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ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 and its implication on APEC

1
Kuboon Charumanee
2
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been the representative of regional
economic cooperation and integration among developing countries. As part of the structural changes
of the world economy, ASEAN has implemented intraregional economic cooperation since !"#$. The
new goal is the establishment of the ASEAN %ommunity which consisted of three pillars& ASEAN
'oliticalSecurity %ommunity, ASEAN Economic %ommunity, and ASEAN Socio%ultural %ommunity.
Since ASEAN has also been an important a(is of regional economic cooperation and free trade
agreements ()TA) in Asia and 'acific*s. A big step toward reali+ation of ASEAN %ommunity is the
Southeast Asia regional economic integration into ASEAN Economic %ommunity (AE%) within ,-!..
As economic integration, AE% is dealing directly with economic stuffs. The part of AE% that
impacts directly not only the ASEAN*s entire members, which all of them are A'E%*s member
economies too, but also represent the possibility and potentiality of a real regional integration, rather it
be successfully established among the economics vary of members, or facing obstacles of
cooperation. This paper will study about ASEAN preparations for AE%, its situations, challenges and
how AE% impacts on A'E% as a portrait of regional economic integration.
ASEAN and its blueprint on AEC
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been the representative of regional
economic cooperation and integration among developing countries, within the structural change of the
world economy. /n East Asia, ASEAN has been the sole source of regional cooperation. )ounded in
!"$#, ASEAN has promoted deepening and widening of regional cooperation since its founding,
deepening its political and economic cooperation and fostering other types of cooperation. The five
original members in !"$#00/ndonesia, 1alaysia, the 'hilippines, Singapore, and Thailand00
welcomed 2runei in !"34, 5ietnam in !""., 6aos and 1yanmar in !""#, and %ambodia in !""".
%onse7uently, ASEAN presently e(tends throughout Southeast Asia.

ASEAN has implemented intraregional economic cooperation since !"#$. A %ommon Effective
'referential Tariff (%E'T) scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN lead the ASEAN
)ree Trade Area (A)TA)
8
.

The A)TA is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning
local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The A)TA agreement was signed on ,3 9anuary !"", in
Singapore.

:hen the A)TA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had si( members, namely,
2runei, /ndonesia, 1alaysia, the 'hilippines, Singapore and Thailand. 5ietnam ;oined in !""., 6aos
and 2urma in !""#, and %ambodia in !""". The latecomers have not fully met the A)TA<s obligations,
but they are officially considered part of the A)TA as they were re7uired to sign the agreement upon
entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames in which to meet A)TA<s tariff reduction
obligations
4
.
The ne(t step is the establishment of the ASEAN Economic %ommunity (AE%), including A)TA, with
main ob;ectives are to create a= single mar>et and production base, highly competitive economic
region, region of e7uitable economic development, region fully integrated into the global economy.
Since ,--#, the ASEAN countries gradually lower their import duties among them and targeted will be
+ero for most of the import duties at ,-!.. And Since ,-!!, AE% has agreed to strengthen the position
and increase the competitive edges of small and medium enterprises (S1E) in the ASEAN region
.
.
1
The paper for The annual conference for the APEC Study Centers Consortium, held on
May 26-27, 212 !a"an, #ussia$
2
A %ecturer at Colle&e of Politics and 'o(ernment, Mahasara)ham *ni(ersity, also a
Ph$+$ student at School of ,nternational #elations, Saint Peters-ur& State *ni(ersity$
.
Sim, Edmund /,ntroduction to the ASEA0 Economic Community/,
http122333$asil$or&2aseane(ent2Sim4,ntro4to4ASEA0$pdf
5
/6(er(ie3/$ 333$ aseansec$or&$ #etrie(ed 17 May 212
2
The world economy has been in a wave of structural change and has been unstable.
?lobali+ation due to the growth of international economic interdependence, especially the growth of
the international capital movement, has been the base of development for ASEAN countries since the
mid!"3-s. @owever, this led to the Asian economic crisis in !""#, and has also helped create global
imbalances, the subprime loan problem and the current world economic crisis. As part of these
structural changes of the world economy, ASEAN has promoted deepening and widening of regional
cooperation.
