The 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit kicked off in the Peace Palace here on Tuesday, bringing the region one step closer in the making of the ASEAN community.

The building process started in 2003 when heads of state of ASEAN member countries agreed at the 9th ASEAN Summit that an ASEAN community shall be established marked by the signing of the Bali Concord II.

At the 12th ASEAN Summit held in January 2007 in Cebu of the Philippines, the leaders affirmed their strong commitment to accelerating the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 and signed the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.

According to it, the ASEAN Community comprises three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

Each pillar has its own blueprint, and, together with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Strategic Framework and IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), they form the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015.

The ASEAN Charter, which entered into force in 2008, serves as a firm foundation and a significant milestone in achieving the ASEAN Community goal by providing legal status and institutional framework for the ASEAN. It also codifies ASEAN norms, rules and values, sets clear targets for the ASEAN, and presents accountability and compliance.

To enhance capacity building, the ASEAN has set up ASEAN Coordinating Council and three ASEAN Community Councils, including the ASEAN Political-Security Community Council, the ASEAN Economic Community Council and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council.

At the 19th ASEAN Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2011, the ASEAN leaders adopted the Bali Declaration on ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations, or the Bali Concord III, a historic outcome document which is widely expected to increase the ASEAN's active role in addressing global issues and to map out the road for ASEAN's interaction with the global community.

In the Concord, ASEAN leaders affirmed their commitment to adopting a more coordinated, cohesive and coherent ASEAN position on global issues of common interest and concern which would further raise ASEAN's common voice in relevant multilateral fora, and to develop an enhanced ASEAN capacity to contribute and respond to key global issues of common interest which would benefit all ASEAN member states and its peoples.

The ASEAN leaders also affirmed their pledge to bring the ASEAN common platform on global issues into reality by 2020.

The ASEAN, established in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.