Adding substance to ASEM dialogue<\/p>\n
The Fifth Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hanoi has been
\nsignificant for having taken place at all, given the dispute over
\nthe admission of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
After all, the differences between the European Union and
\nASEAN over Yangon were wide enough for ministerial talks
\nscheduled last June to be called off. When Myanmar joined ASEAN
\nin 1997, the EU suspended the regular ASEAN-EU Ministerial
\nMeeting (AEMM) in protest against the human rights record of the
\nmilitary junta in Myanmar and the absence of progress towards
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
In contrast, while the compromise solution confined Myanmar to
\nrepresentation by lower-ranking officials, 11 of the 26 EU
\nmembers of ASEM sent their top leaders to the Hanoi summit,
\nincluding French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor
\nGerhard Schroeder. In the end, the importance of the ASEM process
\nwas too valuable to be scuttled or to be overshadowed by the
\nimpasse over Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the European determination to tighten the screws
\non the Yangon regime by imposing new sanctions is a reminder that
\nthe EU still does not share Asia's softly-softly approach which
\nis based on engagement rather than the isolation of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Whatever the differences, the forces driving the members of
\nASEM closer together are even greater. Nowhere is this more
\ncompelling than in economics, where trade among the 25 EU
\ncountries and the 13 Asian nations in ASEM accounts for 43
\npercent of the global total and 46 percent of world gross
\ndomestic product. The political imperatives are just as great.<\/p>\n
-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/adding-substance-to-asem-dialogue-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }