Bridging Development Gaps in Southeast Asia: Towards an ASEAN Community

Abstract

Since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) declared its ASEAN Vision 2020 (1997) that envisioned a “Community of caring societies...living in peace...and bonded together in partnership in dynamic development,” the impetus to work together toward closer and deeper economic integration in Southeast Asia appears to have gained considerable momentum. These efforts are reflected in a number of region-wide (or ASEAN) initiatives geared toward providing a regional framework to realise those goals. These initiatives include: the Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA,1997) which followed the ASEAN Vision 2020; the Initiatives for ASEAN Integration (IAI, 2000) which aimed to assist the new (CLMV) members in the economic integration process in order to avoid the emergence of a two-tier ASEAN; and more recently, the Declaration of the ASEAN Community, also known as the Bali Concord II (2003).