Single Aviation Market

Single Aviation Market
The ASEAN Single Aviation Market (SAM), proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers, will introduce an open-sky arrangement to the region by 2015.[62] The ASEAN SAM will be expected to fully liberalise air travel between its member states, allowing ASEAN to directly benefit from the growth in air travel around the world, and also freeing up tourism, trade, investment and services flows between member states.[62][63] Beginning 1 December 2008, restrictions on the third and fourth freedoms of the air between capital cities of member states for air passengers services will be removed,[64] while from 1 January 2009, there will be full liberalisation of air freight services in the region, while[62][63] By 1 January 2011, there will be liberalisation of fifth freedom traffic rights between all capital cities.[65]

Trade in Services

Trade in Services
An ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in December 1995.[60] Under AFAS, ASEAN Member States enter into successive rounds of negotiations to liberalise trade in services with the aim of submitting increasingly higher levels of commitments. The negotiations result in commitments that are set forth in schedules of specific commitments annexed to the Framework Agreement. These schedules are often referred to as packages of services commitments. At present, ASEAN has concluded seven packages of commitments under AFAS.[61]

Comprehensive Investment Area

Comprehensive Investment Area
The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Area (ACIA) will encourage the free flow of investment within ASEAN. The main principles of the ACIA are as follows[59]

All industries are to be opened up for investment, with exclusions to be phased out according to schedules
National treatment is granted immediately to ASEAN investors with few exclusions
Elimination of investment impediments
Streamlining of investment process and procedures
Enhancing transparency
Undertaking investment facilitation measures
Full realisation of the ACIA with the removal of temporary exclusion lists in manufacturing agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining is scheduled by 2010 for most ASEAN members and by 2015 for the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam) countries.[59]

Economic Community

Economic Community
ASEAN has emphasised regional cooperation in the “three pillars” of security, sociocultural and economic integration.[55] The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration, aiming to create an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.[56]

[edit] Free Trade Area
The foundation of the AEC is the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a common external preferential tariff scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN.[56] The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore.[57] When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The latecomers have not fully met the AFTA's obligations, but they are officially considered part of the AFTA as they were required to sign the agreement upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.[58

Plus Three, Asia-Europe Meeting, ASEAN-Russia Summit

[edit] Plus Three
The ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea, and is primarily held during each ASEAN Summit.

[edit] Asia-Europe Meeting
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996 with the intention of strengthening cooperation between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially members of the European Union and ASEAN in particular.[54] ASEAN, represented by its Secretariat, is one of the 45 ASEM partners. It also appoints a representative to sit on the governing board of Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), a socio-cultural organisation associated with the Meeting.

[edit] ASEAN-Russia Summit
The ASEAN-Russia Summit is an annual meeting between leaders of member states and the President of Russia.

Regional Forum

Regional Forum

█ ASEAN full members
█ ASEAN observers
█ ASEAN candidate members
██ ASEAN Plus Three
███ East Asia Summit
██████ ASEAN Regional ForumThe ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, multilateral dialogue in Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it is consisted of 27 participants. ARF objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.[47] The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: all the ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Timor-Leste, United States and Sri Lanka.[48] The Republic of China (also known as Taiwan) has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait is neither discussed at the ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman's Statements.

[edit] Other meetings
Aside from the ones above, other regular[49] meetings are also held.[50] These include the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting[51] as well as other smaller committees, such as the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.[52] Meetings mostly focus on specific topics, such as defence[49] or the environment,[49][53] and are attended by Ministers, instead of heads of government.

Commemorative summit

Commemorative summit
A commemorative summit is a summit hosted by a non-ASEAN country to mark a milestone anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and the host country. The host country invites the heads of government of ASEAN member countries to discuss future cooperation and partnership.

Meeting Host Location Date Note
ASEAN – Japan Commemorative Summit Japan Tokyo 11, 12 December 2003 To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and Japan. The summit was also notable as the first ASEAN summit held between ASEAN and a non-ASEAN country outside the region.
ASEAN – China Commemorative Summit China Nanning 30, 31 October 2006 To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and China
ASEAN – Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit South Korea Jeju-do 1, 2 June 2009 To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of relations between ASEAN and Republic of Korea