Association of Southeast Asian Nations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (August 2007)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Flag
Seat of Secretariat		Jakarta, Indonesia
Official languages		Malay English Chinese Filipino Tagalog Vietnamese
Member states		10 Brunei Burma Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam
Leaders
-	Secretary General	Surin Pitsuwan
Area
-	Total	4,464,322 km²  1,723,684 sq mi
Population
-	2007 estimate	575.5 million
-	Density	129/km²  334.1/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	US$ 3,431.2 billion (2007)
-	Per capita	US$ 5,962
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	US$ 1,281.9 billion (2007)
-	Per capita	US$ 2,227
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.742 (medium) (100th¹)
Currency		10 Brunei dollar (BND)  Indonesian rupiah (IDR)  Cambodian riel (KHR)  Lao kip (LAK)  Myanma kyat (MMK)  Malaysian ringgit (MYR)  Philippine peso (PHP)  Singapore dollar (SGD)  Thai baht (THB)  Vietnamese đồng (VND)
Time zone		(UTC+6½ to +9)
Website http://www.asean.org/
1	If considered as a single entity.
2	Selected key basic ASEAN indicators
3	Annual growth 1.6%

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,^[1] commonly referred to as ASEAN, pronounced /ˈɑːsiːɑːn/ AH-see-ahn in English, is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.^[2] Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace.^[3]

In 2005, the bloc had a combined GDP (Nominal/PPP) of about USD$896.5 billion/$2.728 billion growing at an average rate of around 5.6% per annum. Nominal GDP had grown to $1,073.9 billion in 2006.

Contents 1 History 2 The ASEAN Way 3 ASEAN's agenda-setting and decision-making 4 Meetings 4.1 ASEAN Summit 4.2 East Asia Summit 4.3 Regional Forum 4.4 Other meetings 4.4.1 Plus Three 4.4.2 Asia-Europe Meeting 4.4.3 Russia Summit 5 Free Trade Area 5.1 ASEAN Single Aviation Market 6 Cultural activities 6.1 S.E.A. Write Award 6.2 ASAIHL 6.3 Heritage Parks 6.3.1 List 6.4 Scholarship 6.5 University Network 7 Sports 7.1 Southeast Asian Games 7.2 Football Championship 7.3 ParaGames 8 Criticism 9 Comparison 10 See also 11 Notes 12 External links 12.1 Organization 12.2 Summits

[edit] History

See also: List of members of the ASEAN

ASEAN was preceded by an organization called the Association of Southeast Asia, an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand that was formed in 1961. The bloc itself, however, was established on August 8, 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration, more commonly known as the Bangkok Declaration. The five foreign ministers – Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand – are considered as the organization's Founding Fathers.^[4]

The motivations for the birth of ASEAN were the desire for a stable external environment (so that its members’ governing elite could concentrate on nation building), the common fear of communism, reduced faith in or mistrust of external powers in the 1960s, as well as the aspiration for national economic development; not to mention Indonesia’s ambition to become a regional hegemon through regional cooperation and the hope on the part of Malaysia and Singapore to constrain Indonesia and bring it into a more cooperative framework. Unlike the Europe Union, ASEAN has been made to serve nationalism. ^[5]

In 1976, the Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer status.^[6]. Throughout the 1970s, the organization embarked on a program of economic cooperation, following the Bali Summit of 1976. This foundered in the mid-1980s and was only revived around 1991 due to a Thai proposal for a regional free trade area. The bloc then grew when Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member after it joined on January 8, 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on January 1.^[7]

During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership as well as in the drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus^[8] composing the then-members of ASEAN as well as the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing influence of the United States in the APEC as well as in the Asian region as a whole.^[9][10] This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States.^[9][11]

Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration. In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase the region’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market. This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area.

On July 28, 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member, Laos and Myanmar joined two years later in July 23, 1997.^[12] Cambodia was to have joined together with Laos and Myanmar, but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. The country later joined on April 30, 1999, following the stabilization of its government.^[12]

At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental prospective. The organization started to discuss environmental agreements. These included the signing of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as an attempt to control haze pollution in Southeast Asia.^[13] Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful due to the outbreaks of the 2005 Malaysian haze and the 2006 Southeast Asian haze. Other environmental treaties introduced by the organization include the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security,^[14] the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005,^[15] and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both of which are responses to Global Warming and the negative effects of climate change.

