Introduction
Since the decision was made in 1992, ASEAN has expanded its membership to include the remaining four Southeast Asian countries. Vietnam joined first, followed by Laos and Myanmar, and lastly, Cambodia, which was accepted as a member following the ending of an internal political conflict. ASEAN now consists of all ten Southeast Asian countries. East Timor, previously a part of Indonesia, gained independence on 20 May 2002, and should qualify as a member of ASEAN. In fact, this newest nation may seek for ASEAN membership. As was the case with Vietnam, all new members have to participate in AFTA. Individually they were given a different time frame to complete their AFTA commitments. If ASEAN members do not backtrack on their commitments, by 2010 the whole Southeast Asian region will practically become a free trade zone. The older members have also pledged to bring down their tariffs to 0 percent within a few years. The newer members are likely to follow this act. How important are these developments? What does AFTA mean for the region and in the global context? This essay attempts to undertake a critical assessment of AFTA. It begins with a description of ASEAN’s long journey in its economic cooperation efforts before it embarked on AFTA. This will be followed by the process of creating AFTA. The final section discusses the need for ASEAN to go beyond AFTA in its regional economic integration.
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