* Surin Pitsuwan, 2010 -, Secretary general of ASEAN and Thai politician.

* On July 2, 2004, Colin Powell, then the U. S. Secretary of State, performed a modified version of " YMCA " for his fellow foreign government officials at the ASEAN security meeting in Jakarta.

In 1986, Nair rose to the post of Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry where he was involved in the Uruguay Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) negotiations, as well as with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ).

With its location, it is easily accessible from neighboring ASEAN countries via SOCSARGEN's entryway, General Santos City, with its International Standard Airport that puts key cities in Asia just three to four hours flying time away.

General exceptions refer to products which an ASEAN member deems necessary for the protection of national security, public morals, the protection of human, animal or plant life and health, and protection of articles of artistic, historic, or archaeological value.

Aside from relations with other ASEAN states, Brunei also has extensive relations with the Islamic and Arab world.

French, once common in government and commerce, has declined in usage, while knowledge of English-the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN )-has increased in recent years.

Kuala Lumpur was the site of the first East Asia Summit in 2005, and Malaysia has chaired ASEAN, the OIC, and the NAM in the past.

While Burma's presence in ASEAN was seen as a test of the organisation's philosophy of constructive engagement, the presence of Burma in ASEAN however has started to be seen as an embarrassment to the organisation, because of Burma's human rights record and lack of democracy.

Recently, Thailand also has been an active member in the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ), especially after democratic rule was restored in 1992.

It has developed increasingly close ties with other ASEAN members — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Vietnam — whose foreign and economic ministers hold annual meetings.

It has developed increasingly close ties with other ASEAN members — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Vietnam — whose foreign and economic ministers hold annual meetings.

ASEAN Free Trade Area has been established to encourage greater trade among ASEAN members.

ASEAN has also been a front runner in greater integration of Asia-Pacific region through East Asia Summits.

It has a permanent display of the work of a sculptor from each of the original ASEAN countries.

Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) — Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei — and the island states of the South Pacific.

However, East Timor has expressed its intention of gaining observer status to ASEAN in July 2002 and in 2006 was spoken of as requiring five years to become an ASEAN member.

ASEAN on the other hand has been inviting the small nation to many of ASEAN ministerial meetings as a sign of goodwill.

Thailand has the largest plantations of the ASEAN nations, followed by Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines.

The Colombo Plan currently has 27 members, including countries in the Asia-Pacific region, non Commonwealth countries and countries belonging to regional groupings such as ASEAN ( Association of South-East Asian Nations ) and SAARC ( South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ).

The Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City has been a venue for national and international athletic events ; such as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games men's football and the 2006 ASEAN football qualifiers.

The ASEAN Secretariat has authority to monitor and ensure compliance with AFTA measures, but has no legal authority to enforce compliance.

This has led to inconsistent rulings by ASEAN national authorities.

Again, the ASEAN Secretariat may help mediate a dispute but has no legal authority to resolve it.

ASEAN has attempted to improve customs coordination through the implementation of the ASEAN Single Window project.

The reserve, with an area of 130 hectares, was listed as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003.

Other economists dispute China's impact, noting that both ASEAN and China experienced simultaneous rapid export growth in the early 1990s.

The ASEAN Secretariat has no legal authority to resolve such disputes, so disputes are resolved bilaterally through informal means or through dispute resolution.

An ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism governs formal dispute resolution in AFTA and other aspects of ASEAN.

This discourages ASEAN members from invoking the Protocol, and often they seek dispute resolution in other fora such as the WTO or even the International Court of Justice.

This can also be frustrating for companies affected by an AFTA dispute, as they have no rights to invoke dispute resolution yet their home ASEAN government may not be willing to invoke the Protocol.

