At the Ninth ASEAN Summit in October 2003, ASEAN leaders agreed to establish an ASEAN Community by 2020 (Bali Concord II).

This community encompasses three components or “pillars” namely:

The three components of the ASEAN Community are conceived as being “closely intertwined and mutually reinforcing”.

In line with the ASEAN Vision 2020 statement, the creation of an ASEAN Community would ensure closer, more comprehensive and mutually beneficial integration among ASEAN member states and their peoples. It would strengthen the basis for peace, stability, security, development and prosperity within the region as well as enhancing the regional coherence and competitiveness in the face of new challenges unleashed by globalization and the rise of new economic powerhouses in Asia.

However, achieving the end goal of the ASEAN Community will be challenging given the region's cultural diversity, different levels of economic development and variations in strategic outlooks and external affiliations. Translating such diversities into “equitable development opportunity and prosperity” (to which the Bali Concord II also aspires) will not be an easy task.

ASEAN has produced a plan of action on ASEAN Economic Integration, which is annexed to the Bali Concord II. To kick-start the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the plan of action provides numerous policy recommendations to be implemented over the next 1 to 2 years.

At the track-two level, research institutes/think-tanks such as ASEAN-ISIS, ISEAS and CSIS (Jakarta) have contributed concept papers on the AEC and the ASEAN Security Community (ASC).

Against this backdrop, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) organized the ASEAN Community Roundtable in Singapore on 4–5 June 2004. The main theme of the Roundtable was entitled “Towards Realizing an ASEAN Community”. This Roundtable provided the opportunity for scholars and experts on ASEAN to “brain-storm” in a more comprehensive and integrated manner, the different ideas and proposals underpinning the process of community building that ASEAN is embarking upon.