Lesson 15: THE ASEAN INTEGRATION It was established in July 31,1961 by;

Thanat Khoman (Thailand)

Felixberto Serrano (Philippines)
Tunku Abdul Raman(Malaya).
While the articulated goal of this
regionalism process was cultural and
economic cooperation,there were also
political goals gleaned.
Some challenges were encountered from its
inception such as;
- lack of confidence from other Southeast
ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Asian nations
Nations; a regional cooperation in the
Southeast Asia -presumed political goals

Integration- establishment of formal -the dissent from other states because of

processes toward collaboration for shared their alignment with the Western
economic and sociocultural goals Bloc(Pollard,1970).

INTRODUCTION In 1963, another confederation was

formed, convened by then President
"The fragmented economies of Diosdado Macapagal. This was referred
Southeast Asia,"he said,“(with)each country to as MAPHILINDO (Great Malayan
pursuing its own limited objectives and Confederation), involving Malaysia,
dissipating its meager resources in the Philippines, and Indonesia, which aimed
overlapping or even conflicting endeavors of to unite "nations of Malay origins."
sister states carry the seeds of weakness in
their incapacity for growth and their self- This did not last very long and was
perpetuating dependence on the terminated by Indonesia-Malaysia
advanced, industrial nations. ASEAN, Konfrontasi- the former's policy arguing
therefore, could marshal the still untapped against the formation of the Federation of
potentials of this rich region through more Malaysia (Weatherbee et al.,2005).
substantial united action. "
Four years after,representatives
—Narciso Ramon,previous from Indonesia and Singapore, with
Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs and those from three ASA member states,
one of the five founding fathers of ASEAN engaged in informal discussions in a
coastal resort in Bang Saen, where they
When discussing about Asian formulated the idea of a Southeast
regionalism, one cannot veer away from Asian cooperation.
discussing the evolution and dynamics of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Thus, in August 8,1967, these
(ASEAN). foreign ministers sat down in Bangkok,
Thailand and signed the ASEAN
In the early 1960s, there was already Declaration, Also referred to as the
an emerging organization among Founding Fathers of ASEAN, the five
Philippines, Thailand, and the Republic of ministers present were;
Malaya in what was called the
Association of Southeast Asia (ASA). - Adam Malik (Indonesia)
-Narciso R. Ramos(Philippines)
-Tun Abdul Razak(Malaysia) The principles of the ASEAN are enshrined in
the ASEAN Declaration (1967) also referred
-S.Rajaratnam (Singapore)
to as Bangkok Declaration.
-Thanat Khoman (Thailand).
The opening section of the Declaration
THE ASEAN provided a situationer of SEA's geopolitical
and economic affairs at that time:
Was ASEAN a necessary trajectory to
take among Southeast Asian nations? • Existence of shared problems
and interests
Thanat Khoman (1992),one of the founding
fathers, articulated why SEA needed an • Need for unity and cooperation
organization for cooperation.
• Shared aspirations and
-The cooperation will repel new colonial ideals ("peace,progress,and
powers from stepping in after old prosperity")
colonizers withdrew.
• Shared responsibility for
-It is strategic to work with neighbors,with "economic and social
shared interest and identity,than with allies responsibility"
from distant lands (e.g.,SEATO).
• Presence of foreign bases as
-Harnessing the strengths of member states temporary and with
will provide an advantage in dealing with "concurrence from countries
bigger powers in potential conflicts. concerned"

