ASEAN finds little unity in diversity<\/p>\n
By Dean Yates<\/p>\n
HANOI (Reuters): With one word, tiny Laos symbolized the lack
\nof unity at a summit of Southeast Asian nations in Vietnam this
\nweek.<\/p>\n
Lao Prime Minister Sisavat Keobounphan, speaking at a scripted
\nopening ceremony on Tuesday, said it was \"regrettable\" Cambodia
\nwas not a full member at the summit of the Association of South
\nEast Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
A diplomatic slap by any standard, the word hung in the air
\nand shredded any pretense that ASEAN's principle of consensus
\nwould prevail at the two-day summit and prove the group was
\nunited in rescuing its battered economies, analysts said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
And it was not only Cambodia that divided ASEAN, whose nine
\nmembers comprise Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
A clear fissure emerged over how ASEAN wanted to fight the
\nregion's worst economic crisis in decades.<\/p>\n
Discord over whether to embrace the global economy or retreat
\nbehind capital controls, accelerate trade liberalization or lower
\nimport barriers cautiously, neutered what some had hoped would
\nproduce a strong message on ASEAN financial reform.<\/p>\n
The best ASEAN could come up with was a statement of so-called
\n\"bold measures\" that analysts said promised much in the catchy
\nslogan but delivered little in the fine print.<\/p>\n
\"Southeast Asia leaders came to Vietnam and the underlying
\nimpression of discord did little to restore the group's
\ncredibility. They failed to keep the Cambodian issue from
\novershadowing the summit,\" one Western diplomat in Hanoi said.<\/p>\n
\"I think the bottom line is the outside world wanted to see
\nASEAN leaders do something about the economic crisis and they
\nhave got together and created these so-called bold measures but
\nthere was nothing in that to spark attention.\"<\/p>\n
Alison Broinowski, a visiting fellow at the Faculty of Asian
\nStudies at the Australian National University, said the imminent
\ninclusion of Cambodia and discord on how to fight the economic
\nwoes showed ASEAN's cohesiveness was being \"severely challenged\".<\/p>\n
\"I think they are overreaching themselves with the 10
\n(members) and they have taken the risk of bringing in some who
\nare seriously poor,\" said Broinowski, an author and expert on
\nASEAN.<\/p>\n
Those urging caution on trade reform were communist-ruled
\nVietnam and Laos, among the poorest countries in the world.<\/p>\n
Cambodia had been expected to join ASEAN in mid-1997 along
\nwith Laos and Myanmar, but its entry was delayed after Premier
\nHun Sen ousted his then co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh in a
\ncoup. Last month Hun Sen, who won a July poll but not enough
\nvotes to govern alone, agreed to a new coalition with Ranariddh.<\/p>\n
Leaders secured a face-saving decision by agreeing to admit
\nCambodia but not during the summit as most members had wished.
\nSingapore was most opposed, saying the new coalition government
\nneeded to implement certain agreements first.<\/p>\n
David Fernandez, ASEAN Economist at J.P. Morgan in Singapore,
\nsaid the Cambodian issue underlined the fault lines that remained
\nwithin ASEAN and further exposed the group to the limitations of
\nbecoming a two-tiered organization.<\/p>\n
\"This is an obvious structural problem in the way ASEAN is
\ndeveloping and in many ways it has the potential for diluting the
\nlikelihood of ASEAN becoming one voice for the region,\" he told
\nReuters by telephone.<\/p>\n
ASEAN had to make hard decisions in the future to reinvent
\nitself and regain credibility, Broinowski added.<\/p>\n
\"But to make these hard decisions they have to forget about
\nthe consensus rule and the non-interference principle,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"If they cannot deal with this as other organizations do and
\nsay that consensus is too slow and non-interference just too
\ninefficient then I think the chance of ASEAN reinventing itself
\nquickly enough to be effective is slight.\"<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad insisted ASEAN must
\nstick to the principle of non-interference in the affairs of
\nmember states and base all decisions on consensus.<\/p>\n
But Thailand urged more openness and Premier Chuan Leekpai
\nsuggested the group needed new approaches and fresh thinking to
\nmeet the challenges of a fast-changing world.<\/p>\n
Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan also admitted on Tuesday
\nthat in the face of the crippling economic crisis ASEAN's once
\nprized characteristic of diversity had become a burden.<\/p>\n
Diverse political, social and economic systems had to be
\nreconciled by member countries if the grouping was to regain
\ninternational investor confidence, he said.<\/p>\n
Window: The best ASEAN could come up with was a statement of
\nso-called \"bold measures\" that analysts said promised much in
\nthe catchy slogan but delivered little in the fine print.<\/p>",
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