The sad reality is that not much innovation and intellectual property development has been undertaken by most Asean countries, which spend less than 1% of their GDP annually on scientific innovation and technological development, again with the exception of singapore, spending almost 2.5% of its GDP. Unless and until Asean can stand on its own feel in terms of technological development and innovation, it will remain dependent on external sources and that will render it weak in the face of rising completion with other regions.