The ASEAN Regional Forum

About the Author

ix ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rodolfo C. Severino is the head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and a frequent speaker at international conferences in Asia and Europe. Having been Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from 1998 to 2002, he completed a book, entitled Southeast Asia in Search of an ASEAN Community (published by ISEAS in 2006), on issues facing ASEAN, including the security, economic, and other challenges confronting the region. He has also produced a book on ASEAN in ISEAS’ Southeast Asia Background Series. Severino co-edited Whither the Philippines in the 21st Century?, a collection of papers on many aspects of Philippine life by eminent scholars and observers of the Philippine scene, in which he wrote the concluding chapter. He is currently working on a book on the Philippine national territory. His views on ASEAN and Southeast Asia have been published in ASEAN Today and Tomorrow, a compilation of his speeches and other statements. He writes articles for journals and for the press. As ASEAN Senior Official for the Philippines, Severino was involved in the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1994. He is one of the Experts and Eminent Persons registered by the Philippines for the ARF. Before assuming the position of ASEAN Secretary-General, Severino was Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. In the Philippine Foreign Service, Severino served in Malaysia, China and the United States. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in the humanities from the Ateneo de Manila University and a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. ...