The goal of the AEC as set forth in the AEC blueprint is to “establish ASEAN as a single market and production base making ASEAN more dynamic and competitive with new mechanisms and measures to strengthen the implementation of existing economic initiatives; accelerating regional integration in the priority sectors; facilitating movement of business persons; skilled labor and talents; and strengthening the institutional mechanisms of ASEAN” and “to hasten the establishment of the [AEC] by 2015”.
The following are the key characteristics of the AEC as set forth in the blueprint.
• free flow of services;
• free flow of investment;
• freer flow of capital; and
• free flow of skilled labor.
ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
And, unlike other far reaching multilateral policy initiatives, it seems at least that there is a strong, broad-based commitment to follow through on these commitments as each of the ASEAN member countries has already signed off on an action plan designed to achieve the above referred to objectives as set forth in the blueprint by 2015.