ASEAN’s Growing Importance after Bali Concord III

6 February, 2011

By Phar Kim Beng

No one can dispute that the seriousness about ASEAN has gone up appreciably after the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali. There are five tell-tale indicators. First of all, Timor-Leste, which used to reject any

Increasing ASEAN’s Democratic Legitimacy

5 February, 2011

By Tunku 'Abidin Muhriz

In my last article, I concluded that most people living in ASEAN countries are not likely to have paid close attention to the high-level meetings that took place in November: namely the Asia-Pacific Economic

ASEAN’s Three Pillared Community Must Continue To Look Outward, Not Inward

4 February, 2011

By Phar Kim Beng

ASEAN will soon potentially have more than 650 million people under its fold, and collectively close to USD 1.9 trillion in GDP. They are but large, generic numbers. ASEAN to date lacks the physical,

The Strengths and Future of ASEAN In Light of the Global Financial Maelstrom

3 February, 2011

By Phar Kim Beng

The 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali began on an optimistic note to make ASEAN part of the Global Community of Nations. This was the theme conceived by Indonesia before handing its chairmanship to Cambodia.