ABSTRACT

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is committed to deepening and broadening its internal economic integration and linkages, with the participation of the private sector, to realise an ASEAN Economic Community by 2010, ASEAN's endgoal. The fishery sector is one of the 11 priority sectors identified by ASEAN Leaders. Roadmaps have been developed to ensure that the various measures are effectively and aptly implemented to create an integrated market and production base for each of these sectors. The implementing guidelines fall under two categories: (1) common measures, which cut across all the 11 priority sectors; and (2) specific measures, which have direct relevance to a specific sector. This paper discusses the Roadmap for Integration of the Fisheries Sector, including the results of the key informant interviews conducted by the WorldFish Center's research team in 7 out of the 10 ASEAN countries visited. The paper also includes insights on the existing common and specific measures contained in the roadmap, as well as recommendations on some additional strategies that can help hasten the implementation of the roadmap agreement in member countries.

INTRODUCTION

In December 1997, ASEAN Heads of State and Government unveiled the ASEAN Vision 2020. This document, among other things, envisioned a more economically integrated ASEAN. In particular, the ASEAN Vision 2020 foresees a stable, prosperous, and highly competitive regional economic area where there is free movement of goods, services, investments, and capital. Hence, the concept of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) would seem to be consistent with the economic aspect of this Vision.

Under this initiative, the AEC will see the ASEAN becoming a single market and production base. The diversity that characterises the region will be turned into opportunities and business complementation to make ASEAN a more dynamic and stronger segment of the global supply chain and world economy. It attempts to combine the economic strengths of member states for regional cohesiveness and enhanced global competitiveness by accelerating the integration of the various economic sectors in the member countries.