An overview of SAARC and ASEAN

Limiting competition, preventing interstate conflict among members and fostering regional orders in Southeast Asia has been a central and continuous feature since the establishment of ASEAN.ASEAN is always imperative to sustain its credibility by providing the platform of interactions in East Asia and the rest of the world. From its inception South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation is struggling to acquire its goal in South Asia. Bilateral conflicts have overshadowed regional development as the members of SAARC cannot take up conflictual bilateral issues. All the South Asian states have to be more or less Indo-centric in both their nuances and practices. The mistrust of India and Pakistan keeps alive their rivalry at all levels-bilateral, regional and international. Because of conflicts dominating Indo-Pakistan relations, the evolution of SAARC into a regional community is still far off. To focus on ASEAN’s success comparing to SAARC and reason behind this is the purpose of this paper.