Wednesday, December 06, 2006 Wenceslao: Asean 101 By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit (Asean) summit set to open next week here, I will devote this and a couple more columns on the international gathering. This time, I will be more informative than critical and deal with the basics rather than on the peripherals. No Cebu International Convention Center debate here.
The basics? Okay, like this:
Asean was established on Aug. 8, 1967 in Bangok by five countries, namely the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. That was in the Cold War, and the main concern of so-called Asian democracies (allied with imperialist countries like the United States, of course) was communism. That tainted somewhat the group's intent.
Asean membership, though, would grow through the years. Brunei Darussalam joined in 1984, followed by: Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997) Cambodia (1999). Newly independent Timor Leste (East Timor) applied for membership this year. The entry of communist states effectively diluted Asean's anti-communist flavor.
In keeping with the vision of an outward-looking Asean, the group is linking up with so-called dialogue partners that include: Australia, Canada, China India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme.
The Asean region has about 500 million people, or an estimated 8 percent of the world’s population. While the area’s economy is small compared with such giants as the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement, its population is bigger than the two (but smaller than the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation).
Considering the size of Indonesia and Malaysia, with the addition of Brunei, Muslims are the most numerous, followed by those who practice Buddhism, the main religion of mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) plus Singapore. It is only in the Philippines that Roman Catholics are predominant.
Finally, a few interesting points. Generals rule Myanmar, and they have long bottled up pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In September this year, Thailand’s military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, considered one of Asean’s outspoken leaders. Cambodia is site of the infamous “Killing Fields.” And Vietnam, a communist state, just hosted the capitalist Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
