ASEAN–KOREA RELATIONS: PARTNERSHIP IN COMMUNITY BUILDING

The relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) occupy a somewhat awkward position in the Asia-Pacific foreign relations vis-à-vis ASEAN–Japan and ASEAN–China relations. For the past decades, the focus of the Southeast Asian region has been on Japan, as the latter has been taking the leadership role in the region's economic development through investment and foreign aid. Japanese cultural influences have also been prevalent in almost every corner of Southeast Asia, and the recent surge of Japanese military nationalism, once again, has become a concern for the Southeast Asian governments and citizens. The rise of China in the 1990s quickly propelled Southeast Asian governments and policy- makers to re-examine its potential political, economic, and strategic impacts. Intellectual as well as institutional attention on a rising China and Sino–ASEAN relations has since blossomed into a flourishing enterprise.

In the midst of these regional dynamics, ASEAN–Korea relations seem relatively neglected, and have been relegated to receiving marginal policy attention from Southeast Asian governments. As the ROK is a latecomer in establishing ties with its Southeast Asian neighbours, it needs to catch up with the other two Northeast Asian neighbours in building and improving ASEAN relations. The free trade agreement (FTA) between China and ASEAN has been in effect since July 2004. After signing bilateral trade agreements with Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Japan is seeking an accord with ASEAN. With most of its Asian neighbours already on the FTA bandwagon, the ROK is further pressed to speedily complete its bilateral accord with ASEAN. At present, the ROK has only signed an FTA with one ASEAN country, Singapore.

ASEAN–Korea relations have improved markedly since the 1960s and continue to grow stronger. Given this era of regionalism and globalization, it would not be farfetched to speculate that ASEAN and Korea could share similar fates.