The ASEAN Summit is a biannual meeting held by the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in relation to economic, political, security, and socio-cultural development of Southeast Asian countries. In addition, it serves as a prominent regional (Asia) and international (worldwide) conference, with world leaders attending its related summits and meetings to discuss various problems and global issues, strengthening co-operation, and making decisions. The summit has been praised by world leaders for its success and ability to produce results on a global level.
The league of ASEAN is currently connected with other countries who aim to participate on the missions and visions of the league. The league conducts annual meetings with other countries in an organisation collectively known as the ASEAN dialogue partners. ASEAN +3 adds China, Japan, and South Korea.
The formal summits are held in three days. The usual itinerary are as follows:
ASEAN leaders hold an internal organisation meeting. ASEAN leaders hold a conference together with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Leaders of three ASEAN Dialogue Partners (also known as ASEAN +3), namely China, Japan, and South Korea, hold a meeting with the ASEAN leaders. And a separate meeting is set for leaders of two ASEAN Dialogue Partners (also known as ASEAN +CER), namely Australia and New Zealand.
History
The 1st ASEAN Summit was held in February 1976 in Bali, Indonesia. At this summit, ASEAN expressed its readiness to "develop fruitful relations" and mutually beneficial co-operation with other countries of the region. The ASEAN leaders signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. The 2nd ASEAN summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 1977 was the occasion for the first summit meeting between Japan and ASEAN. Japan expressed its intention to promote co-operation with ASEAN.
At the 9th ASEAN Summit, a meeting in October 2003 in Bali, Indonesia, the leaders of the member states signed a declaration known as the Bali Concord II in which they agreed to pursue closer economic integration by 2020.
According to the declaration, "an ASEAN Community" would be set upon three pillars, "namely political and security cooperation, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural cooperation; For the purpose of ensuring durable peace, stability and shared prosperity in the region." The plan envisaged a region with a population of 500 million and annual trade of US$720 billion. Also, a free trade area would be established in the region by 2020. ASEAN's leaders also discussed setting up a security community alongside the economic one, though without any formal military alliance.
During the same meeting, China and ASEAN also agreed to work faster toward a mutual trade agreement which would create the world's most populous market, with 1.7 billion consumers. Japan also signed an agreement pledging to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers with ASEAN members.
At the 11th ASEAN summit in December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, several main issues were discussed: the spread of bird flu the South Thailand insurgency democracy in Myanmar crude oil prices fluctuation and poverty investment and trade ASEAN Charter
Immediately after the summit ended, the inaugural East Asia Summit was held.
The 12th ASEAN Summit was originally set to be hosted in Cebu in the Philippines in December 2006. However, on 8 December, organizers decided to move the summit schedule to January 2007 due to Typhoon Seniang hitting the area. Metro Cebu jointly hosted various events of the summit. The actual conference was held at the Cebu International Convention Centre in Mandaue, while the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa in Lapu-Lapu City provided accommodations for delegates and venues for smaller meetings. At the summit, the member countries of ASEAN signed five agreements pertaining to continuing integration of ASEAN and enhancing political, economic, and social co-operation in the region: Cebu Declaration Towards a Caring and Sharing Community Cebu Declaration on the Blueprint for the ASEAN Charter Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism