ASEAN’s dream of economic union far from reality

At their annual summit on the Philippine island of Cebu on January 14, leaders of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) affirmed their strong commitment to accelerate the establishment of a free-trade zone by 2015.
The move would liberalize the movement of goods, services, investment and capital across a region of almost 570 million people, around one-tenth of the world’s population.
“ASEAN is committed to expanding its trade area to create one of the world’s greatest trading blocs by 2015”, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo proclaimed when she opened the summit.