Asia Regional Integration Center

The ASEAN Surveillance Process (ASP) was established as a regional surveillance mechanism to complement the surveillance mechanism of the IMF and the national surveillance process of each member state. A Terms of Understanding for establishing the ASP was signed in February 1998, finalized in August 1998 and endorsed in December 1998. In 1999, it began to function as a mechanism for peer review and exchange of views among the senior officials (central bank and finance) and Finance Ministers on recent economic developments and policy issues in ASEAN. Since then, it has evolved into an important mechanism in ASEAN on regional economic monitoring and surveillance. The ASP reviews global, regional, and individual country developments, and monitors exchange rate and macroeconomic aggregates as well as sectoral and social policies. It facilitates consideration of policy options, encouraging member countries to develop prompt individual or collective responses to prevent crises. The ASP also provides a mechanism for sharing information and for developing early warning systems. To carry out these objectives, ASEAN Finance Ministers meet annually with ministries of finance and central bank deputies meeting semiannually. Key achievements to date include:

• establishment of a dedicated unit at the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) to conduct regional surveillance and facilitate regional cooperation activities in finance;
• establishment of national surveillance units in selected countries (Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam) to assist in building capabilities in surveillance related work;
• capacity building training programmes for ASEAN finance and central bank officials on regional economic monitoring and surveillance, conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); and
• conduct of technical studies and policy papers on finance and economic issues (e.g., fiscal sustainability, banking and corporate restructuring, and monitoring of capital flows).