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POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND THE ROLE OF ASEANS IN FORMING SECURE ARCHITECTURE IN ASIA

The article considers the ASEAN approach to regional integration, which is characterized by great flexibility. All members of the group who are unable to agree on a collective policy can pursue their own, trying to hide internal disputes in the international arena. The main stages of political and economic integration of the group, the factors that hindered its successful development at the beginning of its existence have been identified.The process of formation of the AFTA free trade zone, its strategic goal, spheres of development are described. It is determined that free trade allows ASEAN countries with a narrow domestic market to increase its volume and save in the long run due to the positive effect of scale. The Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Investment Zone was considered, its role and spheres of influence were determined. There is an increase in foreign investment in the economic sectors of the group, which were previously unavailable.The role of ASEAN as an informal leader in the formation of political and economic cooperation between the countries of the region in order to solve the most pressing problems in the field of economy and security is outlined. The advantages and disadvantages of the Regional Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Security, which is the first ongoing mechanism to discuss security issues in the Asia-Pacific region to promote constructive dialogue, confidence-building measures in the region and development of preventive diplomacy to prevent possible conflicts. Noted the main activities of the Forum are the fight against terrorism and transnational crime, emergency response, non-proliferation and disarmament, maritime security. The effectiveness of ASEAN in the field of peacekeeping in the region in terms of the number of interstate and internal conflicts that occurred after the formation of the Association and the successful implementation of the group's policy of balancing between leading states in various integration structures and dialogues. It was determined that most of the disputes in the region remain unresolved, but do not enter the stage of open confrontation, which is fundamentally important for the development of the Association.