ASEAN needs collective leadership<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, Jakarta, korpur@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
For many people, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN) is more like a remnant of its past glory, especially
\nafter the regional financial crisis of 1997, as a result of which
\nits strongest advocate, Indonesian president Soeharto, fell from
\npower in 1998. Some richer countries have even started bullying
\nthe group, and the international media often describes ASEAN as
\npast history.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the longest serving
\nelected government leader in the region, noted that many people
\nwrote off the group after the financial crisis.<\/p>\n
However, "It is obvious today that far from being written off,
\nmany countries want to have special relations with the ASEAN
\ngroup," AFP quoted him as saying after the ASEAN summit which
\nincluded leaders from China, Japan, South Korea, India and South
\nAfrica.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said that
\nby boosting cooperation with its neighbors, the regional group
\nwill be better able to confront future challenges.<\/p>\n
The threat of communists and terrorists, and not economic
\ninterests, will likely be the most effective unifying factor for
\nASEAN members. With a common enemy, member nations will wake up
\nand stay alert to confront any imminent danger. A case in point
\nis the recent terror attacks on the Indonesian island of Bali,
\nafter which ASEAN members drew together, willing to face the
\nregional threat.<\/p>\n
The terrorists have now awakened ASEAN.<\/p>\n
In their eighth summit in Cambodia last week, ASEAN leaders
\ndemonstrated a strong sense of unity in their objective to
\neradicate terrorism, because their failure would endanger the
\nlives of their citizens, and no less important, their own
\npolitical careers.<\/p>\n
"We resolve to intensify our efforts, collectively and
\nindividually, to prevent, counter and suppress the activities of
\nterrorist groups in the region," the 10 ASEAN leaders said in a
\njoint declaration on Monday.<\/p>\n
The threat of communism and later, the Vietnamese occupation
\nof Cambodia in late 1979, effectively cemented the five original
\nmembers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and .
\nWhen the regional group succeeded in putting an end to the
\nCambodian political unrest in 1991, doubts emerged as to the
\nfuture challenges of the organization, because the member nations
\nare direct economic competitors.<\/p>\n
After the economic crisis of 1997, most ASEAN members became
\nmore inward-looking, busy as they were with their own domestic
\naffairs. Singapore, the region's most advanced nation, became
\nimpatient with ASEAN's slow progress, and so negotiated Free
\nTrade Agreements (FTA) with the U.S., Japan and Australia.
\nBrunei, which joined the group in 1984, rarely takes the
\ninitiative, while Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos remain in the
\nsidelines, and Myanmar still cannot resolve its political
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
Indonesia itself has even hinted at its weariness with ASEAN,
\nand in September hosted the ministerial meeting of the Southwest
\nPacific Forum in Yogyakarta, hoping to reduce international
\nsupport for the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in the rebellious
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, younger leaders are emerging in Thailand,
\nIndonesia and the Philippines with little, if any, emotional
\nattachments to ASEAN. There also exists a generation gap with
\nolder leaders, such as Mahathir and Goh.<\/p>\n
The annual ASEAN summit with China, Japan and South Korea is
\noften perceived to be the platform of the three guest nations,
\nand ASEAN a poor host who must entertain its much more prosperous
\nguests, for a few benefits in return for its warm welcome. When
\nthe three guests talk about the threat of North Korea, ASEAN
\nsmiles politely on, although it has little interest in the Korean
\nPeninsula.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area
\n(AFTA) commenced this year, but the historic event came to pass
\npractically unnoticed.<\/p>\n
In its relationship with Asian neighbors, however, ASEAN has
\nscored a few points, with an FTA proposed by China last year,
\nfollowed by Japan shortly afterwards. India and South Africa were
\nadded to the guestlist for the summit this year to extend its
\nglobal outreach, but people need immediate economic improvement.<\/p>\n
It was only after Sept. 11 that western countries like the
\nU.S. again became attentive to this region, especially with
\nregards to Indonesia as the world's post populous Muslim nation,
\nand they applauded Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and
\nThailand for their harsh actions against alleged terrorist
\norganizations operating in their territories.<\/p>\n
Priding itself on its political evolution into a democratic
\nand a law-binding country, however, the Indonesian government
\ninsisted it could not punish the alleged terrorists without
\nevidence. Instead, it ridiculed Malaysia and Singapore for using
\nthe Internal Security Act (ISA) to arrest people indefinitely.
\nIndonesia was ready to cooperate with its neighbors and fight
\nterrorism only when terrorists bombed Bali and killed at least
\n190 people.<\/p>\n
Indonesia must also face another bitter fact, that it will be
\nvery difficult to regain its leadership in ASEAN. The last five
\nyears show that no dominant state or leader now exists in the
\nregion. ASEAN faces a new era, where collective leadership will
\nreplace the dominant role of Indonesia under the Soeharto regime.
\nThe Bali tragedy shows us that the region has no other choice but
\nto work together, and that ASEAN remains crucial for peace in the
\nAsia-Pacific. The regional group remains one of the most
\nimportant keys for world prosperity, although it may seem for the
\ntime being that it looks very small compared to skyrocketing
\nChina.<\/p>\n
Was the Bali tragedy a blessing in disguise, in bringing
\nSoutheast Asian nations together again?<\/p>\n
In any case, the sacrifice of the innocent people in Bali must
\nbecome the cornerstone to rebuilding peace and prosperity for the
\nregion.<\/p>",
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