--The ASEAN Charter is designed to address new internal and external challenges. Over the past 41 years since its inception, ASEAN has adjusted itself in keeping up with changes in the region and beyond. Today, it has to coordinate relations among its members to deal with a host of new problems such as economic globalization, structural changes in the power dynamics in Asia, non-traditional security threats and ASEAN's internal problems. The organization needs to codify new principles and approaches suited to the new circumstances. The purpose of adopting the ASEAN Charter is to transform ASEAN from a loose organization to one based on a legal framework.

--It helps enhance ASEAN's role in leading East Asian cooperation. Since the end of the Cold War, ASEAN has not only succeeded in striking a balance in its relations with major powers, but has also come to lead regional cooperation in East Asia. Given the complex international relations in East Asia, all regional powers accept ASEAN's leading role in East Asian cooperation. ASEAN charts the course for East Asian cooperation, while coordinating relations among different countries. No single ASEAN country is able to play this role. In this sense, ASEAN integration has a direct bearing on the sustainable development of its influence.

--The ASEAN Charter aims to strengthen ASEAN's leadership. ASEAN has a clear understanding of the direction of its development: pursuing integration internally and seeking to become a geopolitical center of the Asia-Pacific region externally. It has a well-defined goal of establishing an ASEAN Community by 2015 with a catchy slogan--"One ASEAN at the Heart of Dynamic Asia." To strengthen its leadership at a time of Asia's emergence, ASEAN needs to become more capable of solving its own problems and coordinating relations among its 10 members and between its members and dialogue partners, including China, Japan and South Korea. ASEAN also needs to improve its strategic planning so that it can take the initiative in the region in a creative way.

The ASEAN way

ASEAN's founding members did not have high expectations when they established the association on August 8, 1967. Today, however, the organization is not only working to establish an ASEAN Community similar to the EU, but has also adopted the ASEAN Charter. As they deepen integration, the 10 ASEAN members have nurtured a distinctive ASEAN culture.

While some people cling to the obsolete belief that Southeast Asia provides an arena for contending major powers, ASEAN has become master of the region's fate. Despite the common assumption that small countries cannot avoid being marginalized, ASEAN started its regional integration decades ago. It also initiated a framework for East Asian cooperation incorporating China, Japan and South Korea more than 10 years ago.

While major powers in the region are still considering a regional security mechanism, ASEAN has achieved peace in Southeast Asia. It established the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1994, providing a platform for 27 Asia-Pacific countries to discuss security issues. Major powers in the Asia-Pacific region, with the exception of the United States, have joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia with the purpose of settling "differences or disputes by peaceful means." The "ASEAN way" that calls for averting conflict and seeking consensus is conducive to fostering a regional identity and helps ASEAN prudently cope with its relations with major powers.

Unlike the EU, which enjoys strong cultural and historical bonds, ASEAN encompasses a variety of religions, ethnic groups, political systems and models of economic development. The more areas in which ASEAN tries to integrate, the more problems it will encounter in light of the diversity and complexity of the region.