ASEAN

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a regional group of 11 countries in Southeast Asia. Its members work together on trade, security, culture and development. It has no single ruler or parliament above its members; it works through regular meetings and agreement among all of them. For India, ASEAN is the centre of its "Act East" policy.

Why was it created?

In the 1960s Southeast Asia was tense. The Cold War was at its peak, the Vietnam War was going on, and some neighbours had border quarrels. Five countries decided that working together would keep the region peaceful, help their economies grow, and keep big powers from dominating them.

Where did it come from?

ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, when five foreign ministers signed the ASEAN Declaration, also called the Bangkok Declaration. The five founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. 8 August is now marked as ASEAN Day. Other members joined later:

• Brunei Darussalam: 1984
• Vietnam: 1995
• Laos and Myanmar: 1997
• Cambodia: 1999
• Timor-Leste: 26 October 2025, as the 11th member, at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. It had applied in 2011 and got observer status in 2022.

What are its rules?

For 40 years ASEAN ran on declarations and practice. Then the ASEAN Charter was signed in 2007 and came into force on 15 December 2008. The Charter gave ASEAN a legal identity and a formal set of bodies. The ASEAN Secretariat is in Jakarta, Indonesia, headed by a Secretary-General. The chair rotates every year among members in alphabetical order (in English). The Philippines holds the chair in 2026.

How does it make decisions?

ASEAN follows what is called the "ASEAN Way": decisions by consultation and consensus (everyone must agree), and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. This makes ASEAN slow, but it keeps very different countries (democracies, monarchies, a military-run state) inside one group.

The ASEAN Community (three pillars)

In 2015 ASEAN launched the ASEAN Community, built on three pillars:

• ASEAN Political-Security Community: peace, security and settling disputes peacefully.
• ASEAN Economic Community: a single market and production base, with free flow of goods, services and investment.
• ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community: education, health, environment and people-to-people links.

ASEAN-led forums

ASEAN sits at the centre of several larger groups, an idea called "ASEAN centrality":

• ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), 1994: a security dialogue with 27 members, including India (since 1996).
• East Asia Summit (EAS), 2005: leaders' meeting of ASEAN plus eight partners, including India, China, Japan, the US and Russia.
• ADMM-Plus, 2010: meeting of defence ministers of ASEAN and eight partners, including India.
• RCEP: a trade deal of ASEAN plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, signed in November 2020. India stayed out.
• ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), 2019: ASEAN's own view of the Indo-Pacific, stressing openness and inclusion. India's Indo-Pacific vision supports it.

How has India's relationship grown?

• 1991: India's Look East Policy begins.
• 1992: India becomes a Sectoral Dialogue Partner (secretary-level talks).
• December 1995: Full Dialogue Partner.
• 2002: First ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh; held every year since.
• 2009-2015: Trade in goods agreement (2009), services and investment agreements (2014, in force 2015).
• December 2012: Strategic Partnership, at the 20th anniversary summit in New Delhi.
• 2014: Look East becomes Act East Policy, adding security and connectivity.
• January 2018: 25th anniversary summit in New Delhi, with all ASEAN leaders as Republic Day chief guests.
• 12 November 2022: Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, at the 30th anniversary summit in Phnom Penh.

Connectivity projects such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project link India's Northeast to Southeast Asia.

Commonly confused concepts

• ASEAN vs ASEAN+3 vs EAS: ASEAN+3 is ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea. The EAS is ASEAN plus eight (including India). India is in the EAS, not in ASEAN+3.
• ASEAN vs BIMSTEC: BIMSTEC is a Bay of Bengal group of seven countries (including India, Myanmar and Thailand). India is a member of BIMSTEC but only a partner of ASEAN.
• ASEAN vs APEC: APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) is a wider Pacific Rim forum; India is not a member.
• Dialogue partner vs member: India is a dialogue partner (now a comprehensive strategic partner), not a member of ASEAN.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Consensus slows action: One member can block a joint position, as seen in ASEAN's divided response to the South China Sea disputes.
• Myanmar crisis: After the 2021 military takeover in Myanmar, ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus for peace has made little progress, testing the non-interference principle.
• Big-power rivalry: US-China competition puts pressure on ASEAN centrality, and members differ in how close they are to each side.
• For India: The trade deficit with ASEAN and slow connectivity projects are concerns. Experts suggest finishing the AITIGA review, speeding up projects in the Northeast, and deepening maritime, digital and defence ties.

Concepts to Know

• Dialogue partner: A non-member country that holds regular, formal talks with ASEAN on many issues.
• Consensus: A way of deciding where a proposal is adopted only if no member objects.
• ASEAN centrality: The idea that ASEAN should be the hub and agenda-setter of the region's meetings, so that no big power dominates.
• Act East Policy: India's policy since 2014 to deepen economic, strategic and cultural ties with Southeast and East Asia; it upgraded the 1991 Look East Policy.