Written by Muhammad Ammar Hidayahtulloh (Picture: Jeffrey Beall)

Introduction

Geographically speaking, ASEAN region is one of the most vulnerable regions to disaster in the world. There are several tectonic plates across ASEAN region that potentially cause the earthquake, volcanic eruption, and tsunami. In addition, ASEAN faces the increasing extreme climate events in frequency and intensity due to climate variation and change. Therefore, nearly all ASEAN Member States (AMS) have experienced natural disaster causing the severe devastation in the recent years, such as Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Yogyakarta Earthquake in 2006, Cyclone Nargis in 2008, Thailand Floods in 2011, Cyclone Haiyan in 2013, Bagan Earthquake in 2016, and Central Sulawesi Earthquake and Tsunami in last September 2018. read more read more

Written by Nathania Vivian Hermawan (Picture: Basile Morin)

Introduction

At the 32^nd ASEAN Summit, countries approved Singapore’s chairmanship theme, “Innovative and Resilient”, as an articulation of their strategic position in this shifting economic landscape. One of the encapsulation of this theme is ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN), a network that synergise 26 IoT-based cities across the region aiming to solve urban population growth and rapid urbanizations. Looking at current wave of innovation in Southeast Asia, ASEAN has started to turn “sci-fi” smart cities into reality –but surely it takes time. read more read more

Written by Salimah Idzaturrohim (picture: US Department of State)

Introduction

ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, which was initiated by 5 countries, which were Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Today ASEAN has 10 member countries, with Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia (ASEAN, 2018). The unification of the ten countries undeniably shows that ASEAN is composed of various ethnicities, cultures, languages and religions united under the ASEAN name. This shows how ASEAN is really an organization which unifies diversity. More than just a block or geographical area that forms a group of countries, ASEAN is a network, life-world, trading systems and pathways for human contact (Noor, 2017). read more read more

Written by Muhammad Rasyid Ridho, a Graduate Student of International Relations Universitas Gadjah Mada.

ABSTRACT

The newest ASEAN Leaders’ Vision encompasses e-commerce as its underlined issue. As its relevancy is in line with the ascendancy of Industrial Revolution 4.0, it has potential as a new track of regional integration. It is inferred that ASEAN not only tries to capture the phenomenon from below, but also manages e-commerce as a significant issue by promulgating the possibility of having newer framework of it. State still hold prominent position in facing this issue. However, it is not free from any obstacles to achieved digital-based integration. The digital divide and the differences of regulation between member states are the significant problem. ASEAN still need the conventional economic development in order to utilize e-commerce as a new mode of business or a tool of integration. An elaborate and detailed regulation needed in order to harmonize regional e-commerce and to involve more local business players –specifically SME–. read more read more