ASEAN integration

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the multi-decade process by which the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — have deepened political, economic, social, and security cooperation, culminating in the formal establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015 with its three pillars of the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community; ASEAN integration proceeds more slowly and with looser institutional architecture than European integration, reflecting the ASEAN Way of consensus-based decision-making and non-interference in member states' domestic affairs; the economic community has established a single market and production base, liberalised trade in goods and services, and promoted investment flows, though significant non-tariff barriers, regulatory divergence, and infrastructure gaps remain