ABSTRACT
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as one of the oldest modern regional organizations, has always been an important actor in shaping regionalism both in Southeast Asia and broader East Asia. In financial regionalism, the influence of ASEAN and a new regional group called ASEAN+3, which includes Japan, South Korea, and China, and the ten ASEAN countries, are clearly seen. After the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998, ASEAN+3 formed regional surveillance and liquidity mechanisms and took steps to improve regional bond markets. Moreover, the ASEAN countries took steps for improving regional surveillance, regional bond markets, and financial integration in Southeast Asia. These two geographically overlapping financial cooperation processes have continued without excluding each other, but also without totally merging into one single framework. This chapter aims to understand the place of the ASEAN financial cooperation process within the context of broader East Asian financial regionalism, and to explain the dynamics behind the interplay between ASEAN and ASEAN+3.