1. Criteria
    Criteria for observers  Criteria for ASEAN Regional Forum 

2. Historical enlargements
    Founding members  Continued expansion  Laos, Burma, and Cambodia 

3. Future enlargement
    Papua New Guinea  Timor-Leste 

4. Countries interested in joining
    Bangladesh  Sri Lanka  Pakistan 

5. Other countries
    Australia and New Zealand 

6. References

The Enlargement of the Association^[1] of Southeast Asian Nations is the process of expanding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the accession of new member states. This process began with ASEAN's five original members, who founded the association through the signing of Bangkok Declaration in 1967. Since then, the ASEAN's membership has grown to ten with the accession of Cambodia in 1999.

Currently, two states are seeking accession to ASEAN: Papua New Guinea^[2][1] and East Timor.^[2]

Criteria

One of the criteria for membership is that a prospective member must agree to subscribe or accede to all the treaties, declarations and agreements in ASEAN, starting with those outlined in the Bangkok Declaration of 8 August 1967 and those elaborated and developed in various subsequent treaties, declarations and agreements of ASEAN. One common concern that must be addressed through negotiations is the ability of a prospective member to participate in ASEAN Free Trade Area and all other economic co-operation arrangements. One important means of orientation for a prospective member is its attendance at ASEAN meetings and participation in co-operation projects.^[3]

The Bangkok Declaration lays down no conditions for membership other than location in Southeast Asia and the usual principles of inter-state relations. ASEAN has no membership criteria related to the character of government, ideological system and orientation, economic policy, or level of development. If there were such criteria for membership, a regional association would not be possible in Southeast Asia, given its diversity.^[4] To be admitted as an ASEAN member state, a state must maintain embassies in all current member countries of the bloc.^[5]

Criteria for observers

ASEAN senior officials agreed in 1983 that observer status "should be granted only to potential members of ASEAN who satisfy the criteria set for ASEAN membership". One of the criteria states, "only states in the Southeast Asia may join ASEAN."^[4]

Criteria for ASEAN Regional Forum

The membership criteria for ARF, as well as other Dialogue Partners, were outlined during the second ARF in 1996, in Jakarta, Indonesia. ARF ministers adopted the criteria that ARF participants must be sovereign states, which, at China's behest, was evidently meant to exclude Taiwan. They must "abide by and respect fully the decisions and statements already made by the ARF". The criteria stress that ASEAN members "automatically" take part in the ARF.^[4]

Historical enlargements

Founding members

ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration, more commonly known as the Bangkok Declaration. The five foreign ministers: Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso Ramos of the Philippines, Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand are considered as the organisation's Founding Fathers.^[7]

Continued expansion

In 1976, the Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer status.^[8] The bloc then grew when Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member after it joined on 8 January 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on 1 January.^[9]

Laos, Burma, and Cambodia

The latest three members of ASEAN began their application in joining the bloc in the 1990s.

The foreign minister of Myanmar attended the 27th and 28th AMM as a guest of the host governments. During the 28th meeting, Myanmar acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and applied for observer status.

The heads of government of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia met with those of ASEAN during the Fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok on 15 December 1995. The representative of Myanmar expressed hope that his country would be accorded observer status at the 29th AMM in 1996.^[3]

The ASEAN Security Committee (ASC) established a working group, chaired by ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Mahadi Haji Wasli, to look into all issues on the potential membership of Cambodia and Laos. On 17 July 1996, the working group held consultations with the director-general of the ASEAN Department of Laos in Jakarta.^[3]

At the 29th AMM, Myanmar was accorded observer status, and participated in the ARF for the first time. On 12 August 1996, Myanmar submitted application for membership in ASEAN, with hopes for joining by 1997 along with Cambodia and Laos.^[3] The ASC then extended the mandate of the Working Group on the Membership of Cambodia and Laos to also include the membership of Myanmar.^[3]

Laos and Myanmar became members of ASEAN on 23 July 1997.^[12] Cambodia's membership was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle; following the stabilisation of its government, Cambodia joined on 30 April 1999.^[12][13]

In addition to the growth in membership, the bloc experienced a drive for further integration in the 1990s. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus^[14] composing the then-members of ASEAN and the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and in the Asian region as a whole.^[26][15] This proposal failed, however, due to heavy opposition from the United States and Japan.^[16][17] Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration and ASEAN Plus Three was created in 1997.

