Working Paper Series - City University of Hong · PDF fileSoutheast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, ... The realization of ASEAN ... order to embed ASEAN Identity and move

東南亞研究中心 Southeast Asia

Research Centre

Soavapa NGAMPRAMUAN

Lecturer, The Institute of International Studies

Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand

The relationship between the realization of an ASEAN Identity formulation and

its implications for the national interest awareness of the ASEAN people:

Comparative case study of Malaysia, Thailand and Laos

Working Paper Series

No. 185 July 2016

Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 185, 2016 1

The relationship between the realization of an ASEAN Identity formulation and its

implications for the national interest awareness of the ASEAN people:

Comparative case study of Malaysia, Thailand and Laos

Soavapa Ngampramuan

ABSTRACT

The relations between identity of being ASEAN citizens and their own national

interests: Comparative studies among Thailand Malaysia and Laos

This research aims to compare the relationship between identity of being ASEAN citizens and

their own national interests among people in Thailand, Malaysia and Laos. These three

countries could best represent the different levels of incomes, namely, high, moderate and low.

The key question is ‘if the ten countries have integrated as one community, will people feel the

sense of being under the same community or still concern more about their own national

interests? The data are analyzed with the main focus on preserving and nurturing the ASEAN

culture in terms of creativity, industry, and community participation. In addition, the research

also aims to find out about the national interests in terms of politics, security, economy, culture

and ideology. It is expected that the state could have a common ASEAN identity by perceiving

the differences among the members, which could lead to the healthy development of ASEAN

community under ASEAN vision, “One Vision One Identity One Community”.

Keywords: ASEAN community, ASEAN identity, national interest, ASEAN, ASEAN

integration

1. Introduction and Research Interest

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967. In

the past forty years, ASEAN has continuously evolved through several contexts. These

included the broad ideological conflicts of the cold war era, regional territorial disputes


between Malaya and the Philippines (over Sabah and Sarawak) to internal national conflict

resulting in Singapore’s independence from Malaysia. Such contexts, argued Acharya (2014,

p.4-5), led to the realization of the need to strengthen regional cooperation.

The political and socioeconomic contexts, national or international, are dynamic

and continue to change. The growing economies and influence of China and India, the various

other regional blocks and the new forms of security threats (pandemics, terrorism, human

trafficking, drugs, environmental and natural disasters) necessitate ASEAN’s capacity and

capability to handle such changes in the international political landscape.

Under the 1967 Bangkok Declaration, strong regional integration was not the initial

vision due to the political context at the time. As the cold war ended, ASEAN members were

able to set aside political differences and collaborate, and the idea of regional integration was

revived. Creating an ASEAN free trade zone was the first concrete attempt at integrating the

region. Another landmark success came at the 2003 ASEAN Summit in Bali. At this summit,

members agreed to create an ASEAN community with a comprehensive and time-bound work-

plan towards creating an ASEAN charter and a higher level of integration, arguably to make

ASEAN an effective and efficient organization working for the ultimate benefits of its citizens

(Severino, 2006). Following the summit, the Bali Accord II was signed by all members in

October 2003, including a pledge to set up the ASEAN community by 2015 (initially set to

2020). The aims (and anticipated benefits) of forming an ASEAN community were to leverage

ASEAN’s bargaining power and competitiveness in the international arena and to increase

ASEAN’s capacity to cope with new global threats affecting the region. In other words, an

ASEAN community would make the region more like a family, implying improved exchange,

connection, strength capability and immunity. Parreñas (1990) believed that beside the fear that

ASEAN countries had of their ability to compete individually with China and India, another

important factor for creating an ASEAN community was the new form of external threats.


Threats that are beyond states’ traditional borders such as epidemics, international crime, mega

disasters, climate change and global warming.

However, integrating and becoming one community is not an easy task and there

were many anticipated challenges - politically, economically and socially. Among these

challenges, national interest was at the top of the list. Were the people in each ASEAN country

aware of their own national interests? Had they considered the changes and impacts ASEAN

community membership would have on their national interests? Would people fear the loss of

national identity amidst the creation of “new” ASEAN community and associated regional

identity?

Given the significance of the issue, the researcher would like to explore ASEAN

citizen’s understanding of the relationship between of realization of an ASEAN identity

formulation and the awareness of national interest. Under the broader research topic of identity

and national interest, this study uses comparative cases from Thailand Malaysia and Laos to

approach the key research questions – “given the continued attempts at ASEAN integration,

how can members reconcile their national and regional identities and interests, and what

adjustments/compromises must be made to create a new and lasting ASEAN identity”. The

research results will provide useful direction on how ASEAN identity as a whole and national

identity could be adjusted to ensure the strengthening of ASEAN members’ national interests

and the sustainability of “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.

1.1 Research objectives

1) To study and analyze the realization of ASEAN identity building and the

awareness of national interests (in Thailand, Malaysia and Laos)

2) To compare and analyze the relationship between the people’s realization of

ASEAN identity building and on their awareness of their own national interest (in Thailand,

Malaysia and Laos)


1.2 Scope of research

This research focuses on the realization of ASEAN identity, by being a citizen

under “ASEAN community” of individual, and under his/her own country (thus carrying

his/her own national interest as well). The realization of ASEAN identity covers specifically

on the aspects of ASEAN cultural promotion and preservation, cultural and industrial

invention, community participation. In addition, the country’s specific cases focus on national

political, stability, economic, social, cultural and ideological aspects of the national interests in

three selected countries.

1.3 Demography and Site Selection

The study focused on citizens from three ASEAN countries; Malaysia, Thailand

and Laos. The selection of these countries was based on the World Bank Income Group

classification (high, medium and low). Malaysia was selected from the medium-high income

group, reflecting a relatively higher development level along with a higher standard of

education, skilled labor, infrastructure and political stability. Thailand was selected from the

medium-high income group, with large scale IT consumers but low-skilled labor and mid-level

production technology. Laos was selected from the medium-low income group, reflecting

inadequate infrastructure and a high level of illiteracy. The survey was made in the capital of

the three selected countries. (Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Thailand: Bangkok, Laos: Vientiane).

The total population in the three capitals was estimated at around 8,053,262. The survey target

was 400 in each capital city (100 samples from each of the North/south/East/West sections of

the capital), forming a total of 1,200 samples.

Table 1

Average Income of ASEAN members


Note: the World Bank country ranking

Source: World Bank, July 2013 (http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-

groups#High_income)

1.4 Methodology

The research methodology was both qualitative and quantitative. Firstly, it involved

desk study, documentary research and review of secondary sources such as relevant literature,

theory, theses and dissertations, as well as websites related to identity, citizenship, ASEAN

citizenship, and national interest. By way of pattern analysis, it helped to design and frame the

study of the realization/awareness of ASEAN identity building and national interests in the

three selected countries of Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.

The second step was the collection of qualitative information from the groups of

experts in each selected country using an in-depth interview guided by pre-listed interview

questions. The selection criteria for experts were (1) well-known figures with expertise and

Country* Average Per

Head Per Annum (USD)

Singapore 78,744

Brunei 71,759

Malaysia 23,298

Thailand 14,390

Indonesia 9,559

Philippines 6,533

Vietnam 5,293

Lao PDR 4,812

Cambodia 4,345

Myanmar 3,042

High income : ≥ 12,276 USD

Medium-High income: 4,126-12,275 USD

Medium-Low income: 1,045-4,125 USD

Low income: ≤ 1,045 USD


experience in SEA or ASEAN political affairs and (2) with a minimum 3 years of experience.

Using face-to-face and direct dialogue techniques, the researcher would collect in-depth info

from 3 academic and 9 country-level experts (3 from each country). The researcher will

triangulate the collected information to affirm its credibility, based on W. Lawrence Newman’s

(2009, pp. 124-125) approach of comparing findings of the same ‘phenomenon’ from different

sources. Once triangulated, the research will perform content analysis to separate and highlight

key issues using matching and grouping techniques. The results on ASEAN identity and

national interest would be concluded at this stage and the survey question would be ready for

the next step (Step 3) to quantitatively measure people’s realization of ASEAN identity

building and awareness of national interests.

2. Theories and Approaches

2.1 Identity

This research focuses on “identity,” conceptualized within anthropology and ethnic

studies, as a form of group-expression, or those features differentiating one group of people

from another. Identity does not imply singularity, but can be a patchwork of many features in

modern society. Identity is not natural, but socially constructed, to assimilate us to structures

larger than ourselves. Identity is not an innate, imprinted genetic code, but socially formed and

adjusted through our ways of life. Erickson (1999), a psychologist, confirmed identity

formation as a life-long process and, in fact, human may change their own identities over their

lifetimes.

Erickson chose to describe “identity,” instead of “personality,” as he further divided

identity into two levels, which are individual identity and collective identity (Taylor, 2002).

This basic division in identity is also common in Stets and Burke’s work (2000), as they divided

identity into ‘personal-identity’ and ‘social identity,’ to study the relationship between the two


levels. Here, personality does not imply response, but ‘readiness’ or ‘tendency’ to response.

In brief, identity is related to similarity and difference in people and society, which differentiate

us from others.

2.1.2 ASEAN Community and ASEAN Identity

The effort to promote regional identity, while allowing member nations to

preserve their diversity, seemed to pose a great challenge for attempts to achieve the goals

stated in the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, on Socio-Cultural Community (ASEAN-

SCC). The ASEAN-SCC emphasizes unifying the community, building up partnerships, and

creating sustainable societies through building of an ‘ASEAN Identity,’ as it has put forward

in the ASEAN Declaration (Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2012) in section 11, identity and

symbol, topic 35 ASEAN IDENTITY, “ASEAN shall promote its common ASEAN identity

and a sense of belonging among its peoples in order to achieve its shared destiny, goals and

values,” under a solid motto “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.”

Obviously, ASEAN has promoted a sense of partnership amongst individuals in

order to embed ASEAN Identity and move together towards the ASEAN Community. In order

to implement these proposals, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Plan has been inked,

and broken down into project milestones for every member to achieve.

However, ASEAN members have cherished their non-intervention and

consensus principles, along with building up mutual respect. These core principles have been

observed and rendered fairly peacefully decades, and still serve as a useful framework for

ASEAN cooperation. Although ASEAN integration might have emerged out of economic

motives to serve the ‘national interests’ of each member, their meanings of national interest are

different, as are their roles and concepts of ‘national interest.’

In order to articulate a common ideal, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

Blueprint, under Section E Article 42 (ASEAN, 2009, pp. 20-23) stated that “The ASEAN


identity is the basis of Southeast Asia’s regional interests. It is our collective personality,

norms, values and beliefs as well as aspirations as one ASEAN community. ASEAN will

mainstream and promote greater awareness and common values in the spirit of unity in

diversity at all levels of society.” In the subsequent strategy to realize this ambition, ASEAN

aims at:

Promotion of ASEAN awareness and a sense of community, to create a sense

of belonging, consolidate unity in diversity and enhance deeper mutual understanding among

ASEAN Member States about their culture, history, religion, and civilisation. (E.1:43)

Preservation and promotion of ASEAN cultural heritage, to promote the

conservation and preservation of ASEAN cultural heritage to ensure its continuity to enhance

awareness and understanding of the people about the unique history of the region and the

cultural similarities and differences between and among ASEAN Member States as well as to

protect the distinctiveness of ASEAN cultural heritage as a whole. (E.2:44)

Promotion of Cultural Creativity and Industry, to enhance ASEAN identity and

togetherness through cultural creativity and the promotion and cooperation on cultural industry.

(E.3:45)

Engagement with the community, to inculcate an ASEAN identity and build a

people-oriented ASEAN where people are at the centre of community building, through the

participation of all sectors of society. (E.4:46)

Therefore, this research incorporates ASEAN Identity into the research

framework, to study ASEAN people’s identity realizations in Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, in

four corresponding dimensions, which are

1. Awareness on ASEAN and sense of being an ASEAN Community

2. Awareness on preservation and promotion of ASEAN cultural heritage

3. Awareness on promotion of cultural creativity and industry


4. Awareness on community engagement

2.2 On National Interest

Most writings on national interest often depart from its etymology, of ‘interest,’

from its Latin root, which means asset and finance. On national interest, one of the most quoted

ideas would be that of Hans J. Morgenthau’s (1951), In Defense of the National Interest. He

defined national interest as embedded in an international context. This international context

covers transactions, policy, territory, behavior, and territory, with great emphasize on

traditional state power. National interest is pursued by the state, as Morgenthau argued, to

justify its acquisition and exercise of power, as well as conducting international affairs. The

demands and status of each country would shape their perspectives on national interest.

Nevertheless, national interest could simply be what policy maker sees as national interest in

pursuit of power at home.

A national interest ideology is a defense against another country’s national interests.

National interest at the international level lies in governmentality within its realm, security,

trade surplus and economic benefits to one’s country, which determine standard of living,

economic stability, and sovereignty.

