Increased global competition makes ASEAN regional alliance more important

Noviscape suggest that ASEAN countries come together and create a regional brand to maintain relevant in an increasingly competetive world.

“As China and India grow, individual ASEAN countries, even Indonesia cannot go it alone. ASEAN must come together to forge a true ASEAN identity, a branding of sorts. The initiative taken in building an ASEAN television station must be well-resourced in order to compete with media giants such as China’s CCTV, the Arab world’s Al Jazeera, and the US’s CNN, in order to provide a voice for ASEAN. The world is run by the media and ASEAN must have a share in it. An ASEAN public television network should therefore be considered as a priority.

“Other progressive outreach programs for the new generations must also be designed. ASEAN’s spirit must grow from the communities tying them together, not artificially created by bureaucracies alone. A social media strategy for ASEAN must be devised, including content of interest to the public. No one has the time to read through documents from ASEAN meetings, no matter how noble. Communications strategies will therefore be essential in forging relationships beyond those directly involved in the ASEAN process, i.e. the respective governments, private sector and the people.”

Implications from IFTF:
Regions may start utilizing social media, including news channels, to build their brand in order to shift ideas of nationality towards region-ality, and to amass enough power to be competitive with larger countries.