ASEAN-Korea Co-Operation in the Development of New ASEAN Members

Abstract

The fact that the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Associate of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officially became Dialogue Partners at the Twenty-fourth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Kuala Lumpur in July 1991 did not surprise regional commentators. It had been widely known that no effort was spared to gear this bilateral relationship onto higher planes. Many researchers, including Kwon Yul, state that this relationship has witnessed consistent growth over the past four decades. It should also be noted that this success "largely derives from the complementarities between both sides." There are undoubtedly common interests and potentials for further development between Korea and ASEAN. More importantly, Korea-ASEAN co-operation has led to the adoption of an inclusive approach, which attaches importance to the development of the new members of ASEAN, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV for short). This chapter argues that such an approach is not only beneficial to the new members of ASEAN, the other ASEAN members, and Korea, but also East Asia as a whole.