ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Research Articles

Southeast Asian Regionalism: An Examination of the Progress and Priorities of ASEAN through its Joint Communiqués

In pursuit of ASEAN’s objective to formalize the ASEAN Community, this article critically examines the community-building progress and the organization’s key priorities. The research is guided by two research problems. First, what are the subjects discussed in each ASEAN community pillar? Second, how are the key issues addressed in relation to each ASEAN community pillar? A thematic analysis of the joint communiqués published by ASEAN from 2004-2019 was conducted to respond to these questions. More specifically, each communiqué was tagged and analyzed, and themes were subsequently derived, enabling a comprehensive examination of each area of the ASEAN community. The article contributes significant insights into the evolving landscape of ASEAN’s cooperation and integration. The findings elucidate on the shifting dynamics and complexities that shape ASEAN’s political-security, economic, and socio-cultural communities, shedding light on the organization’s changing priorities and challenges. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) prioritizes key growth areas, such as tourism, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and energy. For the ASEAN political-security, its focus is on ascertaining continued peace in the region as exemplified by collaboration on non-traditional security issues. Meanwhile, the ASEAN socio-cultural community primarily centers on environmental issues, disaster response and management, and the youth. However, the advancement of the ASEAN community has faced setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 Myanmar coup d’état. Overall, the joint communiqués manifests the different initiatives that ASEAN has taken to deepen integration and a sense of community.

Indonesia's Role in Realizing the Vision of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)

Indonesia, as one of the largest economies and population in Southeast Asia, plays a crucial role in realizing the vision of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). The goal of the AEC is to establish a unified marketplace and manufacturing hub where goods, services, investments, and highly skilled workers can move freely, while the ASCC seeks to promote social development and cultural cooperation in the region. Indonesia has taken various measures to support the AEC, including implementing economic reforms to improve competitiveness, reducing barriers to trade and investment, and promoting regional integration through initiatives such as the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA). Indonesia also plays an active role in ASEAN negotiations with other regional partners such as China, Japan, and South Korea to enhance economic cooperation. In terms of the ASCC, Indonesia has made efforts to promote social development and cultural cooperation in the region by prioritizing issues such as poverty reduction, healthcare, education, and disaster management. Indonesia has also established cultural exchange programs and participated in various ASEAN cultural events to promote understanding and cooperation among member states. Overall, Indonesia's active participation and support in realizing the vision of the AEC and the ASCC are essential to achieving regional economic integration and social development in Southeast Asia.

ASEAN – THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA RELATIONS AND THE ASEAN SOCIO-CULTURAL COMMUNITY: A DIGITAL PERSPECTIVE

The article specifies the potential contribution of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to the establishment of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) amidst ASEAN deepening vulnerability as an implication of ever-increasing digital transformation. Starting from a general outline of relations between ASEAN and the ROK, the paper proceeds to pointing out salient features of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community and its digitalization-related agenda. Then the authors turn to exploring the potential of ASEAN-ROK cooperation for overcoming the existing digital ASCC-related obstacles. The authors argue that ASEAN can obtain many components of South Korean experience, to the collective advantage of the ROK, ASEAN member states and the association as an international actor. While there are plenty of studies that focus on ASEAN-ROK relations, as well as on the ASCC achievements and failures, the digital aspects of this project, seen through the prism of dialogue between the association and South Korea, have not been explored in detail. If so, both ASEAN-ROK cooperation and ASCC are subjects to a fundamental reassessment. Though less noticed, there is also a task to generalize on the ASCC experience as an individual track of cooperation between the association and its external partners. The study aims to eliminate the afore-mentioned research gaps, which accounts for its academic novelty, originality and practical relevance.

The Role of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community in Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is described as circumstances often interchangeably in social and medical contexts as non-boundary spread and directly affected a wide range of human life and a non-traditional security threat. The pandemic has had adverse consequences on the economy, and health and psychology have suffered. In 2020, ASEAN held an extraordinary summit on COVID-19 to accelerate resilience to the pandemic as a regional response; however, a solid commitment and comprehensive foundation are critical focal points for dealing with infectious diseases. Therefore, ASEAN member states should create a permanent mechanism to deal with current and future pandemics by providing a strategic long-term plan, an annual work plan, effective monitoring systems, and quality assurance by strengthening the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community’s role as an open and dynamic entity within the ASEAN Community. Doctrinal research based on normative legal and conceptual approaches was conducted as methods for this study.

The Impact of the ASEAN Way and We Feeling Concepts on Indonesia's Involvement in Strengthening Regionalism

Indonesia is an inseparable part of a regional organization in the Southeast Asia region, namely ASEAN. The role of Indonesia also determines the movement of the ASEAN regional organization and strengthens ASEAN's position in the world view. The production of a Plan of action for the three main pillars of the ASEAN community, namely the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community listed in the Bali Concord II which is the basis of ASEAN's future work, is one proof of Indonesia’s role in strengthening regionalism. At the time of the establishment of the ASEAN Community, it was necessary to have a sense of community among its members, so that then ASEAN organizations were required to have a sense of belonging (We Feeling) in their organization to continue to ensure the sustainability of the community in the Southeast Asia region. This paper aims to examine the contribution of interregionalism involving Indonesia as a member state of the ASEAN community in its involvement and role in strengthening regionalism through the concept of the ASEAN Way and We Feeling. This paper follows the theoretical argumentation of the concept of transactionalism, which states that intense and extensive interaction among regional actors is very important to produce a fundamental “We Feeling” foundation for the formation of regional organizations. Departing from this conception, this paper sees that the ASEAN Way factor as a universal norm of the ASEAN community provides a forum as well as boundaries for Indonesia's involvement in order to strengthen regionalism in the region. This can be seen through the non-intervention policy in the ASEAN Way, in which Indonesia is politically restricted from being involved in the internal affairs of other community members.

Navigating Religious Harmony: A Case Study of the ASEAN Youth Interfaith Camp (AYIC)

This paper serves as a narration of Indonesia’s contribution in concretising the ASEAN Declaration on Culture of Prevention (CoP) for a Peaceful, Inclusive, Resilient, Healthy, and Harmonious Society through the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Pillar. To that end, Indonesia assigns the ASEAN Senior Offiials Meeting on Youth (SOMY) as the appropriate lead sectoral body to advance the ASEAN CoP and its practical platform for the ASEAN youths to play a signifiant proactive role in propagating tolerance on religious diversity towards social harmony. With this in mind, it is hoped that the ASEAN Youth Interfaith Camp (AYIC) can give a meaningful contribution in supporting the regional efforts to enhance religious tolerance and the value of moderation at all levels. Furthermore, AYIC may contribute towards alleviating the emergence of new geopolitical, geoeconomics, and geostrategic challenges through its post-event initiatives that have a direct impact towards building community characteristics that is ingrained with tolerance and deference towards religious diversity. In light of the incoming Indonesia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023, this paper attempts to chart the policy prospect that Indonesia should take in fostering interfaith tolerance and harmony amongst youth across ASEAN so as to support the regional efforts to enhance peaceful co-existence in Southeast Asia.

Common South Asian Identity and Regional Integration in South Asia

This paper explores the avenues to evolve a common identity, in South Asia. This paper has been divided into five parts. In the first part, Identity and Regional Integration, the concepts of identity and regional integration have been defined and the need for a common identity for regional integration has been discussed. The second part, analyses South Asia as a region and the need for developing a common identity there. The third part, explores the different types of identities existing in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres of the South Asian region. In the fourth part, the challenges in evolving a common regional identity in South Asia, a region marked by diversity and myriad number of complex problems in different spheres has been discussed. By way of conclusion, it has been argued that a common identity is much required for furthering the process of regional integration in South Asia, which should be built on the common indicators of human development in the social sector as well as upon the common values, lifestyle and socio-cultural norms of the peoples of this region, like the ASEAN vision of an ASEAN Socio Cultural Community (ASCC).

