FEATURE
ASEAN HERITAGE PARKS AND LEGAL TOOLS FOR SUBMARINE CABLE PROTECTION BY WAHAB JUMRAH
INTRODUCTION
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organization that was established in 1967 with the aim of promoting economic, political, and social cooperation among its ten member countries in Southeast Asia1. Once in two years, ASEAN leaders will hold a summit to discuss and resolve current issues ranging from economy to socio-cultural development. As part of this summit, ASEAN leaders usually exchange MOUs, develop and declare several initiatives to promote its regional bloc. The recent ASEAN Summit 2023 was held successfully in Labuan 1
ASEAN. https://asean.org/about-asean (accessed in May 2023)
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Bajo, Indonesia in May 2023 despite no progress with the current issue with Myanmar2. One of the lesser-known initiatives of ASEAN is the ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) program, which was launched in 2004 to promote the conservation of natural and cultural heritage sites in the region. This program has identified and designated parks across the ten member countries of ASEAN. In addition to promoting conservation, the AHP program also aims to promote sustainable tourism and development in the region. 2 Lamb, K. (2023, May 11). ASEAN will not give up on Myanmar peace despite no progress – minister. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ asean-must-show-unity-tackle-myanmars-escalating-crisis-indonesia-president-says-2023-05-11/.