U.S.-ASEAN Strategy Commission

Launching the U.S.-ASEAN Strategy Commission

About the Commission

The Southeast Asia program at CSIS launched the U.S.-ASEAN Strategy Commission in November 2010.  The high-level American initiative underlines growing recognition that Southeast Asia is vital to U.S. national security and economic interests and seeks to provide inputs for a long term U.S. strategy for the region.

Co-chaired by Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, Chairman of the C.V. Starr Company, and former Secretary of Defense and U.S. Senator William S. Cohen, the commission brought together thought leaders including top executives from American companies, former government officials, and civil society leaders. The initiative included an extensive review of U.S. interests in Southeast Asia ranging from security and political to trade and investment to sociocultural and people to people ties with the goal of presenting a set of recommendations representing key elements of a long-term U.S. strategy for Southeast Asia to the President and the Congress.

The Commission presented its recommendations before the U.S. hosted Asia’s leaders in Hawaii in November 2011 for the APEC Leaders’ Summit.  The CSIS Southeast Asia Program hosted a rollout of the report in November 2011 and published the final report, Developing and Enduring Strategy for ASEAN, in January 2012.  The report provides recommendations for a long-term partnership between the U.S. and ASEAN and offers suggestions to the U.S. administration and Congress on advancing American interests in the Southeast Asian region

The Commission was non-partisan and engaged a wide range of U.S. and Asian experts, including through high level visits to the region for consultations between Southeast Asian leaders and their U.S. counterparts.

The Commissioners

• Hank Greenberg, Chairman, CV Starr and Company
• Willam Cohen, Chairman, The Cohen Group
• Richard Armitage, President, Armitage International
• Manuel Arroyo, President, ASEAN Business Unit, Coca-Cola
• James Blackwell, President, Chevron Asia Pacific
• Senator Christopher Bond
• Ralph Boyce, President for Asia, The Boeing Company
• George David, Former Chairman, United Technologies Corporation
• Ralph Gerson, CEO, Guardian Industries
• Carla Hills, Chairman & CEO, Hills & Company
• Roderick Hills, Partner, Chairman, CSIS - Hills Program on Governance & former SEC Chairman
• Henrietta Holsman Fore, Chairman and CEO, Holsman International
• Admiral Timothy Keating, U.S. Navy (Retired)
• Timothy Shriver, Chairman, Special Olympics
• William Reilly, Chairman of the Board, Aqua International Partners
• Edward Tortorici, Executive Director, First Pacific Company Limited
• Keith Williams, CEO, Underwriters Laboratories

Full commissioner biographies

For more information on this project view the, CSIS LAUNCHES U.S.-ASEAN STRATEGY COMMISSION, press release.