Page 410 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

Observer status in 1981. Papua New Guinea is a Melanesian state. ASEAN
embarked on a programme of economic cooperation following the Bali
Summit of 1976. This floundered in the mid-1980s and was only revived
around 1991 due to a Thai proposal for a regional free trade area. The bloc

grew when Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member on 8 January 1984,
barely a week after gaining independence on 1 January.

Continued Expansion

On 28 July 1995, Vietnam became the seventh member. Laos and Myanmar

(Burma) joined two years later on 23 July 1997. Cambodia was to have
joined together with Laos and Burma, but this was deferred due to the
country’s internal political struggle. The country later joined on 30 April

1999, following the stabilisation of its government.

During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership and
drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an

East Asia Economic Caucus comprising the then members of ASEAN as well
as the PRC, Japan and South Korea, with the intention of counter-balancing
the growing influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation (APEC) and in the Asian region as a whole. This proposal
failed, however, because of heavy opposition from the United States and
Japan. Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further

integration and ASEAN Plus Three was created in 1997.

In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was
signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase the region’s

competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market. This
law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area. After the
East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was

established in Chiang Mai, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, which calls
for better integration between the economies of ASEAN as well as the
ASEAN Plus Three countries (China, Japan and South Korea).

Aside from improving each member state’s economy, the bloc also focused
on peace and stability in the region. On 15 December 1995, the Southeast