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ASEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION FORUM 2015

St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
10 November 2015
Convenors:
Pierre Sauvé,[1] Matthew J Walton[2] and SufianJusoh[3]

Introduction

To mark the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015, the Asian Studies Centre at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) at UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia,and the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, will host an ASEAN Economic Integration Forum at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, on 10 November 2015.

The main objectives of the ASEAN Economic Integration Forum 2015 are to discuss a host of economic governance challenges facing ASEAN Member States as they strive to establish the ASEAN Economic Community(AEC) and to explore forward looking proposals to enhance the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community2025 objectives.

Discussions at the Forum will focus on three main themes:

  1. The adequacy of ASEAN’s institutional architecture, in comparison with other regional institutions and in its own regional context
  2. Lessons deriving from multi-speed integrationwithin ASEAN and beyond
  3. The state of play of the AEC 2015 goals

The Convenors have invited prominent speakers and experts on ASEAN and Asian economic integration and related topics to share their insightson prospects for continued regional integration beyond 2015.

Program

(October 19, 2015)

Time / Program
0900-0915 / Registration of Participants
0915-0930 / Welcoming remarks and Forum aims:
Matthew J Walton, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
0930-1045 / Session 1: Understanding the regional context:
the institutional architecture of ASEAN
Chair: Matthew J Walton (St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford)
Speakers:
Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, University of Oxford (tbc)
ASEAN: a waning voice in international governance?
Claudio Dordi, Bocconi University
Deep integration with shallow institutions: Looking at ASEAN through a EU lens
Lee Jones, Queen Mary University, UK
Anatomy of a probable failure: the domestic political economy of ASEAN and the AEC
Discussant:
RashilaRamli,Institute of Malaysian and International Studies,UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia
Q&A
1045-1115 / Networking Break
1115-1245 / Session 2: ASEAN and/in Asia:
the promise and limits of overlapping integration
Chair: Ambassador Muhamad Noor Yacob, former Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the World Trade Organisation
Speakers:
SufianJusoh, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies
Jurgen Kurtz, University of Melbourne (tbc)
How does ASEAN coexist with the TPP, RCEP and other regional initiatives?
Juanita Elias and Lena Rethel,Warwick University, UK
Incorporating the everyday political economy of Southeast Asia
Discussant:
TBC
Q&A
1245-1330 / Networking Lunch
1330-1400 / Luncheon Talk
Speaker: The HonorableTunku Zain Al-Abidin, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, Malaysia
Introduced by SufianJusoh, IKMAS
1400-1530 / Session 3: How close are we to stated AEC goals?
Chair:RashilaRamli, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia
Speakers:
Julien Chaisse, Chinese University Hong Kong
The impact of TPP on the ASEAN Investment Framework
Pierre Sauvé, World Trade Institute
The Services Dimension of ASEAN Integration
Michael Ewing-Chow, National University of Singapore
The Morning After (the AEC): Wither ASEAN?
Discussant:
Tham Siew Yean, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies
Q&A
1530-1615 / Business and foreign policy perspectives on ASEAN integration
Two short comments from and discussions with a representative of the UK business community engaged in ASEAN countries and with a representative of the UK government working on ASEAN-related issues
1615-1630 / Closing: Remarks by the Convenors
End of Forum
1730-1900 / Keynote address: Looking Ahead: What’s in store for ASEAN?
Kevin Watts, Vice-Chairman, HSBC, and Chairman of the Advisory Panel of the UK-ASEAN Business Council (tbc)
19.00 / Drinks and High Table Dinner, St Antony’s College

[1]Director of External Programs and Academic Partnerships, World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.

[2] Aung San Suu Kyi Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

[3] Senior Fellow, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS, UKM), Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia and of the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.