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ASEAN Cooperat ion:

The Way Forw ard

by:

Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III



The Need for RegionalCooperation

• Public Goods (and Public Bads) arepresent at different levels--local,national, regional, international.

• Public Goods (and Public Bads) havepositive (and negative) externalities that

require state intervention or regulation.




• Regional institutions are necessary toaddress public goods (and bads) that movefrom one border to another in a specificregion.

• Regional cooperation is a way to addresscoordination or collective action problems(e.g., 1997 Asian financial crisis,environmental disasters, spread of infectiousdiseases, border disputes, piracy andsmuggling).




• Regional cooperation and institutions reducetransaction costs.

• Examples of transaction costs: reduction of

tariffs, harmonization of rules and standards,reduction of travel-related costs (visa fee,foreign exchange transactions).

• Regional cooperation facilitates movement ofpeople and trade; promotes spread of ideas

and cultural exchange.




• Regional cooperation has likewise becomean instrument of economic competition.

• Forming a regional bloc is a way to enlarge

and consolidate markets as well as protectsuch markets from the penetration ofcompetitors.

• In the case of ASEAN, its consolidation isnecessary to have a better leverage vis-à-visneighboring countries, which are economic

giants, namely Japan, Korea, and China.



The Question is: What Kind ofRegional Cooperation?

• The most advanced form of cooperationis economic and political integration(similar to the European Union).

• ASEAN is gradually moving towardstighter integration (e.g.; ASEAN free

trade, ASEAN Charter).• It is arguably an irreversible process.



Issues and Challenges

• Unevenness of ASEAN countries. (Oneconomic development, compare Burma toSingapore!)

• The competition within ASEAN: memberscompete with one another, including theresort to beggar thy neighbor practices.

• The weakness (or immaturity) of politicalinstitutions.



Weak Institutions (Nationaland Supra-national)

• The lack of transparency.

• The unclear accountability of ASEANbureaucrats.

• The lack of citizens’ participation, especiallyin relation to the regional process.

• Many ASEAN states are dictatorships or one-

party states.• National parliaments and national citizens, for

example, are in the main ignorant of the

ASEAN Charter.

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