--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.

But if we look only at ASEAN's relations with the external world without comparing it with the EU, it is amazing how much the organization has accomplished. It has compensated for the absence of a regional safety umbrella given the countries' common concerns about external threats. It has saved the fragmented region from being marginalized in international relations as it turns itself into an organization courted by all major powers. It has also imbued the region with a sense of identity.

A culture of cooperation is essential for Southeast Asia to form an integrated association. Cooperation captures the wisdom of Southeast Asia in solving problems as they jointly seek development. It is a driving force for ASEAN's growth.

In recent years, however, ASEAN's status has declined, as major countries in the Asia-Pacific region become more eager to shape the future order of the region and as ASEAN's ability to deal with complicated situations weakens. Some countries, including ASEAN members, are downplaying the organization's importance. In this context, it faces challenges as well as opportunities.

We expect ASEAN to strengthen its role before a major power coordination mechanism is effectively put in place. The pressure actually provides impetus for ASEAN integration.

Milestones for ASEAN

August 8, 1967: ASEAN is founded, marking the start of real connections between Southeast Asian countries and the beginning of their integration.

January 1992: ASEAN leaders agree to build a free trade area within 15 years from January 1, 1993, to be completed in 2008, at the Fourth ASEAN Summit in Singapore. They later reset the deadline to 2003, but finally settle on 2002.

October 7, 2003: ASEAN releases the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, setting 2020 as the date for the establishment of an ASEAN Community.

January 13, 2007: ASEAN issues the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.

November 20, 2007: ASEAN leaders sign the ASEAN Charter at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore.

December 15, 2008: The ASEAN Charter comes into force at the Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Indonesia, a milestone achievement that brought the ASEAN integration process within a legal framework.

The author is deputy director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations