Starting with only 5 members, ASEAN is now a 10 member bloc with a population of 630 million people. Through forums and cooperative mechanisms such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the bloc has become significant, attracting the attention of many economic and political powers, such as the US, China, Korea, Japan, India, the EU, and the United Nations.
The ASEAN Community will be established by the end of this year, comprising of three pillars: political-security, economic, and socio-cultural. This will open a new era for further development of the bloc, boosting efforts to maintain peace, deepen economic links within ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific, and improve quality of life.
