The ASEAN free trade area: a step towards economic integration?

Abstract

At the Fourth ASEAN Summit in January 1992, the ASEAN heads of state signed the Singapore Declaration of 1992. This declaration was hailed as a major step in intra-ASEAN economic cooperation, one that has so far been characterized as slow and dismally disappointing, particularly when compared with intra- ASEAN effective and successful cooperation in the political field (e.g. on the Cambodian issue) and in the creation of a security community in ASEAN where none of the members would use force in the settlement of disputes. This declaration seeks to enhance ASEAN economic cooperation and calls for the establishment of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).