This barrier has led to non-binding statements rather than clear policies in the past and even today. For example, ASEAN members committed to implementing AFTA in 1992 in an effort to achieve regional economic cooperation, but after nearly two decades, AFTA has had only limited success due to a lack of political will in addressing trade and other barriers (Bhaskaran , 2010:39). The AFTA was also ineffective because the implementation was changed frequently and there was a lack of precision in members' obligations (Ravenhill, 2008:471). Following a 2003 McKinsey report that criticized ASEAN as having a fragmented market for goods and services despite integration efforts, and as new regional challenges emerged, particularly how ASEAN is being left behind from China, member states agreed to further advance their economic cooperation by committing, in 2003, to establish a fully integrated AEC (Ravenhill, 2008:471&476). But 13 years later, ASEAN has still failed to achieve its goal due to poor implementation of policies and agreements in the context of weak institutional basis or ASEAN Secretariat.