Bangladesh has been trying to become a member of ASEAN (ASEAN), a regional alliance of Southeast Asia for a long time. However, the leadership of the alliance has practically ended that possibility. Asean Secretary General Kao Kim Horn has made it clear that Bangladesh does not qualify to be a member of the alliance due to its geographical location.
Speaking at the 10th ASEAN Media Forum held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, Kao Kim Horne said the chapter of increasing ASEAN's membership has come to an end. According to him, according to the ASEAN Charter, only countries in the recognized geographical region of Southeast Asia are considered as members.
He said Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea—both countries—are outside this defined geographical area. Therefore, there is no opportunity for them to get membership under the current charter.
According to the ASEAN Charter, also known as ASEAN's legal framework or constitution, certain conditions must be met for a new country to be admitted as a member. One of the most important conditions is that the applicant country should belong to the recognized geographical region of Southeast Asia. As Bangladesh is a country in South Asia and Papua New Guinea is a country in the Oceania region, they are unable to fulfill this condition.
But according to experts, the path to membership for Bangladesh or Papua New Guinea is theoretically not completely closed. If the 10 member states of ASEAN unanimously revise the charter and change the geographical definition, there may be opportunities for new countries to join in the future. But such a decision requires the consent of all member states.
In this context, Kao Kim Horn said, if the member countries do not amend the charter and if the geographical definition of Southeast Asia does not change, ASEAN will remain with the current 11 countries.
Notably, East Timor finally secured ASEAN membership after more than a century of efforts. After applying in 2011, the country joined the alliance last year after a lengthy process. It took so long to gain membership, the country's president José Ramos-Horta once joked, "It might be easier to enter heaven than to enter the door of ASEAN."
Bangladesh has also tried to get the support of ASEAN member countries at various times. While Malaysia held the presidency of the alliance, Dhaka stepped up diplomatic efforts on membership. Indonesia, on the other hand, openly supported Papua New Guinea's membership, but that initiative was also unsuccessful due to the limitations of the current charter.
At present, ASEAN, consisting of 11 countries in Southeast Asia, is considered one of the most important alliances in terms of economy, trade, security and regional cooperation.
