11-07-2012, 04:04 PM
Life Cycle Costing in Sustainability Assessment—A Case Study
of Remanufactured Alternators
ASEAN.ppt (Size: 256 KB / Downloads: 28)
Much of Southeast Asia was colonized by Western powers prior to World War II. During the war Japan took control of the region, but was forced out following the war as Southeast Asia countries pushed for independence. Though they were independent, the countries found that stability was hard to come by, and they soon looked to each other for answers.
In 1961 the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand came together to form the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), a precursor to ASEAN. Six years later in 1967 the members of ASA, along with Singapore and Indonesia, created ASEAN, forming a bloc that would push back at the dominating western pressure.
Brunei joined in 1984, followed by Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Burma in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. Today there are ten member countries of ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
ASEAN Principles
According to the group's guiding document, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia (TAC), there are four fundamental principles members adhere to:
Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations.
2) The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference,
subversion or coercion.
3) Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another.
4) Renunciation of the threat or use of force.
Security Community
No armed conflict has taken place among ASEAN’s members since its inception four decades ago. Each member has agreed to resolve all conflicts by use of peaceful diplomacy and without use of force.
Economic Community: Perhaps the most vital part of ASEAN's quest is to create a free, integrated market in its region, much like that of the European Union. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) embodies this goal, eliminating virtually all tariffs (taxes on imports or exports) in the region to increase competitiveness and efficiency. The organization is now looking towards China and India to open up their markets in order to create the largest free market area in the world.
Socio-cultural Community:
To combat the pitfalls of capitalism and free trade, namely, disparity in wealth and job loss, the socio-cultural community focuses on disadvantaged groups such as rural workers, women, and children. Various programs are used to this end, including those for HIV/AIDS, higher education, and sustainable development, among others. The ASEAN scholarship is offered by Singapore to the other nine members, and the University Network is a group of 21 higher education institutes that aid each other in the region.
What does ASEAN Integration Mean?
Tariffs will be eliminated and non-tariff barriers will be gradually phased out
Rules and regulations will be simplified and harmonized
ASEAN investors will be permitted to invest in sectors formerly closed to foreigners and the services sector will also be opened up
Applicable international standards and practices are followed, and policies on intellectual property rights and competition are put in place
Regional infrastructure will be more developed with the expansion of transportation, telecommunications and energy linkages