Along the line of Morgenthau, Bernard Brodie (1974) further argued that a basic

need of government to protect national interest is military security, along with political and

ideological stability. State seek to render popular well-being, regardless of moral constraints,

in order to survive. In addition, Donal Nuechterlein (1979 : pp. 73-92) elaborated on national

interest, as desire driving state to conduct its foreign policy to survive, in four fundamental

interests, which are defense interest, economic interest, world order interest, and ideological

interest.

Building on earlier discussions of national interest and the ASEAN Charter, this

research integrated them into a study of ASEAN awareness on national interest as it evolves


into the ASEAN Community, specifically in the cases of Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia.

Member nations should enjoy mutual benefits in,

1. Political aspects of national interest on the issues of cooperation in political

development, to construct and to share rules and norm.

2. Security aspect of national interest, for conflict resolution, and trust building to

facilitate peaceful resolution, and post-conflict peace building. This includes effective and

responsive cooperation on non-traditional security threats, such as disasters and states of

emergency affecting ASEAN countries.

3. Economic aspects of national interest, through a common market and regional

expansion of the production base, to enhance ASEAN economic competitiveness, promote

equality in economic development, as well as to integrate with the global economy.

4. Social and human aspects of national interest, to promote social welfare and

protection, to ensure human rights and social justice, environmental sustainability, and reduce

development gap.

5. Cultural aspects of national interest, especially in ASEAN Identity cultivation.

6. Ideological aspects of national interest, in which ASEAN countries should see

ASEAN integration as a priority and an integral part of the national agenda.

2.3 Conceptual Framework

From looking at previous models and reviews of related concepts and literatures,

the researcher compiled and identified variables that fit with the theoretical framework on the

relationship between the identity of ASEAN people and ‘national interest’ in the comparative

cases of Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, as in Fig. 1

Figure 1

Conceptual framework


3. Research Finding:

3.1 qualitative method

From the qualitative data collected through in-depth discussions with various

individuals in Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, conclusions on the identity perception of being

an ASEAN citizen and realization of national interest are as follows;

1) The three countries agreed that there is a need to build an understanding of the

differences and similarities in the histories, religions and civilization of the region, and

ASEAN Identity among people in Thailand, Malaysia, and Laos 1. Awareness about ASEAN and Sense of belonging in ASEAN Community 2. Preservation and promotion of ASEAN cultural heritage 3. Creation of culture and cultural industry 4. Community engagement

1. Politic national interests: Political development, shared values and norm 2. Security national interests: Preventive measures, trust building, peaceful conflict resolution, reconciliation, non-traditional security threats, natural disaster, state of emergency 3. Economic national interests: Common market, regional production hub, ASEAN competitiveness, equality, global economy integration 4. Social national interests: Human development, social protection and social welfare, rights and social justice, environmental sustainability, income distribution/development gap 5. Cultural national interests: ASEAN Identity cultivation, ASEAN Cultural Heritage 6. Ideological national interests: ASEAN common goal, ASEAN cooperative principles and schemes

National interests after ASEAN Community

National Interest: Laos

National Interest: Malaysia

National Interest: Thailand


especially an appreciation of the commonalties such as being agricultural societies, foods,

especially rice culture, and respect for the elderly. Many countries do not take language

differences as a barrier to shared customs and religious belief, and see difference and diversity

as advantages in building a concrete identity. Governments should promote tourism across the

region in order to build a better understanding among the member states of their misunderstood

values and histories, and also promote the use of symbols that represent their identity such as

an ASEAN flag.

2) For the conservation and promotion of a common socio-cultural heritage, the

three countries have made the community confident that they are able to promote an

understanding of the history of the region, and also the socio-cultural similarities of the member

states. Thus, each member state is in agreement that there is a need to conserve the common

heritage of ASEAN, and that it is essential for every country to help conserve and transfer the

cultures and norms that have been transmitted generation to generation by creating a means of

mutual communication and learning via tourism and the exchange of arts and cultures among

the ASEAN members.

3) In terms of cultural and industrial inventions, it can be concluded that the three

countries have agreed to establish the identity of the people in the ASEAN community by

creating cultural inventions and promoting industrial culture. Each country has its own policies

to promote tourism that focuses on their culture and history of their architecture in order to

learn from each other, especially Malaysia, which has a prominent tourism policy called “a

year of tourism”. The country highlights folkways tourism (Home-stay). However, Laos still

has transportation problems due to its geographic location.