In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase the "region's competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market". This law acted as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area. After the East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was established in Chiang Mai, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, which calls for better integration between the economies of ASEAN and the ASEAN Plus Three countries.^[18]

Future enlargement

Papua New Guinea

An obstacle to PNG's admission to ASEAN has been its geographical location. Although located no farther away from ASEAN's Jakarta headquarters than northern Myanmar, PNG is usually considered to be outside Southeast Asia and thus ineligible for membership. When the country was granted the observer status in 1976, it was acknowledged that PNG shares the same political and economic region with ASEAN's member, and connected geographically, because the country forms half of the island of New Guinea, with the other half occupied by Indonesia's provinces of Papua and West Papua. A subsequent decision in 1983 limited membership to Southeast Asian countries.

In 2015, PNG appointed a special envoy to deal with matters related to ASEAN, reflecting its determination to expedite becoming a full member of the ASEAN bloc. PNG was also taking the necessary steps to prepare itself for integration.^[24]

Timor-Leste

In March 2011 Timor-Leste (a.k.a. East Timor) submitted a membership application to ASEAN,^[25] a move which was supported by Indonesia, its former colonialist turned partner-ally, and the Philippines, its only Catholic ally in Asia.^[26]

Timor-Leste gained its independence in 2002, and from the following year took part in the Southeast Asian Games, a multi-sport event associated with ASEAN. In 2005, the country became the 25th to join the ARF. The biggest struggle toward joining ASEAN had been for the young and war-torn country to maintain embassies in all ten ASEAN member countries.^[27] Timorese President José Ramos-Horta hoped to gain membership before 2012.^[28]

Lack of consensus has prevented ASEAN from arriving at decisions on observer status for Timor-Leste and its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. The treaty makes clear distinctions between the rights of regional and non-regional signatories, but whether Timor-Leste a part of the region is debatable.^[4]

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong objected in late 2011 to Timor-Leste's membership, due to his desire to achieve economic integration by 2015, which the relatively less-developed Timor-Leste would make difficult.^[29] Some member states are concerned that, having experienced the entry of four relatively underdeveloped members, ASEAN would be admitting an even poorer one.^[4] Although ASEAN has no membership criteria regarding political ideology, some ASEAN countries have difficulties with Timor-Leste's eventual membership.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

In 2015, Timor-Leste's ambassador to Malaysia said the country was ready to join the ASEAN, having fulfilled the two major requirements of being located in the region and having opened embassies in ASEAN member countries.^[30] In 2016, Indonesia announced that Timor-Leste's membership bid could be realized in 2017, since the feasibility studies conducted by both countries on Timor-Leste's stability, security, economy, and culture would be finished by the end of 2016. The Philippines, a close ally of Timor-Leste, would be the ARF host for 2017.^[31]{{update inline|date=November 2018}}

Countries interested in joining

A number of countries had expressed an interest in becoming part of ASEAN despite being outside the geographical limits of Southeast Asia.

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Other countries

Australia and New Zealand

In February 2018, independent think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute recommended that Australia seek ASEAN membership by 2024, and that New Zealand join with Australia.^[41] During an interview with Fairfax Media, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that Australia should join the organization.^[42] In 2016, former Australian prime minister Paul Keating suggested that Australia join ASEAN.^[43]

References

• Sheikh Safi al-Din Khānegāh and Shrine Ensemble
• Sheikh Safi's Tomb
• Sheikh Sa'id al-Masri
• Sheikh Said II ibn Maktum
• Sheikh Said of Piran
• Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Sheikh Salim Sabah as-Salim as-Sabah
• Sheikh Salman Ebrahim Mohammed Ali Al Khalifa
• Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha
• Sheikh Sedao
• Sheikh Sharaf ad-Din ibn al-Hasan
• Sheikh(Sheekh)
• Sheikh, Somaliland
• Sheikh Tahir Rasheed
• Sheikh Tahir Rashid
• Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan
• Sheikh Tahnun II bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Sheikh Tamim
• Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani
• Sheikh Tamimi
• Sheikh Tosun Bayrak
• Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrah
• Sheikh Tusi University College
• Sheikh Ubeydullah
• Sheikh ul Alam Airport