The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the premier regional association in East Asia and the most prominent regional grouping in the Third World. Since its inception in 1967, ASEAN has come to be regarded as an important factor for stability in Southeast Asia through its own cooperative activities, its policies of maintaining active dialogues with the major powers, and its promotion of wider cooperation in East Asia and the Asia Pacific. ASEAN has also evolved into an effective regional body that promotes economic growth and cooperation among its member states. Key to ASEAN’s success is the ‘ASEAN way’ that stresses on respect for national sovereignty, avoiding confrontation, reaching agreement through consensus and proceeding at a pace which all members are comfortable with. Critics of ASEAN label the regional organsation as weak, ineffective, managed by a powerless secretariat and being bogged down by conflicting interests of its member states. The collapse of several ASEAN economies during the 1997/1998 crisis, the prolonged conflict in South China Sea, the unresolved haze problem, humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and the rampant human smuggling activities within the regions are some of the manifestations of ASEAN’s failure in addressing national and cross-national issues in Southeast Asia. ASEAN’s conflicting image – strong/weak, effective/ineffective – will be further tested when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) takes root in 2016. The AEC aims to foster economic integration among ASEAN members and ultimately create economic market that is worth USD2.6 trillion in terms of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If not, what are the impediments to the regional economic integration? If yes, what are the impacts of EAC on ASEAN member states and more than 600 million of its population? These intriguing and complex questions will be the focus of the AEIF 2016. The forum will discuss critically the prospects and challenges of AEC and its socio-political impacts. This discourse will not only contribute to the rich literature on Southeast Asia and ASEAN but most importantly it will help policy makers, business communities and other stakeholders in charting a people-centric and environmentally friendly regional economic development.
