Asean

Introduction

There are often spur debates on the merits and demerits of regional economic integration. On one side of the debate are the people who see the draw backs of regional integration which includes trade diversion, shifts in employment and loss of national sovereignty. On the other side of the debate are the people who see the benefits of regional integration which includes the creation of trade, political cooperation and better employment opportunities. However the trading block of ASEAN and APEC are likely to produce overall net benefits for Asian economies.

ASEAN

The ASEAN was founded in 1967 for strategic and security reasons as a result of the ending of confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia in 1966, and was made possible by a maturing of ideas about regional co-operation in Southeast Asia. It was also a reaction to the Vietnam War’s uncertain outcome, and the need for the non-communist countries of Southeast Asia to get together in facing a possible withdrawal of the United States from the region. It