ASEAN unveils strategic plan to integrate its economies
The five-year, 41-page plan for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, released during a leaders' summit in Malaysia, calls for increased regional trade, freer movement of businesses and people, enhanced transparency and regulatory practices and sustainable mining, industry and farming policies to attract foreign investment.
The plan said ASEAN countries - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Brunei - must deepen their economic integration, pursue energy security, boost transport connectivity and strengthen supply chains.
"Carrying on with business as usual will not suffice for this highly dynamic economic region," the plan said.
"For ASEAN to become the fourth-largest global economy by 2045, countries in the region will need to deepen their economic integration and enhance their agility to address multifaceted challenges."
The document identified several challenges for ASEAN's economic integration ranging from geopolitical tensions, shifting trade flows and technological transformation to climate change impacts and demographic shifts.
Formed in 1967 initially as five members, ASEAN established an economic community in 2015 with the aim of integrating its economies and boosting the region's global standing.
But despite rapid growth of its members economies in recent years and a collective GDP of $3.8 trillion, integration has been slow, with huge differences in its members' economies, political systems, population sizes and development levels, and no central authority to ensure compliance with ASEAN agreements and initiatives.
The strategic plan said ASEAN's Economic Community Council would be be responsible for implementing the strategies while the ASEAN secretariat would monitor implementation.
The ongoing tariff war between the United States and China and steep U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian countries has created urgency for ASEAN to move towards regional integration faster, said Tricia Yeoh, Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Nottingham Malaysia.
Yeoh said ASEAN countries must recognise the greater collective value of unified negotiations rather than pursuing bilateral agreements on their own.
'ASEAN needs to demonstrate efficacy in order for it to remain relevant. If they can't even achieve negotiating over Myanmar or the code of conduct with China on the maritime issue, people will question ASEAN's purpose,' she said, referring to two thorny political issues within the bloc.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Thailand and Cambodia exchange heavy artillery fire as border battle expands
SURIN, Thailand, July 25 (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery fire for a second day on Friday as fighting intensified and spread, while Cambodia's leader said Thailand had agreed to a Malaysian ceasefire proposal but then backed down. At least 20 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the conflict and on Friday ratcheted up the rhetoric. Thailand accused Cambodia of deliberately attacking civilians and Cambodia condemned Thailand for using cluster munitions, controversial and widely condemned. Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, said Cambodia had attacked on multiple fronts. "The situation has intensified and could escalate into a state of war. At present, it's a confrontation involving heavy weapons," he told reporters. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a social media post that he had agreed to a ceasefire proposed by his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, who had informed him that Phumtham had also agreed. "However, it is regrettable that just over an hour later, the Thai side informed that they had reversed their position," Hun Manet said. Thailand's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Anwar said both countries had agreed in principle to stop attacks, but that there were issues related to "some violations". He made no mention of a Thai withdrawal. Two senior Thai foreign ministry officials earlier said Bangkok had received offers of mediation from the U.S., Malaysia and China, but preferred to use bilateral mechanisms. Fighting re-erupted before dawn on Friday, with clashes reported in 12 locations, up from six on Thursday, according to Thailand's military. It accused Cambodia of using artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rockets to attack areas that included schools and hospitals. "These barbaric acts have senselessly claimed lives and inflicted injuries upon numerous innocent civilians," it said. "The deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime and those responsible must be brought to justice." It put the blame squarely on the Phnom Penh government, which it said was being steered by Hun Sen, influential former premier of nearly four decades and father of Hun Manet. Reuters journalists in Thailand's Surin province saw a Thai military convoy of about a dozen trucks, armoured vehicles and tanks cut across provincial roads ringed by paddy fields as it moved toward the border. Intermittent bursts of explosions could be heard. Soldiers marshalled traffic on a rural road along which artillery guns were being loaded and fired in succession, emitting orange flashes, loud explosions and grey smoke. The fighting started early on Thursday, quickly escalating from small arms fire to heavy shelling in multiple areas 210 km (130 miles) apart along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century. Thailand on Thursday deployed an F-16 fighter jet to strike a Cambodian military target, underlining its military advantage. Cambodia has no fighter aircraft and significantly less defence hardware and personnel. It appealed for the U.N. Security Council to address the issue. It said Thailand's bombardments had caused "significant and visible damage" to the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that both countries have laid claim to for decades. Thailand's military called the allegation "a clear distortion of facts". The trigger for the conflict was Thailand recalling its ambassador to Phnom Penh and expelling Cambodia's envoy on Wednesday, in response to a second Thai soldier losing a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently by rival troops. Cambodia denied that. Cambodia's government on Friday expressed outrage at Thailand's use of what it said was a large amount of cluster munitions, calling it a violation of international law. Thailand's military said Thailand was not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions but that it followed the principle of proportionality, "to enhance explosive destruction capabilities against military targets only". The death toll in Thailand rose to 19 on Friday, 13 of them civilians, with 62 people wounded. Cambodia's government has not reported any casualties, but a provincial official said one person had been killed. Thailand has prepared nearly 300 facilities for evacuees, more of which poured into shelters in Surin province after hearing shelling. Elderly people dozed while others queued for food to be served by volunteers as children played outside. Some evacuees sifted through donated clothing, others sat talking on floor mats, recounting how they had fled the fighting. "We heard very loud explosions, so we came here. We were so scared," said Aung Ying Yong, 67, wiping away tears with a towel. "So many people are in trouble because of this war ... we are very sad that we have to live like this."
