A man rides his bicycle in front of the ASEAN logo near the venue for the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in Manila on August 4, 2017. Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were arriving in Manila ahead of a series of meetings with their counterparts from the US and China, amongst others.
In its 50 years of existence, ASEAN has achieved many things and yet, several fundamental questions remain that have yet to be and may never be answered. These questions include the title: ASEAN for whom?
With around 1,000 meetings a year, ASEAN –established through the Bangkok Declaration– is among the busiest international organizations. As a regional organization with many goals (political, economic, sociocultural and security), it is understandable that all of its members –and other countries and international organizations– have much to hope for from the association. This is especially with the organization’s 2020 Vision: One Vision, One Identity, One Community.
ASEAN has successfully transformed Southeast Asia’s image from a zone of conflict to a zone of stability, even though the “zone of peace” vision as established under the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 1971 has yet to be achieved. ASEAN is also becoming more mature in its ability to resolve a variety of major disputes through peaceful measures, including those of the Preah Vihear Temple, the Sipadan-Ligitan islands and Pedra Branca Island. Resolutions involve bilateral, regional and international mechanisms. Collaborations between various professional groups have also been established.
‘Single Visa’
However, it is hard to deny that ASEAN has been trying to adopt European Union (EU) mechanisms in its workings amid Southeast Asia’s various uniquenesses (read: diversity) that Western Europe lacks. The member countries of the two associations have vastly different political, economic and sociocultural systems.
The Western European organization, started in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community, transformed into the European Union through the Maastricht Treaty after 40 years, or on February 7, 1992, to be precise. Today, after 50 years, the EU is the strongest and most influential regional organization in the world.
Among the people in Western European countries, the EU’s existence and benefits are clearly felt. The moment you enter a district in any EU country, including those in remote regions, you will easily find blue signs with 12 gold stars –the organization’s logo. The free movement of EU citizens, including for work, is assisted by a single-visa policy.
In ASEAN, the visa-free movement has only been provided to state and ministerial officials thus far. There has yet to be equal implementation of the policy for the general public, and implementation thus far has tended to be “discriminatory”. This is despite the fact that an EU-like single-visa policy for ASEAN has been touted since 2005 through the “Five Countries, One Destination” policy involving Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.
The pilot project was initiated between Thailand and Cambodia in 2007. Meanwhile, the single-visa idea based on the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025 is still a work in progress.
Furthermore, there is still a long way to go to achieve the ASEAN 2020 Vision agreed upon by ASEAN leaders at the organization’s 30th anniversary in 1997 in Kuala Lumpur, which aimed to transform Southeast Asia into a peaceful, stable and prosperous region. Domestic armed conflicts in a number of ASEAN countries, such as Myanmar (Rohingya), Malaysia (Sabah), Thailand (Pattani), the Philippines (Mindanao) and Indonesia (Papua), obstructed efforts to achieve prosperity in the region.
Then, what is the meaning of ASEAN for the Indonesian general public? In the current era of globalization and stable economic growth, it is common to see Indonesians traveling to other ASEAN countries.
However, a question can still be raised on whether Indonesians are making “conscious” trips into ASEAN territory, or are they merely traveling to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines or Vietnam? What is certain is that their percentage remains very small.
ASEAN mindset
Truth be told, an ASEAN mindset can only be felt in Jakarta and perhaps a few other large cities across Indonesia. Usually, this is seen during ASEAN events, such as state visits or conferences, seminars, exhibitions, art shows, and others.
During these events, banners, posters and billboards are installed all over the city. Thus far, ASEAN events have always been the most glamorous when they are held in Indonesia.
When Indonesia served as ASEAN chair in 2011, the expected logical consequence was that the country would be prepared to use the strategic momentum for the national interest, to achieve progress and order in Southeast Asia and to jump-start efforts to realize the ASEAN Community in 2015. At the time, ASEAN slogans were seen everywhere. Afterwards, however, it turned out to be much ado about nothing. Even the momentum to realize the ASEAN Community in 2015 was lost.
Indeed, assessing the ASEAN Community 2015 as a work in progress seemed apologetic and backtracking, as past experiences can always be a foundation for community building –as Raman Letchumanan of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies said. Unfortunately for the general public, in this context, the sociocultural aspects that affect the lives of many people have never been a major priority, despite it being targeted higher than the MDGs Plus. As a result, a blueprint for the ambitious ASEAN Political, Economic, Sociocultural and Security Community 2025 will be difficult to achieve.
What all this means is that, after 50 years of ASEAN, all work is still limited to the level of bureaucratic employees and business players; it is they who enjoy all the hustle and bustle of the organization. It has to be acknowledged that ASEAN is merely a playing ground for “the Elite Club”. The ASEAN spirit can only be found in palaces, offices, airports, conferences, hotels or concert halls, and has yet to reach the roadside food vendors or neighborhood security posts. The ASEAN consciousness has yet to be internalized by the general public.
The people, even those in the suburbs of large cities – let alone those living in remote regions – are still ignorant of ASEAN. At this level, ASEAN may be nothing more than a collection of trivial information to be memorized for quiz shows: When was ASEAN established? On August 8, 1967! One hundred points for Group A! How many ASEAN member countries are there? Ten countries! One hundred points for Group B! Nothing more, nothing less.
This is despite Joseph Goh, a student at Kuala Lumpur’s Brickfield Asia College, once saying “The ASEAN Community is like a group of 10 friends helping each other to become richer and better, even if they are 10 very different people.”
On the other hand, cynics like John Bolton say, “The European Union can now act like a major power, at least that is what the European Union tells us.” Only, in this context, “the European Union” is replaced with ASEAN. Do not let this happen.
