ASEAN: perspectives on economic integration

The regional grouping ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was formed in Bangkok in 1967 at a time when Indonesian confrontation against Malaysia of 1962-66 had only just ended, the Philippines still had an outstanding claim for the Malaysian state of Sabah, and Malaysia and Singapore had just gone through an acrimonious separation in 1965. The fact these countries could meet, move on and cooperate is reflective of great statesmanship. Further, there was also a sticking point in the discussions over the existence of foreign bases in the region, so in its very establishment ASEAN signalled a major regional achievement. The papers in this report derived from the LSE IDEAS Southeast Asia International Affairs Programme workshop on "The Path to ASEAN Economic Integration", held in Kuala Lumpur on 28-29 April 2009.