The Independent
9 hours ago
- The Independent
Visitors pour into country as eased visa rules work their magic
The number of foreigners coming to China visa-free rose significantly in the first six months of the year, as the country continued to open its doors wider for international travellers. Foreign nationals made 13.6 million visa-free entries into the country in the period, 54 per cent more than in the corresponding period last year, the National Immigration Administration said. These trips accounted for 71 per cent of all entries by foreign nationals in the first half of the year, it said. During the first six months the number of entries and exits by foreign nationals into and from China totalled 38 million, 30 per cent more than in the corresponding period last year. This year China has relaxed rules on entry into the country to attract more foreign visitors. Last month it added Indonesia to a list of countries whose citizens are eligible for visa-free transit, allowing Indonesians travelling to a third country to enter China visa-free through designated ports, and for up to 10 days. Since February, tourist groups from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have been allowed to stay in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, for up to six days after entering the country visa-free through designated ports. China expanded the list of unilateral visa-free countries to 47 in June. China's immigration authorities also issue visas to foreign ordinary passport holders who arrive at the country's ports for emergency or humanitarian reasons, but who do not have time to lodge an application for a visa with Chinese diplomatic missions, the National Immigration Administration said. The relaxed visa rules have encouraged many foreign nationals to come to China for tourism and business, have helped increase inbound consumption and have helped improve understanding between China and other countries, it said. A woman from Poland, 22, who wished to remain anonymous, said she is in China with a friend to attend a summer camp on Chinese language and culture, as well as for sightseeing. The pair, who arrived on 15 July, planned to visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. 'We are very excited for the time that we will spend here,' said the woman, who is on her second trip to China but entered the country visa-free for the first time. Poland was among countries whose citizens were granted visa-free entry to China last year. 'It's a very nice policy,' the woman said, adding that it spared her the potentially cumbersome process needed for getting a visa. Yang Jinsong, a researcher with the China Tourism Academy in Beijing, said the increase in international visitors to China reflects the positive effect of the country's measures for stimulating cross-border travel. These measures have increased China's popularity among international travellers, Yang said, noting that the country's inbound tourism market has recovered strongly in recent years.
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- The Guardian
Thailand-Cambodia border dispute: 130,000 Thai civilians evacuated amid second day of clashes
Thailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along its border with Cambodia, as the worst fighting between the two neighbours in more than a decade spread to new areas. Clashes had taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, according to a Thai military official – an expansion of the conflict that erupted a day earlier. Thai officials said 138,000 people from four border provinces had been evacuated, as the country's death toll rose to 15, including 14 civilians. An eight-year-old boy was among those killed. Cambodia's national government has not provided details of any casualties or evacuations of civilians but a local official in Oddar Meanchey province told Reuters that one civilian had been killed and five were wounded, with 1,500 families evacuated. 'This present incident of aggression is escalating and could develop to the stage of war,' Thailand's acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters in Bangkok. 'However, right now we are still at altercation level, battling with heavy weapons. What we have done so far is to protect our land and sovereignty of our nation.' Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Manet, said he had supported a proposal by Malaysia for a ceasefire, but claimed Thailand had initially agreed, only to reverse its decision. Both sides have accused each other of starting the clashes, and of violating international norms. Malaysia, which chairs the regional bloc the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, called on Thailand and Cambodia to stand down, while the US and China both expressed concern. Fighting resumed from before dawn on Friday in the Ubon Ratchathani and Surin provinces, according to the Thai military. 'Cambodian forces have conducted sustained bombardment utilising heavy weapons, field artillery and BM-21 rocket systems,' the Thai military said in a statement. 'Thai forces have responded with appropriate supporting fire in accordance with the tactical situation.' Fighting first broke out on Thursday morning after weeks of simmering tensions over a long-running border dispute between the south-east-Asian neighbours. The clashes are the latest in a history of conflict along Cambodia and Thailand's 508-mile (817km) border, sections of which are subject to overlapping claims due to disagreements about colonial-era maps. Tensions have been high since May, when troops briefly exchanged fire in a contested area, killing a Cambodian soldier. This led to retaliatory measures by both sides. The crisis worsened on Wednesday when five Thai soldiers were injured by a landmine, the second such incident in a week. Thailand responded by recalling its ambassador to Cambodia and saying it would expel Cambodia's envoy in Bangkok. Thailand alleged the landmines had been placed in the area recently, claims that Cambodia denies. Clashes escalated dramatically the following day, with Thailand accusing Cambodia of launching rocket and artillery attacks, including in civilians areas, and saying its air force had launched airstrikes on military targets in Cambodia. The dispute has been fanned by nationalist sentiment, and compounded by a bitter feud between two powerful politicians in either country: Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for four decades before handing power to his son Hun Manet in 2023, and Thaksin Shinawatra, the former populist leader of Thailand, whose daughter Paetongtarn became prime minister in 2024. Both former leaders remain highly influential. On Thursday night Thaksin said on social media that he had thanked countries that had offered to mediate the crisis but that he would like to wait a little bit, adding: 'We need to let the Thai military do their job, and teach Hun Sen a lesson.' Hun Sen responded on Facebook that Thaksin's 'warlike tone' underscored 'Thailand's military aggression toward Cambodia'. In a statement that accused Thaksin of betraying his own king and party, he added: 'under the pretext of taking revenge on Hun Sen, he is resorting to war, the ultimate consequence of which will be the suffering of the people'. The UN security council was due to meet on Friday over the conflict. The US, a longtime treaty ally of Thailand, called for an immediate end to hostilities. 'We are … gravely concerned by the escalating violence along the Thailand-Cambodia border and deeply saddened by reports of harm to civilians,' the state department's deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, told a regular news briefing. 'The United States urges an immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and a peaceful resolution of the conflict.' China also said it was 'deeply concerned' by thes clashes and that that Beijing 'has and will continue to in its own way do its best to promote peace and dialogue'. Britain's foreign ministry on Thursday advised against all but essential travel to parts of Cambodia and Thailand. With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
