Author Archives: Aaron Siirila

The Second US-ASEAN Leaders Meeting: Pitstop or Plateau?

By Aaron Siirila | Published: October 15, 2010

In an Asia Pacific Bulletin released today by the East-West Center, Catharin Dalpino says that despite the issues surrounding its preparation, the second US-ASEAN Leaders Meeting was a milepost in “the very real advances in US-ASEAN relations in recent years.” She writes: Perhaps the most significant achievement of the second US-ASEAN Leaders Meeting co-chaired by [...]

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Second U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting is First to be Held in United States

By Aaron Siirila | Published: September 28, 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed leaders of the ASEAN countries to the first U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting to be held in the United States, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York City, on Friday, September 24. In his opening remarks, Obama praised ASEAN’s leadership in Asia and reiterated the grouping’s [...]

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U.S. Senate Announces Resolution Supporting U.S. Engagement with ASEAN and Member States

By Aaron Siirila | Published: September 24, 2010

Senators Kerry And Webb Support Strong U.S. Engagement With Southeast Asia Washington, D.C.-–Corresponding with the second ASEAN-United States summit in New York City, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Jim Webb (D-VA), issued the following statements announcing the Senate’s unanimous passage of a resolution supporting recent [...]

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U.S. Trade Representative Highlights Trade with ASEAN Countries

By Aaron Siirila | Published: August 16, 2010

The U.S. Trade Representative office, which leads the U.S. executive branch efforts to negotiate trade agreements and resolve disputes, has produced a series of briefings that show how trade benefits the United States and individual states. Included in the briefings are specific highlights of key ASEAN countries. The report on Vietnam highlights the fast growth [...]

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ISEAS Newsletter Highlights ASEAN Matters for America

By Aaron Siirila | Published: August 2, 2010

The July 2010 newsletter of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, prominently features the ASEAN Matters for America / America Matters for ASEAN project. The article provides a historical context to the data presented on the ASEAN Matters for America website, demonstrating the many political linkages that have been made between Southeast Asia [...]

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ASEAN Secretariat Features Project

By Aaron Siirila | Published: June 12, 2010

Calling the project, “simple, readable, yet impressive,” Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, launched the ASEAN Matters for America project with Dr Satu Limaye, Director of the East-West Center in Washington, on Thursday, June 10, 2010, at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta. The project is also featured prominently on the Secretariat’s website. Dr. Surin was pleased [...]

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Initiative Launches in Singapore at ISEAS

By Aaron Siirila | Published: June 8, 2010

On Monday, June 7, the ASEAN Matters for America/ America Matters for ASEAN project was formally launched in Southeast at the headquarters of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore. The project is a joint collaboration between the East-West Center in Washington and the ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC) at ISEAS. The East-West Center [...]

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U.S. Exports to Asia Surpass those to Europe for first time ever

By Aaron Siirila | Published: May 17, 2010

For the first time ever, Asia has surpassed the European Union as an American export destination, according to the Wall Street Journal blog, Real Time Economics. The story, “Sign of the Times: Emerging Asia Surpasses EU as U.S. Export Destination” by Kelly Evans, cites a Moody’s analysis of a recently released U.S. Commerce Department report: [...]

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New Interactive Visualization: State Exports to ASEAN

By Aaron Siirila | Published: May 7, 2010

We’ve posted a new interactive visualization of US Exports to ASEAN, broken down by state. The graphic allows users to view 2008 Exports data in one of three ways: Dollar value exports to ASEAN (US$) Growth in exports to ASEAN, 2002-2008 (%), showing states where trade with Southeast Asia is increasing (or decreasing) Exports to [...]

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Launch Event Success

By Aaron Siirila | Published: April 9, 2010

The ASEAN Matters for America / America Matters for ASEAN project was successfully launched on Friday, April 2. Making remarks at the launch were: Mr. Keith Luse, senior professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ambassador Scot Marciel, deputy assistant secretary for Southeast Asia and ambassador for ASEAN affairs, U.S. Department of [...]

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