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES ON ASEAN LIBERALIZATION OF LEGAL SERVICE FROM INDONESIA PERSPECTIVE

Kuala Lumpur meeting in 1997 has established and concepted three pillars in ASEAN known as ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), ASEAN Security Community (ASC), and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). AEC has been established based on ASEAN Economic Blueprint 2015, to reach the target of ASEAN Vision 2020 targets, ASEAN member states made several cooperation agreements such as Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), ASEAN Investment Area (AIA 1998), and etc. Related to AEC nowadays, massive investment occurred in the ASEAN region, economic growth reached 5% in this region. There's various kinds of bussiness development of the services sector, mainly in legal service, in facing globalization and liberalization of business movement after Free Trade Agreement comes into force in ASEAN. The differences of the governmental system, geographical condition, and the divergence of jurisdiction also reflecting in the ASEAN Countries to regulate each national law regulation. This paper explain the comparison existing ten ASEAN countries national legislation, government decree relating to the liberalization of national legal services in each country. This research was expecting to help Indonesian government re-evaluate the Authorities and regulation related in modern business sector development, in result from the demand of capable attorneys by endorsing foreign lawyers to get practices in Indonesia to transfer knowledge to local attorneys.

Efficiency Predictive Factors for Professional Ability of Ramkhamhaeng University Lecturers for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

Efficiency Predictive Factors for Professional Ability of Ramkhamhaeng University Lecturers for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

50 years of regional integration in ASEAN

ABSTRACTThis article offers a brief overview of the development of ASEAN in its 50 years of existence. It covers the early motivations and developments since the late 1960s, the acceleration of integration and creation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area in the 1990s, and – more recently – the development of the ASEAN Economic Community, the ASEAN Political-Security Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

Harmonizing Higher Education at the Regional Level: The Case of ASEAN and the Philippines

Education is in the heart of Southeast Asia’s quest for equitable human development throughout the region. This has never been more pronounced than when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) formed the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) in 2003, ushering in a number of regional directives and initiatives to harmonize higher education among ASEAN member states. Yet, the process has not been easy due to fundamental differences in higher education structure, quality, and processes among member countries. In light of this, the study traced the institutional arrangements and policy responses that have taken place at both regional and national levels in pursuit of integrating higher education in the region. First, it reviewed the key mechanisms that ASEAN has established to foster harmonization. It then discussed the experience of the Philippines in relation to the three components of harmonization, namely, qualifications framework, quality assurance, and credit transfer. It showed that while the government has shown sufficient response to its regional obligations through legislation and administrative issuances, it needs to do much more to show its commitment and ensure involvement of all higher education institutions in the integration process.

Premises, Perils, and Promises of ASEAN Integration

This article is aimed at analyzing the premises, perils, and promises of ASEAN integration. Beyond examining the region’s situation, this article will also draw lessons from the European Union and various incipient Latin American integration projects. Specifically, this article will address the following questions: (a) How does the ASEAN’s founding myth affect the ASEAN integration project’s general direction? (b) What is wrong with ASEAN’s current neoliberal framework? (c) What country will be the likely hegemon of the ASEAN economic and socio-cultural community? (d) Is a solidarity-based, people-centered, grassroots-driven, and non-neoliberal model for ASEAN integration possible and sustainable? (e) What lessons can be drawn from the European and Latin American integration schemes?

