

The end of the Cold War left ASEAN "searching for a new organizing principle for security," Simon says, and ASEAN has since established various forums to address more contemporary challenges:

• ASEAN Regional Forum:  Launched in1993, it aims to promote security in the broader Asia-Pacific region, but the body's contribution has involved more discussion than action, says Zachary Abuza, a professor of political science at Simmons College in Boston. Still, white papers, military exchanges, and the creation of a register of experts who can be called upon during conflicts have increased transparency and defense cooperation.
• ASEAN Plus Three (APT): Initiated in 1997, it aims to cultivate multidimensional collaboration between ASEAN, Japan, China, and South Korea, and was characterized as "the most coherent and substantive pan-Asian grouping" in a recent CFR Council Special Report.
• East Asia Summit: First held in 2005, it is an annual gathering of heads of state from ASEAN member countries, plus Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand to promote security and prosperity in the region.

Since 2009, China has adopted a more aggressive tack in regional disputes (Newsweek) over borderlands with India, maritime sovereignty, and the Mekong River, say analysts. CFR's Fellow for Southeast Asia Joshua Kurlantzick warns that countries like Vietnam and Malaysia are "arming up" to protect strategic interests and energy resources in areas like the South China Sea. Investment in arms purchases in Southeast Asia nearly doubled (WPR) between 2005 and 2009 alone, writes Richard Weitz, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

China's military buildup and an anticipated change in top-level leadership have motivated the United States and ASEAN nations to work together. Faced with China's assertiveness in the region, some ASEAN nations have also indicated a desire for a continued and active U.S. presence (Bloomberg) in the region to counterbalance China. At a CFR meeting in September, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa expressed that in the interest of building a "dynamic equilibrium" in Asia, Indonesia wants to ensure participation of the United States and Russia in the "evolving regional architecture." Philippines' President Benigno S. Aquino III echoed the necessity of an ongoing U.S. presence in the region.

Despite the rising level of engagement in the area, experts have pointed out that considerable hurdles to multilateral cooperation still remain. Members' security priorities vary, and therefore military and counterterrorism issues tend to be handled bilaterally between countries with shared concerns and trusting relationships, like Singapore and Malaysia or Singapore and Thailand. For instance, the captures of several Jemaah Islamiyah operatives in the past have involved bilateral action. Also, certain ASEAN procedures cripple even the organization's most ambitious agreements, say some experts. Andrew Chau of the University of Queensland's School of Political Science and International Studies writes in Asian Survey that ASEAN's consensus-based decision-making and policy of non-interference in members' affairs have created a "state-centric approach to foreign policy behavior" that undermines regional integration initiatives. For example, the 2007 ASEAN Convention on Counterterrorism was intended to create a "framework for regional cooperation to counter, prevent, and suppress terrorism," but it contains clauses allowing parties to withdraw from the agreement at any time. The convention also states that it does not contradict "the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states and that of non-interference in the internal affairs of other parties"--meaning the agreement, like other ASEAN statements, is only as useful as ASEAN members choose to make it.

Human Rights Concerns

The alliance's non-interference principle came under scrutiny when the group drafted a charter in 2007, which all ten members ratified by October 2008. Early drafts of the charter included provisions for sanctions for charter violations and a system of compliance monitoring for ASEAN agreements, but these elements were cut after deliberations revealed conflicting visions on ASEAN's continued role in the region.

Experts say the concept of non-interference has become a tool for protecting human rights transgressors. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam--countries with poor human rights records--balked at the proposition (Economist) to give the human rights commission established in the charter the power to monitor or investigate abuses (Brunei and Singapore also expressed reservations, fearful of opening the door to intervention in members' affairs). The commission was rendered virtually powerless, dismaying Indonesia and the Philippines, the last members to ratify the charter. The Philippines' senate minority leader, Aquilino Pimentel, who voted against ratification despite his country's endorsement, called the document a "sham"(AFP), while Indonesian legislator Sutradara Gintings said the charter's lack of protection for human rights indicated insignificant progress.

Some experts, like U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel, stress the importance of the charter for equipping ASEAN with new diplomatic tools, like a dispute-settlement procedure, and setting an ambitious goal of achieving economic integration by 2015. Others have less faith: Barry Desker, the dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, writes in Singapore's Straits Times that the charter merely "codifies existing norms"(PDF) and in some areas even represents a step backwards.

The Myanmar Question

While the charter did not change ASEAN's conflict-resolution tactics, the group's response to events in 2008 revealed willingness to use tougher diplomatic pressure on members. Such was the case after Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, when Myanmar's ruling junta allowed only limited international aid and insisted that aid be distributed through its military. In response, ASEAN called an emergency meeting of members' foreign ministers and issued a statement that "Myanmar should allow more international relief workers into the stricken areas, as the need is most urgent, given the unprecedented scale of the humanitarian disaster." While the statement "didn't quite condemn [Myanmar's] government," CFR's Smith says, it nonetheless "went further than ASEAN ever had in the past in being critical of the internal affairs of a member state." After Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan continued to press for cooperation on a trip to Yangon, Myanmar's ruling junta finally allowed the entry of international aid workers.