-Most importantly,cooperation and The following section contains the

integration enable achievement of goals declarations,as follows:
which could be not accomplished alone.
• Establishment of ASEAN
S.Rajaratnam(1992) profoundly describe
• An articulation of the aims and
what sets ASEAN apart from its Asian
purpose of ASEAN
counterparts. He said;
• A list of strategies and
To compare ASEAN with the so-called
mechanisms to enable the
Little Dragons of Asia is to compare
achievement of the goals
unrelated political species. The Little Dragons
are lone wolves hunting separately. They • A statement of openness for
lack collective strength or awareness. With membership
them it is a case of each wolf for itself.In the
• An articulation of ASEAN as a
case of ASEAN,as integration proceeds, its
collective representation of
strength will be the cohesiveness of over 300
member states
million people with far greater resources than
any of the lone baby dragons.
The Little Dragons of"Asia he was referring
here were the economies of;
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Taiwan
Which, at that time,was experiencing fast-
paced industrialization and economic growth.
 This led to a Tormalized cooperation—
ASEAN+3—through a joint statement issues
in 1999 during the 3rd ASEAN +3 summit
held in Manila.
In nutshell, the commitments in this
cooperation focus on issues on energy,
transport,and technology.
ASEAN INTEGRATION
ASEAN integration has become a
buzzword in recent years,propelling
conversations among experts in various
disciplines,and perhaps,eliciting questions
among the general public.What really is
integration and what is ASEAN integration?
Integration is a pathway toward
unification in various spheres—
political,economic,and social.
Some theorists suggest that
integration is made possible by certain
conditions such as increased level of social
interaction (Deutsch,1953) and shared
ideological patterns amidst a diverse society
experiencing fast-paced economic growth
(Haas,1964).
A milestone in the journey toward
ASEAN integration was the development and
adoption of the ASEAN Economic Blueprint
(ASEAN Secretariat,2008) to advance the
vision of an ASEAN Economic Community
(AEC).
The AEC has the following
characteristics(ASEAN Economic
Blueprint,2008,p.5-26):
-Single market and production (free flow
The ASEAN +3 Cooperation of goods, services, investment, capital, and
skilled labor; prioritizing food, agriculture,
In 1997, a summit was held in Malaysia and forestry as integration sectors)
among member states of the ASEAN, and
three other countries; -Competitive economic region (introduction
of fair competition policy, consumer
• China protection,intellectual property rights,
• Japan infrastructure development, taxation, and e-
commerce)
• South Korea
-Equitable economic outcomes (developing
-as a necessary dialogue due to the small and medium enterprises, Initiative for
financial turmoil at that time (Yang Yi.2017). ASEAN integration)
-Integration into the global economy ideologies,culture,and goals forge
(maintaining ASEAN centrality, participation partnerships among one another to enhance
in global supply networks) the probability of arriving at a desirable end.
There have been various opinions There are difficulties in maintaining
before the AEC was launched(Hunt, such cooperation especially in a world where
2014).Some thought that this will result to competition is the driving force for action.At
higher competition within the labor market the end of the day,it is also a question not
and will pose some challenge in ensuring the only to the leaders of the states but also to
labor force is ready for this competition. us, individual citizens—10 to 15 years from
now,what vision of SEA do you see? What
Others believe there is a need to
vision of the world do you see?And,how will
ensure that local products are of high quality
you take part—in your own little ways—to
as these will compete not only with local
reach that vision you have?
counterparts but also counterparts from
nearby SEA nations.
We mentioned that ASEAN does
not only want economic cooperation but
also the establishment of an ASEAN Socio-
Cultural Community.
In 2017, a blueprint was adopted during
the 27th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. The
blueprint characterizes the ASEAN
Community as follows (ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community Blueprint,2016,p.4-20):
• Empowering to people
(engaging stakeholders' and
peoples' participation)
• Inclusive(provides access to all
and upholds human rights)
• Sustainable (sustainably
environment, landscapes,
climate, and economies)
• Resilient(reducing
vulnerabilities among
marginalized sectors, disaster
resilience, and preparedness
for health emergencies and
hazards)
• Dynamic(adaptive,innovative
and creative)
SUMMARY
The ASEAN is among the oldest
cooperations in the modern times. In
understanding regionalism in the context of
globalization, the case of ASEAN serves as
a good example on how states of shared
Constructing Research Objectives and TYPES OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Research Problem
 General Objective: Overall aim of the
INTRODUCTION study
 Importance of a well-defined research  Specific Objectives: Break down the
problem and objectives general aim into manageable parts
 Foundation for a focused and SMART CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH
meaningful study OBJECTIVES
 Guides methodology, data collection,  Specific
and analysis
 Measurable
WHAT IS RESEARCH PROBLEM?
 Achievable
 A clear, concise statement about an
 Relevant
area of concern or gap in knowledge
 Time-bound
 Arises from literature, practice, or real-
world issues FORMULATING EFFECTIVE RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES
 Must be researchable and significant
 Use action verbs (e.g., analyze,
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
determine, assess)
RESEARCH PROBLEM
 Align with research problem
 Specific and clear
 Avoid vague or overly broad
 Researchable and feasible
statements
 Relevant to the field
 Ensure logical flow from problem to
 Addresses a gap or need objective
 Grounded in theory or practice  Research Problem:
STEPS IN CONSTRUCTING A RESEARCH  Students in rural areas have lower
PROBLEM digital literacy rates compared to urban
students.
 1. Identify a broad area of interest
 General Objective:
 2. Conduct a literature review
 To examine the digital literacy gap
 3. Narrow down the focus
between rural and urban students.
 4. Define the problem clearly
 Specific Objectives:
 5. Evaluate feasibility and significance
 1. To assess the digital literacy skills of
WHAT ARE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES? rural students.
 Statements that define the purpose of  2. To compare digital access and
the study resources in rural vs. urban schools.
 Indicate what the researcher aims to  3. To identify factors contributing to the
achieve digital divide.
 Serve as a guide throughout the COMMON PITFALLS TO AVOID
research process
 • Vague or ambiguous objectives
 • Objectives not aligned with the
problem
 • Too many or too few objectives
 • Objectives that are not measurable
or feasible
 SUMMARY
 • A clear research problem and
SMART objectives are critical
 • They guide the direction and scope
of the research
 • Ensure relevance, feasibility, and
contribution to knowledge