ASEAN holds its own in East Asia Grouping: Analysts<\/p>\n
M. Jegathesan, Agence France-Presse\/Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
The East Asia Summit debuts here next week, raising fears it
\ncould marginalize the venerable ASEAN bloc that it sprang from,
\nbut observers say Southeast Asia's club will retain its central
\nrole.<\/p>\n
The East Asia Summit groups the 10-member Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with regional powerhouses
\nChina, Japan and South Korea, and newly accepted members
\nAustralia, India and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The 16 leaders of the world's newest grouping will meet here
\nnext Wednesday, after the annual two-day ASEAN summit, but no one
\nyet knows what the forum stands for, or even when it will convene
\nagain.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian hosts say they expect the summit will be a
\nstrategy-focused organization with a wide geopolitical view,
\nwhile some hope that it could be the precursor of an eventual
\nfree-trade East Asian Community.<\/p>\n
"There has always been some expression of concern whether we
\nare going to replicate, or to overwhelm such processes," Syed
\nHamid Albar said this week when asked if the summit would
\nobliterate smaller groupings.<\/p>\n
"(But) we should not be challenging other processes or bodies.
\nWe should add value to existing bodies -- that's our intention."<\/p>\n
Diplomats and analysts also said that the uncertainty over the
\nnew grouping's identity ensured that ASEAN would, for the next
\nfew years at least, remain the region's central force for closer
\nintegration.<\/p>\n
"It will not diminish the role of ASEAN. We have to see how
\nthe East Asia Summit will develop," a top European diplomat told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
An East Asian diplomat involved in the wrangling over the
\nguestlist for the inaugural event said that although ASEAN was
\n"in the driver's seat", problems could emerge in the future as
\nthe membership widened.<\/p>\n
"The more big powers join, it will be difficult for ASEAN to
\npersuade them to accept its ideas. This may cause a split within
\nASEAN as some ASEAN members may come under pressure from the big
\npowers to accept their ideas," he said.<\/p>\n
Abdul Razak Baginda, from the influential Malaysian Strategic
\nResearch Center, said the inclusion of India, Australia and New
\nZealand -- as a counterweight to China -- meant the grouping had
\nalready lost its way.<\/p>\n
"Any fear that the gathering will eclipse ASEAN is unfounded.
\nBecause nothing is going to come out of the summit. Even the
\nmembers do not know what creature they have created," he said.<\/p>\n
"The leaders are going to spend a few hours together. That's
\nall," he said, adding that the grouping has no specific framework
\nor membership policy.<\/p>\n
Describing the inaugural East Asia summit as a "talkshop",
\nAbdul Razak noted it was originally intended to be a confined to
\nthe countries meeting in recent years as "ASEAN plus-three" --
\nChina, Japan and Korea.<\/p>\n
"Now they have opened it. There is no clear commonality in the
\nclub. You have India and Australia. Why not put in the United
\nStates and North Korea. In the end it is a talk shop," he said.<\/p>\n
Syed Hamid said however that far from being nervous about
\nstepping up onto the world stage with regional giants India and
\nChina, the birth of the forum indicated a new maturity in the
\nregional outlook.<\/p>\n
"I think it shows that we have reached a stage. We recognize
\nthe challenges, at the same time we also look at the
\nopportunities," he said.<\/p>\n
"Looking at India and China, these are two big giants but you
\ncan't just say we're scared that they will overwhelm us. I think
\nwith 500 million population within ASEAN, we intend to play a
\nrole... and to give meaning to the people of the countries within
\nASEAN."<\/p>\n
ASEAN, founded in 1967, is made up of Brunei, Cambodia,
\nIndonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
\nThailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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