	Overview: U.S. Interests Toward ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is Southeast Asia's primary multilateral organization, a 10-member grouping of nations with a combined population of 580 million and an annual gross domestic product (GDP) of around $1.5 trillion. Established in 1967 to foster regional dialogue during the turbulent post-colonial, Cold War period, it has grown into one of the world's largest regional fora, representing a strategically and economically important region that spans some of the world's most critical sea lanes and accounted for around 5% of the United States' total trade in 2008. The Obama Administration is pursuing a policy of expanding and upgrading U.S. relations with Southeast Asia, and with ASEAN itself. The United States has deep-seated interests in Southeast Asia, such as maritime security, the promotion of democracy and human rights, the encouragement of liberal trade and investment regimes, counterterrorism, the combating of illegal trafficking of narcotics and human trafficking, and many others. Engagement with ASEAN has presented the United States with an important foreign policy dilemma. Despite considerable U.S. security, economic, and foreign assistance initiatives in the region, particularly at the bilateral level, in recent years a perception has developed among Southeast Asian elites that the United States has placed relatively little priority on ASEAN itself and has, thereby, demonstrated a lack of commitment to Southeast Asia as a whole. However, many of the Bush Administration's initiatives—which included becoming the first country to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN, providing assistance to the ASEAN Secretariat to upgrade its capabilities, and launching the US-ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA)—were undermined by a belief among Southeast Asian elites that the United States lacked a strong commitment to ASEAN and Southeast Asia. In February 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, a first for a U.S. Secretary of State. In July 2009, during Clinton's second visit to Southeast Asia to participate in the ARF Foreign Ministerial in Thailand, the United States acceded to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which promotes the settlement of regional differences or disputes by peaceful means and is one of the organization's core documents. Divergent U.S. and ASEAN approaches to Burma have also been an irritant to U.S.-ASEAN relations since Burma became a member of the organization in 1997. ASEAN has traditionally operated on principles of consensus and non-interference in the internal affairs of members, which has led to considerable difficulty in the group operating in formal concert. The new charter establishes a number of goals for ASEAN, including:
Maintenance of peace, stability, and security in the region; Promotion of greater political, security, economic; and socio-cultural cooperation; Preservation of Southeast Asia as an area free of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons; Creation of a just, democratic, and harmonious environment in the region; Formation of a single market and production base in which there is free flow of goods, services, and investment, as well as facilitated movement of business persons, professionals, talents and labor, and the freer flow of capital; Alleviation of poverty and the narrowing of the development gap in the region; and Promotion of sustainable development so as to ensure the protection of the region's environment. ASEAN's Regional Significance

ASEAN is at the center of several other security- and trade-related groupings in the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN as an organization will likely seek to balance external actors in the region while seeking to avoid antagonizing great powers. ASEAN has also held talks with the European Union (EU) about a possible free trade agreement, but progress has been slow and prospects are unclear. ASEAN reportedly is divided over whether to include the United States in such a grouping. In recent years, however, Congress has also sometimes played a leadership role in initiatives toward ASEAN. In October 2009, Senator Richard Lugar introduced S.Res. 311 , calling for the start of discussions on a free trade agreement with ASEAN. Shifts in U.S. policy toward Burma and the implications for relations with ASEAN have been a major focus in 2009 and will likely continue to be of congressional interest. Senator Jim Webb, chair of the Senate East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, in August 2009 became the first Member of Congress in 10 years to visit Burma.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is Southeast Asia's primary multilateral organization. Established in 1967, it has grown into one of the world's largest regional fora, representing a strategically important group of 10 nations that spans critical sea lanes and accounts for 5% of U.S. trade. This report discusses U.S. diplomatic, security, trade, and aid ties with ASEAN, analyzes major issues affecting Southeast Asian countries and U.S.-ASEAN relations, and examines ASEAN's relations with other regional powers. Much U.S. engagement with the region occurs at the bilateral level, but this report focuses on multilateral diplomacy.
The United States has deep-seated ties in Southeast Asia, and it has viewed ASEAN as a useful organization since its inception during the Cold War. Today, U.S. policy toward ASEAN and Southeast Asia is cast against the backdrop of great power rivalry in East Asia, and particularly China's emergence as an active diplomatic actor in its geographic backyard. Some worry that the United States, preoccupied with other priorities, has been neglectful of ASEAN and of Asian multilateral diplomacy in recent years. The Obama Administration has expressed an intent to work more closely with multilateral organizations, particularly ASEAN. A number of steps in this direction include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta in February 2009, the U.S. accession to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in July 2009, and President Obama's attendance at the ASEAN leaders meeting in November 2009.
Congress has frequently played an important role in shaping U.S. diplomatic, security, and economic relations with Southeast Asia and ASEAN. Major U.S. and congressional interests in Southeast Asia include maritime security, the promotion of democracy and human rights, the encouragement of liberal trade and investment regimes, counterterrorism, combating narcotics trafficking, environmental preservation, and many others. In October 2009, Senator Richard Lugar introduced S.Res. 311, calling for the start of discussions on a free trade agreement with ASEAN. In August 2009, Senator Jim Webb visited five countries in mainland Southeast Asia and was the first Member of Congress in 10 years to visit Burma.
The United States exerts a strong military and economic presence in Southeast Asia, and through diplomacy it seeks to remain a major power—perhaps the major power—in the region. ASEAN, however, has been active in recent years in exploring a variety of diplomatic architectures for East Asia and the Pacific. ASEAN is at the center of several broader security- and trade-related groupings in the Asia-Pacific region, through which it has aimed to maintain regional multi-polarity or a balance of powers among itself and other states including the United States, China, and Japan. ASEAN is also the nexus for discussion of regional economic integration. ASEAN has launched an internal free trade accord, the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), which will go into full effect in 2015. ASEAN has also concluded FTAs with many external trade partners, though not with the United States. ASEAN has also been exploring ways to advance the ultimate creation of a broader European Union-like East Asia Community. Some within the group—but not all—support the inclusion of the United States in such a community.
Human rights conditions, particularly in some ASEAN members such as Burma, have long been a source of friction between the organization and the United States. ASEAN's new Charter, enacted in 2007, attempts to bring more pressure to bear upon recalcitrant member states. However, ASEAN still operates on principles of consensus and non-interference in the internal affairs of its members, so it remains unclear how active an actor it will be in this area.