ASEAN’s 10 member countries agreed to and enforced a charter which will set political, economic and social benchmarks, for the diverse region. Moving closer to forging an European Union-style community, the constitution of this charter sets out rules of membership, trade, investment, the environment, transforms ASEAN into a legal entity and envisages a single free trade area by 2015 for the region of some 500 million people. Until now ASEAN nations have been forming bilateral trade relations amongst themselves and neighboring countries in order to support each other.

“This is a momentous development when the ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community,” Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the AFP after the charter came into force on Monday, adding that the implementation of the charter “is achieved while the ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs.”

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Its increasingly evident that extremist groups or terrorists operate well coordinated global organizations that not only financially aid each other but also offer excellent intelligence and training facilities. These militants are dedicated to their cause, united against a common enemy and have obviously developed the sophistication for mass destruction while following detailed instructions from afar. The fact that they are so well prepared and a growing global menace makes their threat all the more worrisome. As fear of your next door neighbor spreads across the region, 2point6billion, takes a look at major terrorist organizations in their hotbed that is Asia.

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On Monday the IMF released a report stating that with the global financial crisis taking an increasing toll on Asian economies, many countries should consider monetary and fiscal stimulus in addition to measures to protect local financial systems. Supporting the IMF statement, the Asian Development Bank recently announced loans of US$70 million to India, US$1 million to the Philippines, US$300 million to China, US$ 10 million to Mongolia and US$700 million to Kazakhstan.

India will use the loan to start a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the state of Maharashtra, the Philippines will upgrade irrigation facilities, while China will use the loan for a railway line that will connect western China with the south. The grant to Mongolia will be used to buy textbooks for poor children and the loan to Kazakhstan will help complete a highway project that traces the ancient Silk Road trading route. (more…)

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Post the G20 summit last weekend which heightened the status of Asian countries on the global platform, Asia-Pacific leaders will meet again this weekend in Lima, Peru to discuss regional solutions to the international problem. A main moot point of the 21 member APEC congress will be to increase global trade and consumption.

As Asian regional clout increases at global conferences such as these,  the world is looking towards them and listening. Asian nations have been trying to persuade global economies to maintain if not increase current levels of trade. Fearing a total collapse of financial order, economies worldwide acting in the interest of emerging Asian nations  are now more effectively looking at ways to continue if not bolster international trade.

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While large emerging Asian countries jostled for greater say at the G20 summit last weekend, Prime ministers from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, met to discuss food and energy security and strengthening transport, trade and investment ties amongst themselves. The group, named after the region’s three major rivers met in Vietnam and forms the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) forum. Smaller Asian nations have realized that their growth lies in regional cooperation, a reason why Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar are trying to attract investments from neighboring countries Thailand, China and India.

In strengthening regional ties, Cambodia and Vietnam recently agreed to connect Phnom Penh to Vietnam by rail at a cost of more than US$500 million. “China has promised to build the railroad from Phnom Penh to Vietnam as part of the project to create a link from Singapore to Kunming in China,” Hor Namhong told the AFP on his return from regional meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thailand on its part is also investing in rail, road links and bridges to Laos a landlocked country. The group also talked of industrial and energy cooperation particularly hydro-power and oil and gas exploration. (more…)

With the rise of Asia and the emergence of Central Asia in global economics and politics the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is growing in importance. Founded in 2001 in Shanghai, by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the SCO was originally formed due to growing security concerns in the region, but its role has been extended to encompass economic benefits to member countries as well. India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan remain observers to the SCO. The United States applied for observer status but was denied in 2005.

SCO countries (full members and observers) comprise a hefty 25 percent of Earth’s land area. Although the declaration on the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation contained a statement that it “is not an alliance directed against other states and regions and it adheres to the principle of openness”, many observers believe that one of the original purposes of the SCO was to serve as a counterbalance to NATO and the United States and in particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the United States to intervene in areas near both Russia and China

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