ASEAN Single Aviation Market Would Be Major Step Toward Better Integration

ASEAN Single Aviation Market Would Be Major Step Toward Better Integration

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Single Aviation Market (SAM), dubbed the open skies policy, seeks to liberalize air services under a single and unified air transport market in ASEAN by 2015. Air travel is part of a larger discussion among the proposed ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), whose objective is to increase economic integration among members through the harmonization of trade and investment policies under a single market and production base. The AEC, also slated for 2015, will rapidly transform the region into a fiercely competitive, unified player in the world’s economy, boosting intraregional trade and investment flows and attracting investors to take advantage of a significant consumer market.

Southeast Asia already boasts a combined GDP of more than $2.2 trillion and a population of approximately 620 million, exceeding NAFTA and the European Union in size. Regional trade and investment liberalization have further increased production networks to less-developed and previously restricted countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. In the next two decades, individual states are projected to post an average annual growth rate of 6 percent, and the SAM is meant to contribute to that.

ASEAN’s conception of the SAM is addressed in two multilateral agreements, which have already come into effect with the acceptance of the minimum number of three member states. The Multilateral Agreement on Air Services and the Multilateral Agreement for the Full Liberalization of Passenger Air Services contain protocols that liberalize market restrictions among ASEAN capital cities, secondary cities and subregions for both air freight and passenger services.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article as well as three free articles per month. You'll also receive our free email newsletter to stay up to date on all our coverage:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having your own personal researcher and analyst for news and events around the globe. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of 15,000+ articles
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday
  • Weekly in-depth reports on important issues and countries
  • Daily links to must-read news, analysis, and opinion from top sources around the globe, curated by our keen-eyed team of editors
  • Your choice of weekly region-specific newsletters, delivered to your inbox.
  • Smartphone- and tablet-friendly website.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review