4) As for community involvement, the three countries agreed to recognize the

identity perception of being an ASEAN citizen by cultivating a people-centered ASEAN

identity , in which all sectors should be encouraged to participate in ASEAN community


building, especially human rights and the civil society issues that are endorsed in the ASEAN

Charter. Thailand and Malaysia have made civil society a part of the national agenda in their

social development policies. They also highlight the participation of various sectors in regional

collaboration to prepare their countries for the ASEAN community. Although, Laos still puts

some constraints on its citizen’s freedom of speech or limited some expressions that might go

against the law of the communist party, it is found that the Laotian government increasingly

recognizes and supports the people’s participation in ASEAN community building by

encouraging people to become involved in creating a better understanding about ASEAN and

support investments and job creation in the country.

On the awareness of the national interest of the member states, in comparing

Thailand, Malaysia and Laos, the researcher summarized the important themes as follows:

1) National political interest - it can be concluded that the three countries have

different political systems, especially Laos that embraces socialism, but when we analyze these

countries comparatively it can be seen that every country tries to cope with the rule of law,

good governance, and human rights protection according to the ASEAN charter. This results

in the improvement of social well-being. The three countries are bound to protect basic human

rights, especially when it comes to the standards of international law, and ASEAN should be

committed to collectively protecting political interests and respect for individual rights.

2) National security interest – it can be concluded that the three countries have a

common approach in realizing their national security interests, especially the campaign on

combating environmental threats, reducing crime and corruption, improving educational

standards, and human and drugs trafficking issues. All of these are seen to be common threats

to national security domestically and regionally. The adjustment of laws in the region have

been made in favor of the ASEAN charter which is considered to be a positive sign in building

a new model of security in this era of globalization.


3) National economic interest - it can be concluded that the three countries view

this as the most important issue for ASEAN members as it influences the ability to create

prosperity for these countries and enhance the well-being of the people as well as enabling all

countries to have shared regulation both in domestic and international laws on taxation in order

to facilitate trade, investment and cooperation in building the ASEAN economic community

by the year 2015. This endeavor aims at having a single market and shared production base to

create economic competitiveness by developing the economy of the region for integration into

the global economy. Laos, in particular, needs to investment in transportation. This will create

a lot of development projects and job opportunities for Laotians in order to transform from an

agrarian society to an industrial one. When analyzing these findings, the author found that

Malaysia is trying to move to a highly developed status, is the country with the highest income

in the region and will triumph over Singapore who is the economic leader in ASEAN at the

moment.

4) National social interest - the three countries agree there is a need to increase the

quality of life in all areas and to provide a decent environment with a sense of social security

that enables them to cope with impacts of economic integration, and which will lead towards a

caring community and a shared sense of unity. Concrete evidence can be found in the social

development policies that are in accordance with the ASEAN charter, especially the policies

on upgrading the standard of education, peoples participation etc.

5) National cultural interest - it can be concluded that the three countries have

realized their own national cultural interest, this can be seen from the previous support of

cultural traditions, and architectural and artistic heritage conservation. In order to create a

common ASEAN identity, citizens must be engaged in the process of developing regional

solidarity and to must develop an understanding of shared history and culture.


6) National ideological interest - it can be concluded that Thais do not feel they

share common values and ideologies with other ASEAN member states. However, Malaysia

and Laos are both willing to cooperate and comply with the ASEAN charter and try to enact

laws and regulations that are consistent with it. Nevertheless, we still can see some limitations

and constrains the communist party of Laos places on people’s ability to express their views

and thoughts.

What can be concluded about the relationship between the identity perception of

being an ASEAN citizen and the realization of their own national interests (Thailand, Malaysia,

Laos) is that the three countries are keen to provide a proper approach on the perception and

feeling of being an ASEAN citizen. A push from governments is essential to implementing

public policy and to promoting a better understanding and perception of being a community,

and the owner of the community, through cultures and tradition of the member states.

3.2 A survey from the quantitative research

3.2.1.As far as the level of identity perception of being an ASEAN citizen, we can

classify the countries as follows; the country with the highest level of perception is Laos, which

has been developed through public relations on ASEAN identity via television, radio, internet

and print media, as well as the ASEAN anthem and its symbol. Following Laos is Thailand,

which has the second highest level of perception of ASEAN identity via TV, radio, internet

and print media, as well as from learning about the ASEAN games, via public and private

media, such as the SEA and PARA games. Malaysia ranked third in its perception about the

ASEAN community. Through public and private media, its citizens learned about ASEAN

sporting events such as SEA games and PARA games, as well as learning about the ASEAN

identity via TV, radio, internet and print media.

3.2.2. The realization of the national interests in different aspects : It is found

that the level of realization is very high when ASEAN community opened up, especially during


economic growth period. It is what people realize at the highest level in terms of

competitiveness in ASEAN economy, which required a full capacity of enthusiasm and

improvement. When classified by country, it is found that the country having the highest level

of realization is Laos, followed by Thailand and Malaysia. The details are as follows.

Laos is found to have a relatively high level of realization and the aspect they

realized was most important was the creation of economic competition under the common

regional interest of ASEAN. Thailand’s realization is also relatively high in terms of the need

for protection of intellectual property rights for the common interest of the region, while

Malaysia is found to have a level of realization relatively high in terms of strengthening the

process of consumer protections in ASEAN.

3.2.3. In comparison of the relationship between the identity perception of

being an ASEAN citizen and the realization of national interests in different aspects when

ASEAN is opened up, the important issues are as follows:

1) The relationship between the identity perception as being an ASEAN

citizen and the realization of national political interest shows that the country which has the

highest level of realization is Laos, especially on the issue of human rights, particularly

women’s and children’s rights in ASEAN. Thailand is second, especially in realizing the need

for anti-corruption policies in ASEAN, and last is Malaysia, which is most focused on peace

and development promotion in ASEAN through supporting religious and cultural activities.

2) When looking at the relationship between the identity perception of

being an ASEAN citizen and the realization of national economic interest, it can be seen that

nowadays a common consciousness of being people of South East Asia has obviously and

increasingly emerged. Many foundations, associations, and federations have been established

under the name of ASEAN. Economic and political co-operation have been increasing and it

is well known amongst the urban and educated. At the same time the cultural and tourist


sections are also expanding, for example, the opening up of tourist routes by land, sea, and air,

and the SEA Games (Southeast Asian sport games). Educational and economic differences

leads to the increase of population movement, for example, Thai people have moved to work

in Singapore much more than before both in high end jobs and as low paid labor. The number

of Laos, Cambodian and Burmese laborers moving to work in Thailand has also been

increasing. All this results in the increasing exchange of information, especially in cross-border

religious cooperation between adherents of Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity.

3) As for the relationship between the identity perception of being an

ASEAN citizen and the realization of national social interest in terms of social justice and

rights, Thailand has the highest level of realization of the issue of social welfare and the

protection of the rights of women, children, the elderly and the disabled in ASEAN. Laos is

second in realizing these issues, while Malaysia has the lowest level of realization of the quality

of life and standard of living for women, children, the elderly and the disabled in the region.

4) The cultural identity of ASEAN is found to be related with the national

cultural interest. Laos has the highest level of realization and it can be seen in the attempt to

encourage ASEAN citizen to have a common consciousness on pluralism and of being owners

of a common socio-cultural heritage. Thailand is second when it comes to having a realization

about building a better understanding on cultures, histories, and religions and having a common

consciousness of being owners of a common heritage of ASEAN, while Malaysia is third.

From the earlier discussion, the author would like to demonstrate a form of

relationship between identity perception in ASEAN and national interest as follows;

Figure 2:


Relationship between identity perception in ASEAN and national interest

4. Discussion

In order to promote and encourage identity perception in ASEAN, the three

countries must carry out three main steps which are

1) To support public relations via television, radio, and internet in which media

should promote the socio-cultural heritage of ASEAN such as the ASEAN song and its symbol.

Moreover, publicize all forms of ASEAN media output, as well as all kinds of sports in ASEAN

2) To emphasize realization of national economic interest, this includes creating

business competition surrounding common interests, to protect and strengthen intellectual

property rights as well as consumer rights in ASEAN. Both steps are essential to carrying out

the following.

ASEAN Identity

*ASEAN Community and Citizenship Awareness through TV, radio, internet, and mass-media, on various cultural practices, artifacts and events

National Economic Interest *ASEAN Competitiveness with mutual benefit, ASEAN Intellectual Property Protection and ASEAN Consumer Protection

National Cultural Interest

*ASEAN Identity Building, ASEAN Diversity, Sense of Belonging, Cultural

Heritage Co-ownership and

f

ASEAN Community

National Political Interest -Human Rights Protection -Anti-Corruption -ASEAN peace and stability -Promote culture and religious freedom

National Social Interest -Protection and welfare for women, youth, senior, and handicap -Elevate standard of living for women, youth, senior and handicap


3) On national cultural interest, it is imperative to focus on this step as well to

cultivate a better understanding and consciousness of being owners of common heritages, as

well as promoting a culture industry and product development in ASEAN.