The ASEAN Economic %ommunity (AE%) is one of the three ASEAN %ommunity %ouncils. /t<s
goal is to see> regional economic integration by ,-!.. The areas of cooperation include
human resources development and capacity building
recognition of professional 7ualifications
consultation on economic and financial polices
trade financing
infrastructure and communications connectivity
electronic transactions through eASEAN
industrial integration to promote regional sourcing
enhancing private sector involvement for the building of AE%
/n short, the AE% will transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services,
investment, s>illed labor, and freer flow of capital.
rom ASEAN to AEC
A >ey characteristic of the AE% is a single mar>et and production base. 'rogress was made in
this area with the signing of three >ey agreements= a) the ASEAN Trade in ?oods Agreement, b) the
'rotocol to /mplement the #th 'ac>age of Services %ommitments, and c) the ASEAN %omprehensive
/nvestment Agreement, at the !4th ASEAN Summit in Thailand, ,--". These agreements provide a
streamlined, consolidated, predictable and transparent set of rules to achieve the goal of a single
mar>et and production base by ,-!..
2uilding a highly competitive economic region is another prominent feature of the AE%. To
promote fair competition and business practices, efforts are underway to support the ASEAN 1ember
States to put in place competition policies and laws. Aecogni+ing that a robust infrastructure is vital to
a region*s competitiveness, three >ey agreements relating to air freight services, air services and
interstate transport were signed in ,--3. Bther elements that contribute towards this goal are
intellectual property rights, consumer protection, ta(ation and ecommerce. Narrowing the
development gap in ASEAN and the development of Small and 1edium Enterprises (S1Es) are >ey
to achieving e7uitable economic development in the region. The second wor> plan for the /nitiative for
ASEAN /ntegration (,--",-!.), or /A/ :or> 'lan ,, was developed to drive efforts in narrowing the
development gap towards AE% by ,-!.. Strategies will also be developed to engage and enhance the
competitiveness of S1Es. /n the pipeline is a stoc>ta>ing e(ercise of the ASEAN 'olicy 2lueprint for
S1E Cevelopment (,--4,-!4)
$
. Aecogni+ing the interdependency with world economies and the
importance of an outwardloo>ing posture, ASEAN continues to pursue full integration into the global
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#etrie(ed 17 May 212$
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May 212$
.
economy. ASEAN recently signed a comprehensive economic agreement with Australia and New
Dealand collectively, and an investment agreement with the Aepublic of Eorea.
/n addition, ASEAN endeavors to maintain ASEAN centrality by strengthening its commitment
towards achieving the AE% by ,-!.. This process is facilitated by the AE% Scorecard mechanism
which trac>s the implementation of measures contained in the blueprint and the progress towards the
vision. The participation of >ey sta>eholders in the process is also crucial, and this is where the AE%
%ommunications 'lan plays a part 0 to inform and engage them in community building. /n con;unction
with the AE% Awareness Fear ,--3, several activities have been carried out by the ASEAN 1ember
States such as seminars, forums and the production of information materials. Amidst the bac>drop of
the global economic turmoil, ASEAN*s best strategy moving forward is to stay focused on economic
integration, on regional cooperation and on wider ASEAN %ommunity building
#
.
According to the roadmap for ASEAN %ommunity ,-!. each members state are focusing and
preparing on developing their regulations, logistics including capacity on trade and investment for it.
Gnder the AE%, a single regional common mar>et of ASEAN countries will be created by ,-!.. The
regional integration<s ob;ective is to create a competitive mar>et of over $-- million people in ASEAN
countries. There will be free flow of goods, services, investment capital and s>illed labor following the
liberali+ation. These will include tariff reductions and streamlining of certain administrative
procedures. 1any businesses have begun preparing themselves three years ahead of time to meet
the challenges and opportunities of the AE%.

Even though, the AE% Scorecard at the moment shows the region behind schedule, having
achieved only #8.$H of 'hase ! goals, it still offers a big opportunity in Asia as it will be viewed as a
single large mar>et. )urther, the integration will help increase ASEAN competitiveness with %hina
and /ndia. The delayed issues, such as agriculture, nontariff barriers, integration of the less
developed %615 (%ambodia, 6aos, 1yanmar, 5ietnam) members, and financial integration remain to
be wor>ed out. According to the GS /nternational Trade %ommission report on AE%
3
, the challenges
were seen in the area of importing and e(porting which vary widely among ASEAN members. )or
e(ample, procedures for trading are relatively easy to complete in Singapore, Thailand, and 1alaysia,
but very difficult in 6aos and %ambodia. The 7uality of logistics services also varies among the
ASEAN members, such as customs bro>erage, freight forwarding, and e(press delivery. 6ogistics
services are worldclass in Singapore but poor in 6aos, %ambodia, and 1yanmar. /n many ASEAN
countries, restrictive regulations hamper the delivery of high7uality logistics services.
