ROLE OF ASEAN IN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION PROCESSES IN ASIA

ASEAN plays significant role in the economic integration processes in Asia. The financial crisis in 1997 fostered the integration processes between Asian countries. Asian integration mainly characterized by the open regionalism which promotes economic integration and trade liberalization between states. Asian regionalism is market-driven and open to economic cooperation, trade and investment. ASEAN promote the internal integration between member states of the organization and external integration between ASEAN and partners. ASEAN’s initiativesthat focused on external integration such as ASEAN Regional Forum, APEC, East Asia Summit, ASEAN+3 and others. Through its collaborative efforts and commitment to fostering economic partnerships, the Asian region has witnessed substantial progress in trade, investme nt and economic cooperation. The article analyzes the intra-regional trade, investment flows , economic cooperation initiatives between ASEAN and East Asian countries. This article examine s economic relations of ASEAN with China, Japan and South Korea in the framework of ASEAN+3. The ASEAN+3 forum fosters economic cooperation between Southeast Asia and East Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea. The cooperation between ASEAN and China, Japan, South Korea mainly focused on the economic cooperation, mainly trade, FDI Investment and digital economy.ASEAN+3 considered asan important platform for promoting regiona l cooperation between the countries of Southeast Asia and East Asia.