NAGLABAS si dating Pangulong Fidel V. ramos ng mga pananaw hinggil sa association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration at mga stakeholder. Sa isang artikulong inilabas ng Manila Bulletin noong oktubre 26, 2014, inilahad ng dating Pangulo ang mga inaasam at mga suliranin sa ASEAN economic integration 2015.
Sinabi naman ng beteranong peryodista at editor-publisher na si Tony Lopez, sa kanyang column sa Manila Standard: “ASEAN will become a major economic bloc. it is now home to 620 million people, with a nominal gross Domestic Product or a total economic output of $2.23 trillion (3.3 percent of the world’s total GDP), total exports of $1.2 trillion (7% of the global total, and total GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) of $3.6 trillion.”
Muli para sa ating mithiin para sa “Economic Community”, sinabi ni FVR: “its key concept is integration of priority sectors of the Southeast Asian Economy, thereby making ASEAN’s a single market and production platform, characterized by the free flows of capital, goods, services, investments and skilled labor.”
Naniniwala si FVR na mararanasan ng rehiyon ang paglago ng ekonomiya “only if it reduces the poverty of their families and their communities; only if it brings better public health, housing, basic education services and jobs, as well as higher incomes for everyone.” Kailangang yakapin ng mga asiano, lalo na ng Pilipinas, ang ASEAN bilang kanilang sariling “community”, diin ni FVR, sa mga dimensiyong pang-ekonomiya, kultura, pulitika, seguridad, at kailangang makita nila ang kapakipakinabang na impluwensiya nito sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na pamumuhay.