Ad!anta"es o# the AEC
/t will open more regional cooperation and will improve the scale efficiencies, dynamism and
competitiveness of ASEAN members. AE% will enable easier movement of goods, services,
investment, capital and people. Gltimately, it will offer new ways of coordinating supply
chains, or access to new mar>ets for established products.
All ASEAN countries are more important to foreign investors if they are considered as one
node in a larger regional mar>et of nearly $-- million people a single mar>et. The ASEAN
)ree Trade Agreement will be e(panded to +ero tariffs on almost all goods by ,-!.. ASEAN
plans to remain engaged with the global economy through regionallevel free trade
agreements today, ASEAN has such agreements with %hina, 9apan, Eorea, /ndia, Australia
and New Dealand.
The Gnited States /nternational Trade %ommission<s (GS/T%) ASEAN= Aegional Trends in
Economic /ntegration, E(port %ompetitiveness, and /nbound /nvestment for Selected
/ndustries Aeport noted that the AE% is coming at a time when it is recogni+ed that
investment in emerging markets is more desirable than in the US and Europe. IThere will be
no shortage of funding coming from within ASEAN, the Asia 'acific or even the GS and
Europe. These investments can bring about badly needed capital for some countries, allowing
7
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;
www.usasean.org/ASEAN/pub4176.pdf, #etrie(ed 1; May 212
5
them to leapfrog from the ,-th century into the ,!st in terms of competition in mature
countries such as Thailand and 1alaysiaI, said the report
"
.
SMEs accounted for "$H of enterprises and between .-3.H of domestic employment
across ASEAN. /ntegrating these S1Es and supporting them in the initial period will be a
challenge throughout ASEAN but particularly in the lesser developed ASEAN countries. )or
instant, Singapore, it is obvious that the Singapore government fully reali+es the challenge
and the opportunity that the AE% will represent to S1Es and is putting both the planning
talent and the resources to better support their S1Es. Also in 5ietnam and Thailand and
although both countries are starting to verbali+e and meet to develop more effective plans for
S1E integration and support, it is obvious that these plans are probably behind where they
need to be. /n countries, such as %ambodia, 6aos and 1yanmar, plans are even further
behind and more in need of support and resources.
Tourism opportunity. Asians travels more in the region and there are more travelers from
other countries that have begun to reach out to Asia as new visitors. The trends were evident
at the recent @ub %ity )orum, held by the 'acific Asia Tourism Association ('ata), where
more than !-- travel industry e(ecutives discussed the tourism potential, government<s
spending to upgrade facilities both for leisure attractions li>e museums& and also facilities
such as convention centers, reported the newspaper. Tourism opportunities are particularly
large and hopefully countries that have the most e(perience in this area such as Thailand and
Singapore will render their assistance to those with wea> e(perience recent e(amples of this
are Thailand with 5ietnam and also some tal> in Thailand about rendering assistance in 6aos
and possibly %ambodia
!-
.
Internationalization of health care under the AE. @ealth care is one of the sectors to be
internationali+ed. This is definitely a big challenge as it is more complicated than ;ust the
popularity of Singapore and Thailand<s Imedical tourismI that patients travel from one country
to another see>ing better care at lower cost. The legal and licensing framewor>s are still
needed to be wor>ed out. @owever, it offers potentials for the freeflow of health services,
etc. in the region. Aecent e(amples here were noted in the 2ang>o> 'ost in mid1arch which
noted programs by Thailand<s largest medical service 2?@ and other Thai hospital groups to
stepup the pace of mergers and ac7uisitions and ;oint ventures in other AE% countries to
help give them a better platform to better ta>e care of developing AE% opportunities.
Current Situation
The AE% development has been critici+ed for being Itoo slo!I and some observers have said
that the issues that have been delayed were those of importance and could ma>e or brea> the
success of the integration. Some specialists also commented about the lac> of leadership on this
issue the role of ASEAN chairmanship is a rotating position and a series of officials from the poorer,
less developed ASEAN countries will be the chair of ASEAN for the ne(t few years which means that
leadership will be ine(perienced and possibly be less interested in pushing ahead 7uic>ly with
integration on all fronts. )urthermore, ASEAN will suffer the departure of a strong leader as the
current ASEAN Secretary ?eneral, Thai diplomat Surin 'itsuwan
!!