According to a 2008 research brief published by the World Bank as part of its Trade Costs and Facilitation Project, ASEAN members have the potential to reap significant benefits from investments in further trade facilitation reform, due to the comprehensive tariff reform already realised through the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

Since 1979 when the reform and open-door policy started, DMU has established cooperative relations with more than 20 internationally renowned maritime institutions like the International Maritime Organization ( IMO ), the International Labor Organization ( ILO ), the International Association of Maritime Universities ( IAMU ), the Association of the Maritime Education and Training Institutes in Asia Pacific ( AMETIAP ), the International Maritime Lecturers Association ( IMLA ), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ), the International Shipping Federation ( ISF ), the International Association of Classification Societies ( IACS ), as well as some world famous shipping companies.

* Asian Currency Unit: proposed for the ASEAN + 3, or the East Asian Community

Suharto allowed the occupation of PDI headquarters to go on for almost a month, as attentions were also on Jakarta due to a set of high-profile ASEAN meetings scheduled to take place there.

This category includes the Council of Europe ( CoE ), European Union ( EU ), NATO, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, African Union ( AU ), Organization of American States ( OAS ), Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ), Arab League, and Union of South American Nations.

Japan's aid to the ASEAN countries totaled US $ 1. 9 billion in Japanese fiscal year ( FY ) 1988 versus about US $ 333 million for the United States during U. S. FY 1988.

Toshiki Kaifu's much publicized spring 1991 tour of five Southeast Asian nations — Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines — culminated in a 3 May major foreign policy address in Singapore, in which he called for a new partnership with the ASEAN and pledged that Japan would go beyond the purely economic sphere to seek an " appropriate role in the political sphere as a nation of peace.

Canada – Japan relations are underpinned by their partnership in multilateral institutions: the G-7 / 8 ; the United Nations ; the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Quad ( Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States ), and by their common interest in the Pacific community, including participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum ( APEC ) and the ASEAN Regional Forum ( ARF ).

Laos is a member of the following international organizations: Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation ( ACCT ), Association of Southeast Asian NationsASEAN, ASEAN Free Trade Area ( AFTA ), ASEAN Regional Forum, Asian Development Bank, Colombo Plan, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific ( ESCAP ), Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ), Group of 77G-77, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( World Bank ), International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ), International Development Association ( IDA ), International Fund for Agricultural Development ( IFAD ), International Finance Corporation ( IFC ), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Labour Organization ( ILO ), International Monetary Fund ( IMF ), Intelsat ( nonsignatory user ), Interpol, International Olympic Commission ( IOC ), International Telecommunication UnionITU, Mekong Group, Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ), Permanent Court of Arbitration ( PCA ), United Nations, United Nations Convention on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD ), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ), United Nations Industrial Development Organization ( UNIDO ), Universal Postal Union ( UPU ), World Federation of Trade Unions, World Health Organization ( WHO ), World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO ), World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ), World Tourism Organization, World Trade Organization ( observer ).

Thailand's foreign policy includes support for ASEAN – in the interest of regional stability-and emphasizes a close and longstanding security relationship with the United States.

Since Cambodian admission into the union in 1999, East Timor is the only Southeast Asian country that is not part of ASEAN, although plans are under way for eventual membership.

According to the plan established by ASEAN, this stretch is scheduled for completion by 2020 ; it will form part of the Singapore – Kunming Rail Link project, overseen by the ASEAN – Mekong Basin Development Cooperation ( AMBDC ).

In the same year, Papua New Guinea asked the Philippines for help it its pursuit of membership to ASEAN.

In July 2006 talks at the ASEAN Regional Forum, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar ( Burma ) agreed to construct a highway from Kunming to Chittagong through Mandalay for trade and development.

At the 30th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting held in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, the foreign ministers issued a joint declaration on 25 July 1997 expressing serious concern and called for further intensification of ASEAN's cooperation to safeguard and promote ASEAN's interest in this regard.

SOCSARGEN serves as a gateway for the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area ( BIMP-EAGA ).

However, for goods originating within ASEAN, ASEAN members are to apply a tariff rate of 0 to 5 percent ( the more recent members of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, also known as CMLV countries, were given additional time to implement the reduced tariff rates ).