ASEAN's Ninth Summit: Solidifying Regional Cohesion, Advancing External Linkages

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held its Ninth Summit in October 2003. The Summit, held in Bali, was notable for its announcement of an ASEAN Community, or Bali Concord II, which is to establish a security community, an economic community and a social community. These agreements are largely statements of intent, while the fleshing out of policy detail will have to occur at a later date. An Indonesian proposal to establish an ASEAN peacekeeping force, as part of the security community, has not been welcomed in all quarters. But despite the media coverage of ASEAN's Bali Concord II, the Bali Summit was particularly notable for the external linkages that ASEAN further solidified. The leaders of China, India, Japan and South Korea were all in attendance, and China and India acceded to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation during the Summit. Clearly all four Asian powers are increasingly vying for Southeast Asia's attention.