ASEAN Foreign Ministers Sign Charter to Form Legal Entity

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations moved to forge an EU-style community, signing a charter that makes the regional grouping a legal entity for the first time.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the new charter, ratified on Monday by foreign ministers, provides legal guidelines for economic and political integration.

"All these agreements are important because we have to present a united front in the face of these pressures coming because of the financial turmoil."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said ASEAN has made a big step forward by integrating itself.

"This is a momentous development at a time when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs, at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift."

The charter also seeks to pave the way for the creation of a single market for the region by 2015.

The regional bloc started developing a free-trade zone in the 1990s, but progress was slow because countries sought to exclude key industries from low-tariff rules.