ASEAN complete: Is it stronger or weaker?<\/p>\n
By Thomas Lanig<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (DPA): It was a sober, almost austere event, but the
\nofficial acceptance of Cambodia into the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) last Friday was nonetheless the fulfillment
\nof its founders' long-cherished dream: the grouping is finally
\ncomplete, with all the region's 10 members on board.<\/p>\n
Despite the occasion's symbolic importance, no-one felt like
\ncelebrating unduly in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, where foreign
\nministers had arrived with relatively small delegations. \"We are
\nmore conscious about austerity these days,\" said one official.<\/p>\n
The comparatively downbeat atmosphere was indeed a sign of the
\ntimes. Two years ago, Southeast Asia still had a reputation as a
\nbooming growth region, which at times presented itself somewhat
\narrogantly as a success model the West would do well to emulate.<\/p>\n
Then came the Asian crisis. \"Ironically, (ASEAN) is at its
\nweakest, even though the grouping now stands for all of Southeast
\nAsia,\" commented Singapore's Straits Times.<\/p>\n
\"It is an unfortunate situation. Everyone is weak,\" agreed
\nThanat Khoman, one of the two surviving founders of the grouping.
\n\"But the only way for a weak ASEAN to achieve economic betterment
\nis to enlarge itself to counter the tide of globalization,\" he
\ntold Bangkok's Nation newspaper.<\/p>\n
ASEAN's weakness has not just been economic. The group's
\ninternational influence has also been diminished, some experts
\nargue, by its inability to find common answers to the crisis.<\/p>\n
Politically, the grouping that includes many one-time \"tiger
\neconomies\" has become a paper tiger, and the Asian crisis is now
\nalso an ASEAN crisis. \"ASEAN has lost much stature in the
\ncrisis,\" admits Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons for this, critics say, is actually ASEAN's
\nenlargement, which has made the group less homogeneous.<\/p>\n
ASEAN was founded in 1967 by Singapore, Thailand, the
\nPhilippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Brunei came on board in 1984
\nand Vietnam in 1995. Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joined the club in
\n1997, while Cambodia's entry was delayed by a bloody coup there.<\/p>\n
The group of ten remains sharply divided into relatively
\nwealthy and dirt-poor members: Per capita income varies from
\nUS$30,000 per year in Singapore to less than $300 in Vietnam and
\nCambodia.<\/p>\n
Politically, the democracies of Thailand and the Philippines
\nare worlds apart from the military dictatorship in Myanmar.
\nCambodia now strengthens the ASEAN faction of have-nots, and of
\nnations with questionable democratic legitimacy.<\/p>\n
The group's structural problems are increased by ASEAN's
\nunwritten principle of non-interference in the affairs of its
\nmembers, a concept that has all but paralyzed the grouping
\npolitically, critics say.<\/p>\n
\"Southeast Asian countries have grown used to sweeping
\nproblems under the rug,\" Dewi Fortuna Anwar, foreign affairs
\nadvisor to Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, was quoted as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
Like Bangkok and Manila, Jakarta is increasingly questioning
\nthe sacred policy of non-interference.<\/p>\n
A high-profile victim of the ASEAN crisis has been relations
\nwith the European Union, in a dispute over human rights abuses in
\nMyanmar.<\/p>\n
\"Summary executions, torture, forced relocation of villagers
\nand widespread use of forced labor. It is a depressing list that
\ndoes not do ASEAN proud,\" commented the Straits Times. Despite
\nthe regime of terror, Myanmar's partners refrain from openly
\ncriticizing the generals of Yangon.<\/p>\n
Last Friday, only one person's chest was swelling with pride.
\nCambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gained important international
\nlegitimacy by joining the regional club. After decades of war and
\ncivil strife, his country has finally gained a respectable place
\nin the community of nations.<\/p>\n
Of course, Phnom Penh also hopes for a badly-needed economic
\nupturn. Experts agree that Cambodia will benefit in the long term
\nfrom its ASEAN membership and the AFTA free trade zone members
\naim to declare in 2002, even if there will be some initial
\nadjustment pains.<\/p>\n
In the long run, what is true for the grouping as a whole also
\napplies to Cambodia: The future of ASEAN will depend on whether
\nits member-states are able to make life better for their 500
\nmillion people -- in other words, whether they can revive the
\nsuccess of the first 30 years.<\/p>",
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