, is completing his .year term as
ASEAN Secretary?eneral this year. As an e(perienced diplomat Surin 'itsuwan and prior to him the
e7ually e(perienced Bng Eeng Fong from Singapore have pushed ahead on integration. Some
observers* note that the less e(perienced officials from poorer and less developed ASEAN countries
set to follow them will not have the same leadership s>ills, e(perience or >nowledge and that this will
<
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May 212
1
,-id$
11
The =rst ASEA0 Secretary-'eneral 3ith si&ni=cant political -ac)&round in Thailand$ >e
3as con=rmed -y the ASEA0 ?orei&n Ministers durin& their 5th annual meetin& in
Manila in @uly 27 and succeeded 6n& !en& Aon& from Sin&apore on @anuary 1, 2;$
>is term of oBce is =(e years$
7
tell on future progress.
Infrastructure development among the ASEAN countries= both the development of hard infrastructure
such as roads, ports, airports, etc. and soft infrastructure such as human resource and training are
being concentrated. @ard infrastructure= 1any countries< governments have plans to upgrade their
infrastructure, such as the plan of three highways lin>ing Asean the NorthJSouth one lin>ing South
%hina through 1yanmar, Thailand, 6ao and 5ietnam& the EastJ:est %orridor lin>ing 1yanmar,
Thailand, 6aos, and 5ietnam& and the SouthJSouth one lin>ing 1yanmar*s Cawei deep seaport,
Thailand*s 6aem %habang and %ambodia. Thailand<s government has also been tal>ing to %hina
about the highspeed train pro;ect lin>ing 6aos and Thailand*s Nong Ehai to the southern border and
1alaysia.
Asian $i"h%ays& )rom :i>ipedia, the free encyclopedia, Aetrieved !3 1ay ,-!,
)or soft infrastructure, better English spea>ing countries in ASEAN, such as Singapore,
1alaysia and the 'hilippines will have an advantage over countries li>e Thailand. According to the
2ang>o> 'ost, Thailand has established the KKEnglish Spea>ing Fear ,-!,** program in preparation for
the merging of the AE%. This is a step in the right direction but what is ultimately needed is not only a
program but a new mindset. Thailand has not given enough attention to improving English s>ills
6
throughout its education system and now is in a somewhat wea>er position to countries such as
5ietnam who have given increased attention to this and also benefit from having a western alphabet
that ma>es learning of English both reading and writing easier than in Thailand.
The banking sector will particularly need to stay ahead of the game to facilitate investors and to
support their moves throughout the region. Singaporean and 1alaysian ban>s and telecoms, for
instance, have invested heavily in the region and seem to be slightly ahead of other competitors in
better preparing themselves for the AE%.
" E#ecutives have to ad$ust strategy. /nside the AE%, managers will increasingly have to pursue
sales opportunities across the region while focusing relentlessly on cost efficiencies by integrating
their operations across the region, managing through lean techni7ues but also developing effective
corporate centrali+ation. E(ternally, managers in countries such as the GS, %anada and Europe are
going to have to start paying better attention to this new opportunity. 1any of them right now seem to
have eyes for only %hina and /ndia. Asia is much more than either of these two countries and western
managers need to study and better understand the opportunities that the AE% presents. /n %hina and
/ndia, the AE% also is not fully appreciated nor understood and both /ndian and %hinese managers
need to also focus more attention and to travel and address the opportunities that the AE% presents.
ASEA% members still vie! each other as competitors& for inbound investment and ;obs, reported
GS/T%. Gltimately, these distinctions should start to fade to some e(tent but in the future the line
between competitor and collaborator within ASEAN may become less clear. The ASEAN members
will need legally binding means to enforce compliance with the ob;ectives of the roadmaps, suggested
the report.
