A new milestone<\/p>\n
Even before the meeting started in Bogor yesterday, one could
\nfeel the consensus emanating from the 18 APEC leaders who were
\nall dressed in specially designed Indonesian batik shirts. The
\npress conference later in the day only confirmed that the
\noccasion was not just another international talk-shop.<\/p>\n
The APEC Economic Leaders Meeting finally endorsed what is
\ntermed the \"Indonesian vision\", i.e. a commitment to
\nliberalization towards free and open trade and investment in the
\nAsia-Pacific region along the principles of GATT. They also
\ndesignated a set of dates: the developed nations should implement
\nfree and open trade and investment no later than the year 2010
\nand the developing economies no later than 2020.<\/p>\n
Even though they fell short of determining an agenda on when
\nand how to start the whole process, the political commitment to
\nset specific target dates is already an enormous step and gives a
\nstrong signal to the whole world. All the more so because it
\ncomes at a time when the momentum for free trade is faltering
\nelsewhere in the world.<\/p>\n
At the tender age of five years, the APEC grouping of 18
\neconomies is still in a fragile stage that does not discount the
\npossibility of fragmentation. The diversity of its members is
\nsuch that APEC encompasses practically all of the underlying
\nconflicts of interest that set the East against the West, the
\nNorth against the South, the developed nations against the
\ndeveloping nations.<\/p>\n
Their per capita incomes range from US$470 in China, among the
\nlowest in the world, to $28,500 in Japan, among the world's
\nhighest. Their populations range from 267,800 in Brunei to 1.2
\nbillion in China. The socio-political spectrum varies from that
\nof the last bastion of communism to that of the most capitalistic
\nof nations.<\/p>\n
There are at least three existing sub-regional trade
\narrangements in the area, AFTA (comprising the six ASEAN
\ncountries), ANZERTA (Australia and New Zealand) and NAFTA
\n(Canada, Mexico and the USA). Each of them has its own exclusive
\nand specific goals and targets, and each is not at ease with the
\nothers.<\/p>\n
Three APEC members (the USA, Japan and Canada) belong to the
\nworld's \"rich men's club\", the G-7, which regularly addresses the
\ncourse of the world economy according to their own designs. On
\nthe other hand, one member, that being Indonesia, is among the
\nworld's poorer nations. It chairs the Non-Aligned Movement of 108
\ncountries, frequently dubbed the \"poor club\". And in between you
\nhave the newly-industrialized countries (NICs) of the world.<\/p>\n
However, despite all that has been said, the Asia-Pacific
\nregion is also the most dynamic region in the world. While other
\nparts of the world are engaged in armed conflicts, or immersed in
\nproblems of high unemployment and its implications to economies,
\nthe countries of the Asia-Pacific region are experiencing
\neconomic miracles.<\/p>\n
And for the last several years the nations of this region have
\nfound that their economies are becoming more and more integrated,
\nproviding the world's highest growth rate. Trade across the
\nPacific has outstripped trade across the Atlantic. Investments
\nacross borders in the region are accelerating to everyone's
\ndelight.<\/p>\n
The coming together of representatives of 12 economies of the
\nregion in Canberra in 1989 did not get the attention it deserved
\nat first, either from the outside world, or from their own
\nconstituents back home. The inclusion of China, Hong Kong and
\nTaiwan two years later -- already an undreamed of possibility
\nelsewhere -- still did not invoke encouraging support. Even after
\nthe first informal leaders meeting on Blake Island last year, one
\ncould feel a very reserved appreciation.<\/p>\n
APEC was seen more as a talk-shop, with negligible substance;
\nand this is underlined by the fact that its summit meeting is
\ntermed an \"informal leaders meeting\". From the outside, it has
\nbeen observed suspiciously as the creation of a new and exclusive
\ntrading bloc. And internally there was a feeling that the concept
\nof free trade was not to the interests of some members like China
\nand Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Bogor meeting proves that this experiment can work and is
\nnot to be dismissed as just another international get- together.
\nIts strategic importance lies not in its structure -- or lack of
\nit -- or in any specific schedule like the one adopted by ASEAN
\nor the European Union for that matter. Rather, it lies in its
\ncontribution to regional peace and prosperity. Free trade and
\ninvestment are just two of the means to that end. They are not
\nends in themselves. For the last several years the Asia-Pacific
\nregion has distinguished itself as a region of relative peace and
\nprosperity. The institutionalization of APEC can only enhance
\nthat.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-new-milestone-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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