ASEAN’s strengths. Strategically located in dynamic Asian region; generally robust economic growth; good macroeconomic fundamentals (especially among Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, known as ASEAN6); market of 600 million people; abundance of natural resources and biodiversity; wide-ranging productive capabilities (in agriculture, manufacturing, and services); diversified exports by destination and product; mostly young, growing populations and expanding middle class; strong foreign direct investment (FDI) with strong production networks; progressive open trade and investment regimes; strong track record of regional cooperation.
ASEAN’s weaknesses. Development gaps between and within members in income, human capital, institutions, and infrastructure and the absence of regional distributive mechanisms; disparities in good governance and the rule of law; disparities in population growth and population aging, that together with disparities in economic growth lead to large labor deficits and surpluses among countries that spurred cross-border illegal migration; slow decision making and even slower implementation of AEC commitments due to need for consensus building and slow progress in domestic reforms; weak ASEAN Secretariat with inadequate human and financial resources; weak links between ASEAN and subregional programs such as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and ASEAN growth triangles.