ASEAN Charter comes into force

INDONESIA: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations moved to forge an EU-style community Monday, signing a charter that makes the bloc a legal entity for the first time and could pave the way for creating a single market within seven years.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the new charter, ratified Monday by foreign ministers, provides legal guidelines for economic and political integration. Now, the 10-nation organization is little more than a talk shop, which forges agreements through consensus and steers away from confrontation among members.

Among other things, the charter seeks to establish a single market by 2015 for the region of 500 million people. ASEAN already has been developing a free-trade zone since the 1990s, but progress has been spotty as countries have sought to exclude key industries from low-tariff rules.

It remained unclear to what degree the charter would open the door for ASEAN to tackle thorny issues like human rights. The regional bloc has drawn criticism over the years for failing to take action against abuses in military-ruled Myanmar, which is the group’s most recent member.

ASEAN was founded during the Cold War as an anti-communist political coalition, later evolving into a trade bloc. It onsists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Jakarta, Monday, AP