Challen"es #or AEC
These are vast and ambitious pursuits, and ,-!. is less than three years away. 2usinesses
need to have an international mindset, which gives them the appetite and ability to ma>e crossborder
investments and ac7uisitions. 1omentum has been established, as seen from many investments and
merger and ac7uisition activity that has occurred in the region. /n Thailand, Siam %ement, one of
Thailand<s largest conglomerates, is gearing up to spend #.H of its L.billion investment budget for
,-!,!$ to ac7uire assets, many in ASEAN countries, according to the 2ang>o> 'ost
!,
, and there are
other large companies such as %' or 2?@ that are doing the same. /n the 'hilippines, the 'hilippine
pharmaceutical company Gnilab mar>ets its affordable analgesics and cough and cold mi(tures all
over Southeast Asia through ;oint ventures, while the A(iata group of mobile operators is loo>ing into
networ>sharing, according to the 1anila times. /ndonesia<s AirAsia, Asia<s largest budget airline, is
opening a regional office in 9a>arta to engage with the ASEAN Secretariat there and wor> toward a
single ASEAN s>y and aviation authority, reported the 9ar>ata 'ost. /n late ,-!!, a group of business
luminaries, including the %EBs of %/12 2an>
!8
, AirAsia, 2ang>o> 2an> and Ayala ?roup launched
the Asean 2usiness %lub, a privatesector initiative to engage in ASEAN<s community building
efforts
!4
.
To narrow the development gap, the /nitiative for ASEAN /ntegration will serve as the platform for
identifying and implementing technical assistance and capacity building programmes for both public
and private sectors in ASEAN 1ember %ountries, in particular, %615 and the other subregions such
as The /ndonesia1alaysiaThailand ?rowth Triangle = /1T?T and The East ASEAN ?rowth Area=
2/1'EA?A within ASEAN. This is to allow them to be e7ual partners in the development of regional
production and distribution networ>s
!.
. The ob;ective of AE% is also to ma>e ASEAN a more dynamic
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#etrie(ed 1; May 212
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EofE'oods, #etrie(ed 1; May 212$
17
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ca;177.-a-aa-a-a-12;7.-, Ministry of international trade and industry, Malaysia$
#etrie(ed 17 May 212$
7
region to compete in the global supply chain and to remain an attractive base for foreign direct
investment . /n this respect, ASEAN will wor> towards maintaining MASEAN %entralityN in its e(ternal
economic relations, especially in its negotiations for free trade areas ()TAs) and comprehensive
economic partnership (%E's) agreements.
The AE% is definitely a wor> in progress. Some efforts will go faster and bear 7uic>er fruit
than others& others will face more challenges and may be less crisply implemented. Still, the future is
clearly in favor of the AE% and that it offers clear opportunities and challenges that all businesses
need to be thin>ing about and preparing for. Those who fail to do so, have no one to blame but
themselves for missing out on a wonderful new opportunity for sales, investment and engagement
with Asia.
'mplications on APEC
Asia 'acific Economic %ooperation= A'E% is the only inter governmental grouping in the
world operating on the basis of nonbinding commitments, open dialogue and e7ual respect for the
views of all participants. Gnli>e the :TB or other multilateral trade bodies, A'E% has no treaty
obligations re7uired of its participants. Cecisions made within A'E% are reached by consensus and
commitments are underta>en on a voluntary basis. Since establishment in !"3", A'E% further
enhances economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia'acific
community. Since its inception, A'E% has wor>ed to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the
Asia'acific region, creating efficient domestic economies and dramatically increasing e(ports. Eey to
achieving A'E%<s vision are what are referred to as the <2ogor ?oals< of free and open trade and
investment in the Asia"'acific by ()*) for industrialized economies and ()() for developing
economies. These goals were adopted by 6eaders at their !""4 meeting in 2ogor, /ndonesia. As of ,-
Aug ,-!-, A'E% has ,! 1ember Economies. They are Australia& 2runei Carussalam& %anada& %hile&
'eople<s Aepublic of %hina& @ong Eong, %hina& /ndonesia& 9apan& Aepublic of Eorea& 1alaysia&
1e(ico& New Dealand& 'apua New ?uinea& 'eru& The Aepublic of the 'hilippines& The Aussian
)ederation& Singapore& %hinese Taipei& Thailand& Gnited States of America& 5iet Nam. @owever, to
meet the 2ogor ?oals, A'E% carries out wor> in three main areas= a) Trade and /nvestment
6iberali+ation, b) 2usiness )acilitation, c) Economic and Technical %ooperation
A'E% is considering the prospects and options for a )ree Trade Area of the Asia'acific
()TAA') which would include all member economies of Asia'acific Economic %ooperation (A'E%).
Since ,--$, the A'E% 2usiness Advisory %ouncil, promoting the theory that a free trade area has the
best chance of converging the member nations and ensuring stable economic growth under free
trade, has lobbied for the creation of a highlevel tas> force to study and develop a plan for a free
trade area. The proposal for a )TAA' arose due to the lac> of progress in the Coha round
!$
of :orld
Trade Brgani+ation negotiations, and as a way to overcome the <spaghetti bowl< effect created by
overlapping and conflicting elements of free trade agreements between members 0 there are as many
as $- free trade agreements and !!# being negotiated in Southeast Asia and the Asia'acific region.
The )TAA' is more ambitious in scope than the Coha round, which limits itself to reducing trade
restrictions. The )TAA' would create a free trade +one that would considerably e(pand commerce
and economic growth in the region.

The economic e(pansion and growth in trade could e(ceed the
e(pectations of other regional free trade areas such as the ASEAN 'lus Three (ASEAN O %hina,
9apan, and South Eorea).
The average economic growths of ASEAN<s member nations during !"3"0,--" was
Singapore with $.#8 percent, 1alaysia with $.!. percent, /ndonesia with ..!$ percent, Thailand with
..-, percent, and the 'hilippines with 8.#" percent. This economic growth was greater than the
average A'E% economic growth, which was ,.38 percent
!#
. Some criticisms include that the diversion
of trade within A'E% members would create trade imbalances, mar>et conflicts and complications
with nations of other regions.

The development of the )TAA' is e(pected to ta>e many years,
16
The +oha #ound is the latest round of trade ne&otiations amon& the FT6
mem-ership$ ,ts aim is to achie(e ma8or reform of the international tradin& system
throu&h the introduction of lo3er trade -arriers and re(ised trade rules$ The 3or)
pro&ramme co(ers a-out 2 areas of trade$ The #ound 3as oBcially launched at the
FT6Gs ?ourth Ministerial Conference in +oha, Hatar, in 0o(em-er 21$
;
involving essential studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies.

/t is also
affected by the absence of political will and popular agitations and lobbying against free trade in
domestic politics.
1eanwhile, the meeting in 9a>arta, ,3 9une ,-!! of delegations from the Asia 'acific
Economic %ooperation (A'E%) Secretariat, led by its E(ecutive Cirector, Ambassador 1uhamad Noor
with Cr Surin 'itsuwan, the Secretary?eneral of ASEAN at ASEAN Secretariat . The two leaders
agreed to strengthen SecretariattoSecretariat cooperation in mutually beneficial areas that will add
value to their respective cooperation agendas.
/n a discussion, both sides e(pressed interest to cooperate in several >ey areas such as regulatory
reform, connectivity, competition policy, small and medium enterprises development, disaster
management and food security. Celegations also updated each other on the ongoing wor> and
priorities of their respective institution and agreed that there are many common areas of interest for
collaboration and to learn from one another
!3
. As most of AE% and A'E%*s goal are 7uite similar in
facilitating to free flow of mar>et through trade liberali+ation, reduce ta( and tariff among members.
Therefore, even the ASEAN Economic %ommunity, will represent the possibility of each members to
cooperate and wor> together through their une7ual capacities and level of economics, AE% is going to
be a model and also the >ic> off for A'E%.
(e#erences
2aldwin, Aichard E. ,--$. 1ultilateralising Aegionalism= Spaghetti 2owls as 2uilding 2locs on the
'ath to ?lobal )ree Trade. The +orld Economy ,", no. !! (November)= !4.!0.!3.
@adi Soesastro (!"".)= ASEAN and A'E%= Co concentric circles wor>P, The 'acific Aeview, 3=8, 4#.
4"8.
@ew, C. and Soesastro, @. (,--8), MAeali+ing the ASEAN Economic %ommunity by ,-,-= /SEAS and

ASEAN/S/S Approaches,N ASEAN Economic 2ulletin, 5ol.,-, No.8, /SEAS.
9ohn Aavenhill (,---)= A'E% adrift= implications for economic regionalism in Asia and the 'acific, The
'acific Aeview, !8=,,8!"888.
Ea+ushi Shimi+u (,-!-) = ASEAN Economic /ntegration in the :orld EconomyToward the ASEAN
Economic %ommunity (AE%), Econ. 9. of @o>>aido Gniv.,5ol. 8" (,-!-), pp. ## 0 33.
Shalendra C. Sharma (,--,)= 2eyond ASEAN and A'E%= Towards a New Asia'acific Economic
Aegionalism, EAST AS/AN AE5/E: . 5ol. !4, No. 8, Autumn ,--,,,pp. 8#43
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