At a May 2008 CFR meeting, Surin said ASEAN had been "baptized" by the cyclone, implying its response indicated a new, more proactive approach to tackling intraregional grievances. Still, human rights issues such as the house arrest of Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi continue to spark conflict (Economist) within ASEAN and reveal the limitations posed by ASEAN's requirement of consensus for action. Arizona State's Simon says member countries have their own priorities at stake in dealing with Myanmar's unpopular actions. Thailand imports natural gas from Myanmar to account for 20 percent of its electricity, and countries with imperfect human rights records don't welcome interference in their affairs any more than Myanmar does.

In November 2010, Myanmar will hold its first election since 1990, but the international community has voiced concern (NYT) over the fairness of the vote. UN observers have identified "deep flaws" in the planned election. The Philippines' foreign secretary called the election a "farce"(AP) and Indonesia has been critical of Myanmar's election laws that prohibit participation of political prisoners. Despite the concerns, Natalegawa indicated that the upcoming ASEAN Summit in October will not address the situation in Myanmar.

Growing Trade

ASEAN's diverse membership has presented difficulties as leaders plow through the "very, very tedious" process of dismantling barriers to trade, Surin told a CFR meeting. He said the process of creating one economic community was complex in an organization whose members' average per capita incomes ranged from $209 to $50,000 per year, requiring catering to a wide range of economic needs in setting trade standards. Still, annual trade between ASEAN members grew from $79 billion in 1993 to $404 billion in 2007, though it slipped to $376 billion (PDF) in 2009. In 2010, ASEAN nations' total trade will surpass $1.5 trillion (PDF) according to preliminary statistics released by ASEAN.

The United States and ASEAN have a trade and investment framework (TIFA), though talks are relatively ineffective, writes Ernest Bower of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ASEAN's principal trading partner is Japan, which comprised over 12 percent of ASEAN's external trade, with the European Union and China following close behind at 11 percent in 2009.

Catharin Dalpino, a visiting associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at Georgetown University, cautioned that the recent free trade agreements may not solve institutional hurdles to free trade. For example, ASEAN doesn't yet have the legal framework to support a fully implemented free-trade agreement. "They don't have a dispute resolution mechanism nor do they have a central authority to take disputes to," Dalpino says. Government corruption and unreliable judicial systems in the region also create roadblocks to trade because they make contracts hard to enforce.

Relations with the United States

The United States is a major trading partner: ASEAN countries together comprise the fourth largest market for U.S. exports, and U.S.-ASEAN trade totaled more than $200 billion in 2008. Experts say U.S. companies stand to benefit if ASEAN creates a more unified market because streamlined product standards and procedures across countries in the region could increase exports and improve the performance of U.S.-invested corporations within the region.

While the United States appears unlikely to enter into a free trade agreement with ASEAN anytime soon, Washington has moved toward engaging with ASEAN on a more multilateral basis. Recently, U.S. and Chinese officials have been embroiled in currency disputes. A stronger China has given the United States an impetus to secure tighter diplomatic ties with ASEAN, given the importance of Southeast Asian sea-lanes for the flow of goods and oil, said former CSIS fellow Derek J. Mitchell, now the principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs.

Though the United States ranks among the top five destinations for ASEAN exports outside the bloc, ASEAN has bristled in the past at a perceived lack of U.S. interest in other aspects of the group's affairs. There has been some truth in claims of U.S. indifference to the relationship, CFR's Smith says. "Many people in the American government find ASEAN frustrating to work with as a partner," she says. "The utility of ASEAN for America is questioned at times." CSIS's Bower points to President Barack Obama's three canceled trips to Indonesia and argues that a gap persists between the White House and ASEAN that represents "real challenges to extending U.S. influence in Asia."

Nonetheless, ASEAN remains the "go-to" organization for facilitating dialogue between major powers and Southeast Asia. "It's very low-key," Smith says, "but quite effective." Since taking office, the Obama administration has increased U.S. participation in ASEAN activities, naming an ambassador to ASEAN and establishing the U.S.-ASEAN annual summit, providing a forum for the U.S. president to meet with the leaders of all ASEAN nations. Furthermore, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has attended all ASEAN regional forums during her time in office, a marked departure from former secretaries of States' sporadic attendance, say analysts. As this Council Special Report points out, increased engagement between the United States and ASEAN exemplifies the path of intensifying U.S. engagement in Asia, and the U.S.-ASEAN relationship will prove increasingly strategic as the United States jockeys for position in a dynamic region.