Economic cooperation will be used as a mechanism to move the ASEAN

community forward. It is aimed to be a means of coordinating and bridging political relations

and security issues in the region, while economic assistance will be used to solve poverty and

problems of social inequality. This summary is a result of the 10th ASEAN Summit, November

2004, in Laos. Economic issues were used by state leaders as justifications for the

establishment of the South East Asian Association, however, it is strange that instead of

eradicating problems of nationalism that evolved from ASEAN member states, they were

instead asked to maintain the differences of their own national identities with no paralleled

solution. This seems to be a great challenge to the objectives of the ASEAN community as

stated in the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II regarding the scope of Socio-Cultural co-

operations, and its objective to forge a single community which is outward looking and

bounded by a sense of partnership and a caring society living in peace and stability.

If ASEAN is trying to use economic development as a condition for coordinating

between member states in order to build a community of sustainability which is in line with the

objectives that are stated in the ASEAN Concord II, building security and stability within the

country becomes the priority that should be managed. Moreover, we should not merely focus

on the issue of nationalism. The importance of peoples’ relationship and communication within

the region should also be recognized. However, it is almost impossible to fulfill the objective

of connecting people of different identities in ASEAN without first building a significant

foundation for their national political interests, especially on issues of human rights, corruption,

peace building in the region as well as the promotion of culture and religion as a national


interest that is required to protect rights, welfare and to improve the quality of life of women,

youth, children, the elderly and the disabled in the region.

Based on this research, the author believes that the three countries and the rest of

the members could take some guidelines from this paper in order to strengthen the ASEAN

community, uphold the cultural roots of their own country and still create a common culture

under the name of an ASEAN community. This will help safeguard the national interest of each

individual country and the common national interests that are shared in the region in a justly

balanced manner which will continue to create sustainable cooperation. The author realized

that in a domestic context, the role of the member state governments in informing their people

about the benefits that they would gain from ASEAN cooperation will support a process of

international cooperation building. What is important to recognize is that in order to be

successful, the ASEAN community should emphasize building mechanism that could manage

the problems that might affect cooperation, such as a clear mechanism for economic

management, broadening human rights, managing ethnic conflict, and mechanism for

developing the belief members can benefit from being members of the ASEAN community.

5. Implications

5.1 ASEAN Identity

In terms of identity, the following are suggestions on being citizens in the ASEAN

community:

1) In terms of realization of the identity perception of being an ASEAN community:

To increase identity building, member states should be urged in the same direction

under the same ASEAN visions, while still maintaining their national interests and national

identity. With this approach, citizens of member states have to be able to adjust, and fully and

wholeheartedly accept the differences of other identities within ASEAN.


2) In terms of the promotion of cultural heritage of ASEAN

There should be concrete attempts to build this identity, and ASEAN member states

should view their national interests as connected with those of the region, meaning when other

countries in ASEAN have progressed, Thailand, Laos and Malaysia would also progress

accordingly. This is an ideal vision of Southeast Asian nations’ future. In the meantime, a sense

of belonging and of being a shareholder in ASEAN should also be cultivated. They should

realize and appreciate diversity within ASEAN and governments and citizens should cooperate

in establishing the ASEAN community.

3) The cultural and industrial productions

There should be a concrete way of building this identity, and one possible way is to

produce a symbol for the ASEAN community as well as certain norms and/or traditions that

can be transferred from one generation to the next, in order to have commercial value. There

should also specified events or celebrations that member states can practice together, for

example, the Songkran festival, Chinese New Year or any tradition that relates to a specific

religion.

4) Community engagement

There should be a concrete way of building this identity, and one possibility is to

engage people in a community building process. Just like building a house, every country will

take part in building regional economic progress. When they live together with mutual

understanding and harmony, it will be followed by other positive outcomes such as social

equality and wealth redistribution.

5.2. Suggestions on national interest

1) National political interests

Political norms and interests should be created, and this may in fact be the most

sensitive issue within the scope of ASEAN co-operation. The principle of non- domestic


interference is considered to be unquestionable which becomes a significant obstacle to

political cooperation, and is considered to be a part of the process of integration that no of

ASEAN member state has fulfilled. Moreover, there are ongoing conflicts between some

member states which create further obstacles to building an ASEAN community.

