Short Knowledge for ASEAN

The ASEAN Integration came into effect at the end of 2015. However, Cambodians seem to lack an in depth understanding about the community and its influence on people's day to day lives. Consequently, to provide more knowledge about the ASEAN community, Property View Magazine raises key information to grant a greater understanding for our readers.

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) comprises a joint population of 622 million people and $2.6 trillion of overall GDP, which increased by 4.6 per cent in 2014, as according to a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. ASEAN took many measures in order to deeply integrate all member states and improve regulation, infrastructure and flow of goods, ease of trade tariff barriers and improved economic relationships generally.

How do people describe the ASEAN Economic Community?

AEC will make the 10 member states closer. This means that all the states will need to compromise to have one vision in the region with peace, stability, and security in perpetuity. The ASEAN Community is comprised of three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. The ASEAN community hope to have a population of 620 million people with “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.

This community officially came into effect in 31st December, 2015. What do we expect from the integration this year?

The ASEAN evolution is still progressing, but it does not change quickly. To initiate this community, the member states implemented the three pillars vision, with the aim of becoming integrated deeply and comprehensively. More specifically, ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Economic Vision 2025 which continues to integrate and strengthen their relationships over the next 10 years.

How will the community influence the daily lives of people?

The main goal of the ASEAN region is to promote people’s livelihood. The 2015 statement about the AEC, as issued by the ASEAN leaders on the 27th November, 2015, focused mainly on people and people’s power in the community. People continue to work together and gain benefits from ASEAN such as freedom, neutrality and seeking to find ways to strengthen solutions mechanisms.

Can we travel across ASEAN by free visa or work in another country in ASEAN without any barrier?

The agreement and ASEAN initiation has eased the travel restrictions throughout all the ASEAN countries and now many agreements confirming these rights are being prepared. For the working sector, an agreement that all the members acknowledge each other in ASEAN allows limited flow of labors such as engineers, nurses, architects, real estate experts, doctors, accountants, and tourism professionals. Some ASEAN countries have climaxed. How will the AEC resolve this problem? The ASEAN members have different perspectives on one particular subject and some members still have demarcation disputes. However, all the members are committed to obey the ASEAN Charter in principle and use this charter to guide them to resolve any dispute. In the ASEAN way, reconciliation and peaceful means of confrontation and solving problems, and neutralization, are implemented. ASEAN have many agreements to promote peace, cooperation and the regional consolidation, including the 1971 statement which is about peace, consolidation, and aseanization. There are many ways to ease the free flow of goods, service, and people in the region which has highways, 47 ports, corridors, fast data, ASEAN energy supply systems, and infrastructure across the border Three transportation agreements will connect all the member states, and the three agreements also ease transportation across all the ASEAN countries and multi-transportations - which is aimed to reduce expense and boost transportation services across the borders. Lao and Vietnam, for instance, launched a checking system along Bao Danh Savanh border in 2015 in order to boost the bilateral trade in the east and west economic corridors. The ASEAN members are easing the goods transportation across ASEAN countries’ borders and single gate mechanisms. In 2016, the single gate in ASEAN is ready to be implemented by all ASEAN members. ASEAN continues to implement a single airline and production base, and open investment inside and outside ASEAN. Many measures connect the institutions involved and ease the trade among the countries, such as the ASEAN trade data storage and national trade data storage systems. ASEAN is solving the tariff barrier to boost the trade and investment in ASEAN. Realestate.com.kh is proud to support the CVEA's Property View publication. Click here to get your copy, or if you are interested to join the CVEA today.