SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (IPS Asia-Pacific) – In late 2011, Singapore pledged 50 million Singapore dollars (40.7 million US dollars) to help its neighbours Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam integrate better into the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community that is to be in place by 2015. ...

SINGAPORE, 20 Dec 2012 (ISEAS Perspective) - The 21st ASEAN Summit was held in Phnom Penh, from 17 to 20 November 2012. I have not come across any balanced assessment of the achievements and shortcomings of the Summit. Several reports in the popular media have focused on one or two issues, such as, the disagreement over the sentence in the Chairman’s closing statement that there was an ASEAN consensus not t ...

Dec 16 (The Star) - ONE of the key challenges in building the Asean community is coming up with tangible outcomes that benefit the people directly. This is a tall order, since many of Asean’s objectives are at the regional level. ...

PHNOM PENH, Dec 13 2012 (IPS) - For a brief moment last month, mainstream international media turned the spotlight on Cambodia, one of the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs), as a high-level visit from U.S. President Barack Obama and the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gave this country of 14.3 million people a glamorous edge. ...

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (The Star) - With Asean forging ahead with its Asean Economic Community (AEC) plans, member countries of South-East Asia should seek to create a synergy based on their strengths rather than out-do each other. ...

Dec 17 (ISEAS Perspective) - As the deadline of 2015 draws closer, it is apparent that ASEAN will miss many of its goals as stipulated in its three Blueprints of ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). Yet, ASEAN has continued to embark on even more ambitious goals: creating an “ASEAN common platform” on major global issues by 2022 ...

JAKARTA, Dec 3 (IPS Asia-Pacific) – At the age of 82 years, former political detainee Mudjayin wonders if he will ever see justice served. ...

PHNOM PENH, Nov 19 (Bangkok Post) - Asean leaders have decided to delay the launch of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) for 12 months from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2015 to prepare the necessary regulations. ...

PHNOM PENH, Nov 15 - A group of 62 human rights and other organisations say the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, expected to be adopted at the ASEAN summit later this month in Cambodia, is "not worthy of its name" and issued a statement roundly rejecting it if the document is indeed issued in its current form. ...

Nov 6 (ISEAS Perspective) - Cambodia will host the 21st ASEAN Summit and related summits in Phnom Penh from 18-20 November 2012. This Perspective article reviews what to expect from the 21st ASEAN Summit. ...