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community: ASEAN Approach and Effort in Rural Development and Poverty Eradication

This paper examines the ASEAN Community approach and effort towards rural development and poverty eradication. The research by ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community which highlighted rural development and poverty eradication was driven by many factors. What has ASEAN planned to reduce poverty and increase rural development? Is this plan realistic? What approach was used? The World Bank defined rural development as a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of a specific group of people; the rural poor. It involves extending the benefits of development to the poor among those who seek a livelihood in rural areas. “Human capital development should not be neglected as well as it can be the main engine of growth. We must leverage the existing human capital resources towards a holistic approach to rural development” (Bernama, 2017). In addition, according to Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Zahid Hamidi, poverty eradication not only continues to be a priority in the ASEAN region as stated in ASEAN Socio-cultural Community Blueprints 2025 but also globally as outlined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This study will explain broadly what ASEAN Socio Cultural Community is building towards rural development and poverty eradication by its notion of people centricity.1

Indonesia, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, and the contingent profile of regional ‘great-power management’

ABSTRACTWhy does Indonesia, whose regional leadership would seem to flow so obviously from its material and normative footprint, and whose role as primus inter pares is readily, if sometimes grudgingly, acknowledged by its peers, struggle to translate that position into an unambiguous, consistent, and effective regional presence? While there are many possible answers to this question, this article focuses on societal interpretations, arguing that such a role is exercised not in a vacuum, susceptible to measurement against a set of fixed criteria, but in the context of its respective region's unique and constantly evolving profile. Drawing on the English School's concept of institutions, and focusing on three areas within the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (migration, disaster preparedness, and the environment), the article argues that the paradox of Indonesia's powerful-but-not-powerful position reflects the kind of ‘great-power management’ that is to be expected in the restrictive context of regional international society, and is profoundly influenced by the uneven interplay of institutions embedded at different levels in the regional experience.

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) in Conflict Prevention: The Role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

In the end of 2015, ASEAN Community will be fully implemented in Southeast Asia. The community will bring ASEAN countries to the next stage of cooperation in order to bring prosperity to the region. However, several obstacles still have to be faced by ASEAN. Territorial dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia concerning Preah Temple, Malaysia with The Phillipines over Sabah, etc are some of the problems. Other problems related to South China Sea, even involving five ASEAN members on dispute. Although it is clear that member of ASEAN countries agree to settle their problems according to ASEAN mechanism as the most respective organization in the region, on several occasions they prefer to take it bilaterally or bring it to the Hague. The assumption of non-interference principle as the organization conflict solving mechanism does not apply accordingly. As such, we have to find other ways. Peace can only be achieved through closer relations between ASEAN countries. Closer relation creates better understanding between people within those countries. If “high level” (G to G) conflict resolution does not work, we have to turn to the people. Closer relations among its people will be a “grass root’ power to force the government to end their dispute. This paper will examine how ASEAN Socio-Culture Community (ASCC), alongside CSO’s within them, will work in creating closer relations among ASEAN countries, in order to solve disputes in the region.Key words: ASEAN Community, ASEAN Socio-Culture Community, Dispute, Civil Society Organizations (CSO).

Uses of Social Media to Promote Asean Socio-Cultural Community in Vietnam

The global openness of Vietnam brought out very fast major social changes. The country is a party to a number of international economic agreements and frameworks including World Trade Organization, Trans Pacific Partnership as well as ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations). External economic factors such as those associated with South East Asian integration are coupled with ASEAN’s ambition to set up a socio-cultural community in addition to the economic community. In the meantime, the popularity of social media is rapidly growing in Vietnam with more than 30 million Vietnamese Facebook accounts. Considering these 2 major influences, ie social media and regional integration efforts, this article proposes a number of recommendations to use social media to promote ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

Optimalisasi Peran ASEAN Disability Forum dan Akses Pendidikan bagi Kaum Penyandang Disabilitas

One of the ASEAN Socio Cultural Community's priority sectors in ASEAN Community 2015 is social development and welfare focused on the fulfillment of the rights of vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities. To support this sector, in 2011, the Bali Declaration underlined several aspects that could support the fulfillment of the basic rights of persons with disabilities in Southeast Asia, one of which is the activation of the ADF (ASEAN Disability Forum) as a container that has a role in mainstreaming Disability issues in policy making of ASEAN member countries.
 In this regard, this article seeks to explain how the conditions of education of persons with disabilities in ASEAN member countries and the role and performance of the ADF and its contribution to persons with disabilities in Southeast Asia. The author also describes how the field conditions, obstacles and barriers and optimization actions that can make this ADF program to be successful and succeeded in accordance with the initial ideals previously intended.

