Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the possibility of a mini Schengen-like area here in ASEAN. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: The Thai dream to have Visa-exempt travel to Europe is a likely scenario. So it appears to have been a priority of this Prime Minister and one that I couldn't agree with more of sort of for lack of a better term “empowering” the Thai passport. So part of this is getting the Thai passport Visa-free access to as many other countries as possible.

I think this is a laudable initiative but on the other side of it there also seems to be sort of an upshot if you will in terms of some desire to see a sort of more Pan-ASEAN kind of Visa area if you will. So quoting directly: "In return," (that's presumably in return for again sort of following up to this issue of Schengen access for a Thai Passport holder) "Srettha (that's the Prime Minister in Thailand) is promoting the idea of a mini Schengen in Asia whereby EU citizens could enter Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia provided they had entry clearance to just one. This issue will need careful discussion since ASEAN countries are far from unified on Visa issues." Yeah that's a big, yeah good point. Quoting further: "For example, Thailand allows most International tourists to enter for free whereas Cambodia charges almost everyone $US30. There is presently no regional agreement for extensions of stay or residence with each ASEAN country having its own regulations.”

Well now, one thing to bear in mind is I don't think we are going to see anything like a Pan-ASEAN Long-Term Visa anytime soon. I think that is probably way off on the horizon arguably so far off that it's really just a notion, it's not even something to talk about as if it could possibly happen anytime soon. But a Visa area if you will or an area here in this part of the world that is more conducive to allowing tourists in, I don't see that that is outside the realm of possibility at all. If anything, I can definitely see a group getting together within ASEAN and saying "hey it benefits all of us if we maybe allow for certain passport holders to gain access to all of our countries by coming to just one". How that plays out remains to be seen; if it will happen remains to be seen. As noted in this article and as usual, I urge those watching this video go check out that article in detail, but again they bring up the fact that there are a lot of moving parts that go into creating anything that would be Pan-ASEAN. So again, don't expect this anytime soon but I definitely think it is something good to think about and I hope that they are working toward it.