Through the Bali Concord II in 2003, ASEAN has subscribed to the notion of democratic peace, which means all member countries believe democratic processes will promote regional peace and stability. Also the non-democratic members all agreed that it was something all member states should aspire to.^[16]

The leaders of each country, particularly Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, also felt the need to further integrate the region. Beginning in 1997, the bloc began creating organizations within its framework with the intention of achieving this goal. ASEAN Plus Three was the first of these and was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea. This was followed by the even larger East Asia Summit, which included these countries as well as India, Australia, and New Zealand. This new grouping acted as a prerequisite for the planned East Asia Community, which was supposedly patterned after the now-defunct European Community. The ASEAN Eminent Persons Group was created to study the possible successes and failures of this policy as well as the possibility of drafting an ASEAN Charter.

In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.^[17] As a response, the organization awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations.^[18] Furthermore, in July 23 that year, José Ramos-Horta, then Prime Minister of East Timor, signed a formal request for membership and expected the accession process to last at least five years before the then-observer state became a full member.^[19][20]

In 2007, ASEAN has celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.^[21]

On August 26, 2007, ASEAN has also stated that it aims to complete all its free trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand by 2013, in line with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.^[22][23]

ASEAN told Myanmar barring pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from elections because she once was married to a foreigner would be odd and not in keeping with the times on February 20, 2008.^[24]

[edit] The ASEAN Way

In the 1960s, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore were all nations in the making because they as sovereign independent nations came into the world only after the end of the WWII. Since nation building was often messy and vulnerable to foreign intervention, the governing elite wanted to have free hands to implement their policies in the knowledge that neighbours would refrain from interfering in their domestic affairs. Besides, smallest members such as Singapore, Brunei were consciously fearful of force and coercive measures from much bigger neighbours like Indonesia and Malaysia. As a result, non-interference, consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation became the key principles of the organisation.

On the surface, the process of consultations and consensus is supposed to be a democratic approach to decision making, but the ASEAN process has been managed through close interpersonal contacts among the top leaders only, who often share a reluctance to institutionalise and legalise co-operation which can undermine their regime’s control over the conduct of regional co-operation.

All of these features, namely non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalisation, consultation and consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation have constituted what is called the ASEAN Way.

Since the late 1990s, many scholars have argued that the principle of non-interference has blunted ASEAN efforts in handling the problem of Myanmar, human rights abuses and haze pollution in the region. Meanwhile, with the consensus-based approach, every member in fact has a veto and decisions are usually reduced to the lowest common denominator. There has been a widespread belief that ASEAN members should have a less rigid view on these two cardinal principles when they wish to be seen as a cohesive and relevant community.

[edit] ASEAN's agenda-setting and decision-making

Apart from consultations and consensus, ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decision-making processes can be usefully understood in terms of the so-called Track I and Track II. Track I refers to the practice of diplomacy among government channels. The participants stand as representatives of their respective states and reflect the official positions of their governments during negotiations and discussions. All official decisions are made in Track I. Track II on the other hand refers to diplomatic activities that are unofficial and includes participants from both government and non-government institutions such as the academic, economic communities and NGOs. This track enables governments to discuss controversial issues and test new ideas without making official statements or binding commitments, and, if necessary, backtrack on positions.

Although Track II dialogues are sometimes cited as examples of the involvement of civil society in regional decision-making process by governments and other second track actors, NGOs have rarely got access to this track, meanwhile participants from the academic community are a dozen think-tanks. However, these think-tanks are, in most cases, very much linked to their respective governments, and dependent on government funding for their academic and policy-relevant activities. Their recommendations, especially in economic integration , are often closer to ASEAN’s decisions than the rest of civil society’s positions.

The track that acts as a forum for civil society in Southeast Asia is called Track III, which is essentially people-to-people diplomacy undertaken mainly by CSOs. Track III networks claim to represent communities and people who are largely marginalised from political power centers and unable to achieve positive change without outside assistance. This track tries to influence government policies indirectly by lobbying, generating pressure through the media. Third-track actors also organise and/or attend meetings as well as conferences to get access to Track I officials.

While Track II meetings and interactions with Track I actors have increased and intensified, rarely has the rest of civil society had the opportunity to interface with Track II. Those with Track I have been even rarer. In other words, the participation of the big majority of CSOs has been excluded from ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decision-making.

Looking at the three tracks, it is clear that until now, ASEAN has been run by government officials who, as far as ASEAN matters are concerned, are accountable only to their governments and not the people. In a lecture on the occasion of ASEAN’s 38th anniversary, the incumbent Indonesian President Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted:

“All the decisions about treaties and free trade areas, about declarations and plans of action, are made by Heads of Government, ministers and senior officials. And the fact that among the masses, there is little knowledge, let alone appreciation, of the large initiatives that ASEAN is taking on their behalf.”

[edit] Meetings

[edit] ASEAN Summit

The organization holds meetings, known as the ASEAN Summit, where heads of government of each member meet to discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other meetings with other countries outside of the bloc with the intention of promoting external relations.

The ASEAN Leaders' Formal Summit was first held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976. Its third meeting was held in Manila in 1987 and during this meeting, it was decided that the leaders would meet every five years.^[25] Consequently, the fourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders again agreed to meet more frequently, deciding to hold the summit every three years.^[25] In 2001, it was decided to meet annually to address urgent issues affecting the region. Member nations were assigned to be the summit host in alphabetical order except in the case of Myanmar which dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United States and the European Union.^[26]

The formal summit meets for three days. The usual itinerary is as follows:

• Leaders of member states would hold an internal organization meeting.
• Leaders of member states would hold a conference together with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
• A meeting, known as ASEAN Plus Three, is set for leaders of three Dialogue Partners (People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea)
• A separate meeting, known as ASEAN-CER, is set for another set of leaders of two Dialogue Partners (Australia, New Zealand).

ASEAN Formal Summits
	Date	Country	Host
1st	February 23–24, 1976	Indonesia	Bali
2nd	August 4–5, 1977	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
3rd	December 14–15, 1987	Philippines	Manila
4th	January 27–29, 1992	Singapore	Singapore
5th	December 14–15, 1995	Thailand	Bangkok
6th	December 15–16, 1998	Vietnam	Hanoi
7th	November 5–6, 2001	Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan
8th	November 4–5, 2002	Cambodia	Phnom Penh
9th	October 7–8, 2003	Indonesia	Bali
10th	November 29–30, 2004	Laos	Vientiane
11th	December 12–14, 2005	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
12th	January 11–14, 20071	Philippines	Cebu
13th	November 18–22, 2007	Singapore	Singapore
14th	2008	Thailand
15th	2009	Vietnam
1 Postponed from December 10–14, 2006 due to Typhoon Seniang.

During the fifth Summit in Bangkok, the leaders decided to meet "informally" between each formal summit:^[25]

ASEAN Informal Summits
	Date	Country	Host
1st	November 30, 1996	Indonesia	Jakarta
2nd	December 14-16, 1997	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
3rd	November 27-28, 1999	Philippines	Manila
4th	November 22-25, 2000	Singapore	Singapore

[edit] East Asia Summit

Main article: East Asia Summit

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a pan-Asian forum held annually by the leaders of 16 countries in East Asia and the region, with ASEAN in a leadership position. The summit has discussed issues including trade, energy and security and the summit has a role in regional community building.

The members of the summit are all 10 members of ASEAN together with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand who combined represent almost half of the world's population. Russia has applied for membership of the summit and in 2005 was a guest for the First EAS at the invitation of the host - Malaysia ^[27].

The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on December 14, 2005 and subsequent meetings have been held after the annual ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.

Meeting	Country	Location	Date	Note
First EAS	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	December 14, 2005	Russia attended as a guest.
Second EAS	Philippines	Cebu City	January 15, 2007	Rescheduled from December 13, 2006. Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security
Third EAS	Singapore	Singapore	November 21, 2007	Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment[28] Agreed to establish Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
Fourth EAS	Thailand	TBC	TBC	TBC

[edit] Regional Forum

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, multilateral dialogue in Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it is consisted of 27 participants. ARF objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.^[29] The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: all ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Timor-Leste, United States and Sri Lanka. The Republic of China (also known as Taiwan) has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait is neither discussed at the ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman's Statements.

[edit] Other meetings

Aside from the ones above, other regular^[30] meetings are also held.^[31] These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting^[32] as well as other smaller committees, such as the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.^[33] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as defense^[30] or the environment,^[30][34] and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.

[edit] Plus Three

The ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, and is primarily held during each ASEAN Summit.

[edit] Asia-Europe Meeting

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996, bringing together the European Union and the ASEAN Plus Three groupings.^[35]

[edit] Russia Summit

The ASEAN-Russia Summit is a meeting between leaders member states and the President of Russia.

[edit] Free Trade Area

The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on January 28, 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The latecomers have not fully met the AFTA's obligations, but they are officially considered part of the AFTA as they were required to sign the agreement upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations. At the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007 in Singapore, decision was made to start creating an internal market with four liberties of transfers as the internal market in the EU, where trade, services, capital and labor can freely be transferred from one economy of the member state to another one. The plan is to span this process over the period till 2015.

[edit] ASEAN Single Aviation Market

The ASEAN Single Aviation Market (SAM), proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers, will introduce an open-sky arrangement to the region by 2015. Not only will the ASEAN SAM be expected to fully liberalize air travel between its Member States, it is also expected that SAM will further enhance tourism, trade, investment and services flows between Member States. Beginning January 1, 2009, there will be full liberalization of air freight services in the region, as well as removal of third and fourth freedom restrictions between capital cities of Member States for air passengers services. By January 1, 2011, there will be liberalization of fifth freedom traffic rights between all capital cities.

[edit] Cultural activities

The organization hosts cultural activities in an attempt to further integrate the region. These include sports and educational activities as well as writing awards. Examples of these include the ASEAN University Network and the Singapore-sponsored ASEAN Scholarship.

[edit] S.E.A. Write Award

The S.E.A. Write Award is a literary award given to Southeast Asian poets and writers annually since 1979. The award is either given for a specific work or as a recognition of an author's lifetime achievement. Works that are honored vary and have included poetry, short stories, novels, plays, folklore as well as scholarly and religious works. Ceremonies are held in Bangkok and is presided by a member of the Thai royal family.

[edit] ASAIHL

ASAIHL or the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning is a non-governmental organization founded in 1956 that strives to strengthen higher learning institutions, espescially in teaching, research, and public service, with the intention of cultivating a sense of regional identity and interdependence.

[edit] Heritage Parks

ASEAN Heritage Parks^[36] is a list of nature parks launched 1984 and relaunched in 2004. It aims to protect the region's natural treasures. There are now 35 such protected areas, including the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Kinabalu National Park.^[37].

[edit] List

ASEAN Heritage Sites
Site	Country	Site	Country
Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park	Myanmar	Ao Phang-nga Marine National Park	Thailand
Apo Natural Park	Philippines	Ba Be National Park	Vietnam
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park	Indonesia	Gunung Leuser National Park	Indonesia
Gunung Mulu National Park	Malaysia	Ha Long Bay	Vietnam
Hoang Lien Sa Pa National Park	Vietnam	Iglit-Baco National Park	Philippines
Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary	Myanmar	Inlé Lake Wildlife Sanctuary	Myanmar
Kaeng Krachan National Park	Thailand	Kerinci Seblat National Park	Indonesia
Khakaborazi National Park	Myanmar	Khao Yai National Park	Thailand
Kinabalu National Park	Malaysia	Komodo National Park	Indonesia
Kon Ka Kinh National Park	Vietnam	Lampi Marine National Park	Myanmar
Lorentz National Park	Indonesia	Meinmhala Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary	Myanmar
Mu Ko Surin-Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park	Thailand	Nam Ha Protected Area	Laos
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park	Vietnam	Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park	Cambodia
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park	Philippines	Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve	Singapore
Taman Negara National Park	Malaysia	Tarutao Marine National Park	Thailand
Tasek Merimbun Wildlife Sanctuary	Brunei	Thung Yai-Huay Kha Khaeng National Park	Thailand
Tubbataha Reef Marine Park	Philippines	Ujung Kulon National Park	Indonesia
Virachey National Park	Cambodia
Keraton Yogyakarta	Indonesia

[edit] Scholarship

The ASEAN Scholarship is a scholarship program offered by Singapore to the 9 other member states for secondary school, junior college, and university education. It covers accommodation, food, medical benefits & accident insurance, school fees, and examination fees.^[38].

[edit] University Network

The ASEAN University Network (AUN) is a consortium of Southeast Asian universities. It was originally founded in November 1995 by 11 universities within the member states.^[39] Currently AUN comprises 21 Participating Universities.^[40]

[edit] Sports

[edit] Southeast Asian Games

The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games is under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia.

[edit] Football Championship

The ASEAN Football Championship is a biennial soccer competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation, accredited by FIFA and contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia nations. It was inaugurated in 1996 as Tiger Cup, but after Asia Pacific Breweries terminated the sponsorship deal, "Tiger" was renamed "ASEAN".

[edit] ParaGames

The ASEAN ParaGames is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. The games are participated by the 11 countries located in Southeast Asia. The games, patterned after the Paralympics, includes mobility disabilities, amputees, visual disabilities, and those with cerebral palsy.

