Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN /ˈɑːsi.ɑːn/ AH-see-ahn,/ˈɑːzi.ɑːn/ AH-zee-ahn) is a political and economic organization of ten Southeast Asian countries. It was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, and sociocultural evolution among its members alongside protection of regional stability and opportunities for member countries to resolve differences peacefully.

ASEAN covers a land area of 4.4 million square kilometers, 3% of the total land area of the Earth. ASEAN territorial waters cover an area about three times larger than its land counterpart. The member countries have a combined population of approximately 625 million people, 8.8% of the world's population. In 2015, the organisation's combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$2.6 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the seventh largest economy in the world, behind the US, China, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

ASEAN (cable system)

The ASEAN cable system was a submarine telecommunications cable system linking Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. It was completed in September 1983, but has since been decommissioned.

Construction

Construction was split into four sections. The first section, a 1,534 nmi (2,841 km) cable, was laid in 1978 with landing points at Currimao, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines and Katong, Singapore. The second section, laid in 1980, was a 572 nm cable from Ancol, Indonesia to Changi, Singapore. The third section, laid in 1983, was a 920 nm cable between Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The final section laid was from Thailand to the Philippines.

Capacity

The cable carried 1380 circuits which were allocated on the basis of ownership shares in the whole project.

References

ASEAN Free Trade Area

The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries.

The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. AFTA now comprises the ten countries of ASEAN. All the four latecomers were required to sign the AFTA agreement to join ASEAN, but were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.

The primary goals of AFTA seek to:

  • Increase ASEAN's competitive edge as a production base in the world market through the elimination, within ASEAN, of tariffs and non-tariff barriers; and
  • Attract more foreign direct investment to ASEAN.
  • The primary mechanism for achieving such goals is the Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme, which established a phased schedule in 1992 with the goal to increase the region’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market.

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    Latest News for: Asean

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    Chinese movies make deep inroads into ASEAN

    ECNS 22 Mar 2025
    People pose for a selfie during the premiere of the Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo. China News Service/Li Zhiquan) ... That Ne Zha 2 is a huge hit in Malaysia is just another proof of its global appeal ... C-dramas gain popularity.
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    ASEAN longs import markets inch upwards

    Kallanish Commodities 21 Mar 2025
    ASEAN markets for imported rebar and wire rod are steady, with prices slowly ticking higher amid ....
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    Ambassador Of Thailand Chairs 72Nd Meeting Of Asean Committee In Doha

    MENA FN 21 Mar 2025
    (MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Peninsula Doha. Ambassador of Thailand to Qatar H E Sira Swangsilpa, who is also Chair of the Asean Committee in Doha (ACD) for 2025, presided over the 72nd ACD meeting ... .
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    China backs Malaysia's Asean leadership

    The Star 21 Mar 2025
    JAKARTA. China has pledged strong support for Malaysia's Asean 2025 chairmanship, emphasising the Asean-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 3.0 Protocol signing as a key priority for regional economic integration. Read full story ... .
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    ASEAN Counter-Terrorism Meet Ends With Revolve To Build Robust Strategy

    MENA FN 21 Mar 2025
    (MENAFN - IANS) New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Evolving a robust and comprehensive strategy to tackle the ever-growing threat of terrorism and extremism, emerged as a key takeaway from the 14th meeting ... .
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    Table-top exercise on counter-terrorism in Malaysia, field training exercise in India part of ASEAN Defence ...

    The Hindu 21 Mar 2025
    Earlier, the European Union convened a technical workshop on preventing and countering violent extremism in Delhi, on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue ....
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    UK Hosts ASEAN Delegates For Regional Workshop On Engineering Biology

    Malaysian National News Agency 21 Mar 2025
    JAKARTA, March 21 (Bernama) -- The United Kingdom (UK) hosted over 25 delegates from all ten ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat for the ASEAN-UK Regional Training and ...
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    AISIN's Hybrid Unit Adopted for Mitsubishi's Xforce HEV Production of the first electric unit in ASEAN based on a global production system (Aisin Corporation)

    Public Technologies 21 Mar 2025
    ) AISIN's Hybrid Unit Adopted for Mitsubishi's Xforce HEV. -Production of the first electric unit in ASEAN based on a global production system -. Mar. 21, 2025 ... This will be the first electric unit to be manufactured by AISIN in the ASEAN region ... (noodl.
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    HCM highlights Malaysia’s vision as ASEAN chair in 2025

    Urdu Point 21 Mar 2025
    </p><p>Under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability," Malaysia aims to strengthen ASEAN’s role as a people-centred, forward-looking, and resilient organization, he said.
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    ASEAN 2025

    Malaysian National News Agency 21 Mar 2025
    JAKARTA, March 21 (Bernama) -- China has pledged strong support for Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 chairmanship, emphasising the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 3.0 Protocol signing as a key priority for regional economic integration.
    Edit

    Philippines to host ASEAN Social Work Day 2025

    Manila Bulletin 21 Mar 2025
    The Philippines will host the ASEAN Social Work Day 2025 on March 25, with a hybrid celebration recognizing the vital contributions of social workers in disaster risk reduction and climate change resilience (DRRCR) across the ASEAN region.
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