| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 政治學研究所 === 104 === November 21, 2015, the 27th ASEAN Summit had formally announced that the ASEAN Community which includes the ASEAN Economic Community would be accomplished on December 31, 2015. Look back to the heuristic procedure of ASEAN economic integration, we could figure out that even though they confronted lots of internal challenges, like the difference between member states and delayed of cooperation process, ASEAN still insists on economic integration. Therefore, this essay wants to investigate the motivation of economic integration of ASEAN when they face with those multiple challenges. This essay is based on the development experience of AFTA, and willing to understand that when confronted with the Asian crisis, why ASEAN did not chose to give up economic integration, instead to accelerate the AFTA then bring about AEC? Simultaneously, after discussing the experience of AFTA, this essay would like to probe that whether the development thread of AFTA could be applicable to AEC?
This essay chose ‘Literature Survey Approach’ and ‘Historical Analysis’ to analyze the procedure of ASEAN economic integration, from AFTA to AEC, and observes whether the challenges and experiences of AFTA could be the reference to AEC, and then concludes the motivation of AEC. Based on the de facto, this essay assumed that ASEAN member states should push forward the ASEAN economic integration to strength the power of their region, and increase their bargaining power. But because of the consideration on individual domestic economic development, it is very hard for them to integrate genuinely.
At the end of this essay, we find out that since the beginning of AFTA in 1992, lots of scholars or observers doubt the appropriateness of the consensus decision-making and non-interference principles in ASEAN way, and coupled with the disparity between member states, internal divisions, the political turmoil of member states, and the issues of human rights and environment. These internal challenges make ASEAN struggles between domestic issues and regional economic integration, and let the procedure of economic cooperation often delays. In the case of these multiple challenges, the reason why ASEAN could adhere to economic integration, is because of the external pressure. Along with the increasing power of China, and the U.S. launch the ‘Back to Asia’ policy, the competence of power in East Asia region between China and the U.S. is rising. And the competence between the two super powers, really make ASEAN afraid of their leadership in East Asia regional cooperation. Hence, ASEAN should intensify their consociate in economic dimension, make sure that AEC would be accomplishes on time, and then initiate further economic cooperation.
In general, when ASEAN confront with internal challenges and external pressure in AFTA or AEC, the internal challenges will be the difficulties to procrastinate the procedure of integration substantially. And although the external pressure will let ASEAN feel pressed in one way, in fact it would urge ASEAN to be more consolidated in the other way. So we could say that the external pressure is the motivation of ASEAN economic integration.
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