[edit] Criticism

Western countries have criticized ASEAN for being too "soft" in its approach to promoting human rights and democracy in the junta-led Myanmar.^[41] Despite global outrage at the military crack-down on peaceful protesters in Yangon, ASEAN has refused to suspend Myanmar as a member and also rejects proposals for economic sanctions.^[42] This has caused concern as the European Union, a potential trade partner, has refused to conduct free trade negotiations at a regional level for these political reasons.^[43] International observers view it as a "talk shop",^[44] which implies that the organization is "big on words but small on action".^[45]

During the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, several militant groups staged anti-globalization and anti-Arroyo rallies.^[46] According to the militants, the agenda of economic integration would negatively affect industries in the Philippines and would cause thousands of Filipinos to lose their jobs.^[47] They also viewed the organization as "imperialistic" that threatens the country's sovereignty.^[47] A human rights lawyer from New Zealand was also present to protest about the human rights situation in the region in general.^[48]

[edit] Comparison

Most active regional blocs
(as of 2004, except as noted)

Regional bloc1	Area		Population	GDP ($US)				Member states1
	km²	sq mi		in millions (PPP)	in millions (nominal)	per capita (PPP)	per capita (nominal)
AU	29,797,500	11,504,879	897,548,804	1,515,000	1,131,850	1,896	1,261	53
ASEAN (2007 est.)	4,497,493	1,736,000	566,500,000	3,115,480	1,173,000	5,541	2,041	10
CACM	422,614	163,172	37,816,598	159,536	84,792	4,219	2,242	5
CARICOM	462,344	178,512	14,565,083	64,219	24,020	4,409	1,649	(14+1)3
CCASG / GCC	2,285,844	882,569	35,869,438	536,223	717,800	14,949	20,011	6
CEFTA	298,148	115,116	28,929,682	222,041	122,001	7,675	4,217	(7+1)3
EU (2007 est.)	4,324,782	1,669,808	497,000,000	14,953,000	16,574,000	28,213	33,482	27
EurAsEC	20,789,100	8,026,720	208,067,618	1,689,137	1,125,528	8,118	5,409	6
EFTA (2007 est.)	529,600	204,480	12,660,623	567,500	743,300	44,828	60,000	4
GAFTA	9,421,946	3,637,834	280,727,416	1,341,298	N/A	4,778	N/A	(16+1)3
GUAM	810,506	312,938	63,764,600	456,173	106,469	7,154	1,670	4
NAFTA (2007 est.)	21,783,850	8,410,792	445,000,000	15,857,000	15,723,000	35,491	35,564	3
PARTA	528,151	203,920	7,810,905	23,074	N/A	2,954	N/A	(14+2)3
SAARC	5,136,740	1,983,306	1,467,255,669	4,074,031	N/A	2,777	N/A	8
Unasur / Unasul	17,339,153	6,694,684	370,158,470	2,868,430	N/A	7,749	N/A	12
UN and countries for reference2	Area		Population	GDP ($US)				Units4
	km²	sq mi		in millions (PPP)	in millions (nominal)	per capita (PPP)	per capita (nominal)
UN	133,178,011	51,420,318	6,411,682,270	55,167,630	48,245,198	8,604	7,524	192
Brazil (2007 est.)	8,514,877	3,287,612	183,888,841	1,804,000	1,067,706	10,073	6,842	27
Canada (2007 est.)	9,984,670	3,855,103	33,000,000	1,274,000	1,406,000	38,200	42,738	13
India (2007 est.)	3,287,590	1,269,346	1,120,000,000	4,726,000	1,089,000	4,182	1,004	35
Japan (2007 est.)	377,873	145,898	127,433,494	4,346,000	4,346,000	33,800	38,341	47
PR China5 (2007 est.)	9,596,960	3,705,407	1,321,851,888	7,043,000	3,420,000	5,300	2,800	33
Russia (2007 est.)	17,075,200	6,592,772	142,500,000	2,076,000	1,286,000	14,600	9,056	83
USA (2007 est.)	9,826,630	3,794,083	302,000,000	13,543,000	13,794,700	43,500	45,594	50
Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database, IMF nominal figures for 2006.[citation needed] Legend      smallest value among the blocs compared     largest value among the blocs compared Footnotes 1 Including data only for full and most active members. 2 Including the largest five countries by area, population (not #4), GDP (PPP) (not #5), and GDP (nominal) (not #3 or #5). 3 Including non-sovereign autonomous areas of other states. 4 Members or administrative divisions. 5 Data for the People's Republic of China does not include Hong Kong, Macau, or regions administered    by the Republic of China (Taiwan). This box: view • talk • edit

[edit] See also

• ASEAN Community
• ASEAN Common Time
• ASEAN kechil
• Asian Currency Unit
• SEATO
• Mekong-Ganga Cooperation

[edit] Notes