Regional Integration in Southeast Asia: modelling for African integration
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Date
2006
Authors
Adeleke
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Lagos Press
Abstract
The Southeast Asian region, which is the focus of this chapter, has been actively involved in the re-
awakening and intensification of regionalism and regional integration. The ten countries in the
region—Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—belong
to several trade blocs at various levels of economic integration. Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are members of APEC. The Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, the Philippines and Thailand are members of the Bangkok Agreement, which also
includes Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in South Asia and the Republic of Korea in Northeast
Asia. The East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC) brings together ten Asian countries including
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. There is also the Colombo
Plan, which has twenty-six members including all the countries of Southeast Asia except Brunei.
Although the Plan is not dedicated to economic integration, it provides aid for economic
development and therefore contributes indirectly to promoting the objectives of regional integration.
The earliest attempt to foster regional integration in Southeast Asia was in fact made through the
Colombo Plan. However, the attempt failed and it was not until the late 1960s that serious efforts
were made to promote regional integration. This led to the establishment first of the Association of
Southeast Asia, ASA, the Asian and Pacific Council, ASPAC, and subsequently of the Association
of South-East Asian Nations, ASEAN, which has an exclusive Southeast Asian membership. All
the ten countries in the region are members of ASEAN. The chapter explores the evolution of
regional integration in Southeast Asia.
Description
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Keywords
Regionalism and regional integration , Economic development , Southeast Asian region , Economic integration , Trade blocs , Evolution
Citation
Regional Integration in Southeast Asia: Modelling for African Integration in R. T. Akinyele (ed.) African Integration: Images and Perspectives (2006), Lagos: University of Lagos Press, 70-107.