Rule-based Dispute Settlement Mechanism for ASEAN Economic Community: Does ASEAN Have It?

ASEAN Charter 2007 as ‘constitution’ of ASEAN aims to establish ASEAN Community (AC) in 2015 that ASEAN constitutes as a rule-based organization. ASEAN Community consists of three pillars, namely, ASEAN Political Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and ASEAN Socio Cultural Community (ASCC). AEC will posses as the lead for the Communities. The objective of AEC is to form a single market and production base with some priority sectors. Accordingly, many economic regional organizations provide Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) to resolve disputes that may arise among the member countries. The dispute mechanism aims to provide predictability and security in international trade by providing strict time-frames, and was designed to be mutually agreed by the disputing members, flexible and binding. ASEAN trade DSM is designed as a legalistic mechanism. This paper examines DSM in ASEAN, especially economic disputes in the context of international trade law. In doing so, this paper analyzes DSM provided in the ASEAN Charter by comparing to DSM in the WTO context.

Rule-based Dispute Settlement Mechanism for ASEAN Economic Community: Does ASEAN Have It?

ASEAN Charter 2007 as ‘constitution’ of ASEAN aims to establish ASEAN Community (AC) in 2015 that ASEAN constitutes as a rule-based organization. ASEAN Community consists of three pillars, namely, ASEAN Political Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and ASEAN Socio Cultural Community (ASCC). AEC will posses as the lead for the Communities. The objective of AEC is to form a single market and production base with some priority sectors. Accordingly, many economic regional organizations provide Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) to resolve disputes that may arise among the member countries. The dispute mechanism aims to provide predictability and security in international trade by providing strict time-frames, and was designed to be mutually agreed by the disputing members, flexible and binding. ASEAN trade DSM is designed as a legalistic mechanism. This paper examines DSM in ASEAN, especially economic disputes in the context of international trade law. In doing so, this paper analyzes DSM provided in the ASEAN Charter by comparing to DSM in the WTO context.

REALIZING ASEAN SOCIO-CULTURAL COMMUNITY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF ISLAM

The ASEAN Socio-cultural Community (ASCC) reflects ASEAN's social agenda of poverty eradication and human development, which also addresses the cultural and civilizational cohesions in ASEAN (ASEAN, 2014). Success of such integration depends on the level of cooperation among the diverse cultural groups in ASEAN. The inspiration of specific religio-cultural norms and practices often dictates the inter-cultural cooperation. Islam as the most widely practiced religion in ASEAN inspires the success of ASCC. This paper provides an analysis of the potentials of Islamic values and cultural practices in ASEAN countries to materialize the ASCC. Since the focus of the ASCC is to realize the ASEAN community, it is important to assess the strategic objectives of the ASCC Blueprint and practical Islamic norms, namely the direction for cooperation, coexistence, and dialogue. The paper argues Islamic norms have historically provided stability and progress in various ASEAN nations. In recent global turmoil, Muslims in ASEAN countries have guarded intra-faith coexistence. Islam provides common understanding of values to its‟ ethnically and nationality varied followers located across ASEAN. The paper describes Muslims are proactively participating in the construction of ASEAN Community irrespective of their citizenry in the Muslim majority or minority countries. Through intensive documentary analysis and selected interviews, the paper identifies that Islamic values are in-line with the normative aspects required for the construction of ASCC. Islam dictates its members and inspires non-members to ascertain the common ground to create regional solidarity for a caring and sharing society by designing and shaping various practical programs across ASEAN.