ASEAN has faced a number of obstacles with regards to the issue of human rights

violations in Myanmar since its membership in 1997, as well as the ethnic cleansings in

Cambodia that have put more pressure on the principles of ASEAN integration. However,

ASEAN has created its own political mechanisms to try to deal with these issues, including the

Asia-Pacific Security Cooperation, the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, the

ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and the ASEAN Human Rights

Declaration. These are considered to be achievements in building ASEAN political

cooperation.

2) Security interest

As we can see from past regional conflicts between ASEAN member states,

governments tended to be more willing to let international organizations try to reconcile

regional conflicts rather than having other member states themselves interfere. However,

conflicts should be solved by cooperation between all ASEAN members in order to create a

sense of belonging and unity.

Thus, a willingness to receive and embrace assistance and/or advice from other

member states of ASEAN must be fostered before a true ASEAN community is created.

Political and security cooperation should be carried out on the basis of mutual confidence in

order to avoid future conflicts.

3) National economic interest

Since the economic foundations vary between ASEAN member states, economic

integration might not fully facilitate the economic interest of all countries. This makes it


difficult to accept some proposals in the economic integration agreements such as markets,

investments and mass production industries. Thus, the member states should be encouraged to

be open and accept the vision of economic development in order to create a single market in

ASEAN, and to facilitate the trade opportunities and bargaining power in relationship in to

non-ASEAN regions such as China, India or Africa etc. The region’s large population, around

600 million, will help give ASEAN more purchasing capacity and will increase the potential

competition with other regions. Finally, it will help build equality amongst the member states

as well as expand the size of the middle class in their societies.

4) National social interest

One concrete way to develop the realization of national social interest is to create a

socio-cultural community in ASEAN built on generosity and compassion. A community built

on these moral foundations will be more inclined to tackle issues such as the disabled, unequal

wealth distribution, educational backwardness, social class divisions and ethnic conflict. These

are issues that should be brought up and given proper attention by the member states, especially

their governments, civil society and cultural and religious organizations.

5) National socio-cultural interest

One possible way to increase the realization of the national socio-cultural interest

is to have educational exchanges and cooperation, and creating an educational training

agreement which includes the principles and lessons about the common identity of ASEAN

countries. Further, there should be a central organization within ASEAN, such as an ASEAN

university, that takes a lead role in developing educational cooperation.

6) National ideological interest

There ideological foundation of ASEAN should be that it is an organization built

on unity across diversity on the basis of mutual understanding. This ideology will lead the

human resource development which will result in economic prosperity, political stability and a


better understanding of history and culture. Furthermore, ASEAN should develop further

cooperation with other countries in Asia such as China, South Korea, India, Australia and New

Zealand.

6. Conclusion

From the review of the relevant literature and field research, it is noticeable that in

the early 21st century, a distinct Southeast Asian identity has become well-known among the

neighboring countries for its unique characteristics. It consists of countries that are richly

diverse culture, religion and ethnicity. In order to understand the identity of the Southeast Asia

region, one must understand not only the national identity but also local diversity as well

(including unique community, ethnic / minority groups). From the ASEAN early years, the

national identities were socially constructed and politically enforced, in order to unify and

identify the different of a person or a group from other social groups, or even construct a new

identity in order to serve their group interest. As ASEAN socially constructed identities are

crystallized, the social relationship of such groups determines whether the identities would be

stable, modified, or even change the format. The social relationship is the core identity that is

significant to distinguish between the social groups, and the sense of belonging among each

and every group in the community, so does the integrating ASEAN Community. There are

roles and responsibilities among individuals that are necessary to preserve such identities and

their own cultural diversity. Future success requires both the public and private sectors to

encourage and support the building of awareness about ASEAN identity and the national

advantages that each country would receive as a member of this ASEAN community.


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The Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) of the City University of Hong Kong publishes SEARC Working Papers Series electronically © Copyright is held by the author or authors of the Working Paper. SEARC Working Papers cannot be republished, reprinted, or reproduced in any format without the permission of the author or authors. Note: The views expressed in each paper are those of the author or authors of the paper. They do not represent the views of the Southeast Asia Research Centre, its Management Committee, or the City University of Hong Kong. Southeast Asia Research Centre Management Committee Professor Mark R Thompson, Director Dr Thomas Patton, Associate Director Professor William Case Dr Bill Taylor Dr Nankyung Choi Southeast Asia Research Centre City University of Hong Kong Tat Chee Avenue Kowloon Hong Kong SAR Tel: (852) 3442-6330 Fax: (852) 3442-0103 http://www.cityu.edu.hk/searc

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