ASEAN retains some control over APEC's direction<\/p>\n
By Endy Bayuni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN) is retaining some influence over the direction the Asia
\nPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is taking, but it may
\neventually have to give up that privilege if the forum continues
\nto expand its membership.<\/p>\n
ASEAN, established in 1967, helped found APEC in 1989 despite
\napprehensions that the forum might weaken its own existence, or
\nreplace some of its programs it had painstakingly built over the
\nyears, such as its annual dialog with its major trading partners.<\/p>\n
The six ASEAN members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore and Thailand -- agreed to support APEC
\nafter gaining a number of assurances. These include the fact that
\nASEAN's existence within APEC is recognized, that APEC's
\ndecisions are not binding, and that any move to institutionalize
\nAPEC must be conducted in phases and in a pragmatic manner.<\/p>\n
The other six original APEC members -- the United States,
\nCanada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand -- also
\nthrew in a number of concessions for ASEAN for good measure. One
\nis that the APEC's leadership, and the right to host the APEC
\nannual meeting, goes to an ASEAN country every other year.
\nAnother is what the APEC members have come to regard as the
\n\"ASEAN way of doing things\" -- that any decision must be made by
\nconsensus, meaning that it has to have the support of all the
\nmembers, not by a simple majority the West is more accustomed to.
\nThis virtually ensures that APEC moves slowly, or only as fast as
\nall the members are prepared for it to.<\/p>\n
But that was five years ago.<\/p>\n
Since then APEC's membership has expanded to 18 -- with the
\ninclusion of China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Mexico, Papua New
\nGuinea and Chile -- and it might be too much for ASEAN to still
\ninsist on chairing the forum every other year.<\/p>\n
After Indonesia this year, the baton will be passed to Japan
\nin January and then to the Philippines in 1996. Before Indonesia,
\nSingapore and Thailand from ASEAN have chaired APEC, and among
\nnon-ASEAN countries, Australia, South Korea and the United States
\nhave had the privilege.<\/p>\n
In a recent television interview, Minister of Foreign Affairs
\nAli Alatas, when asked to comment on the prospect of ASEAN losing
\nits right to lead the forum, pointed out that not all ASEAN
\ncountries have chaired APEC.<\/p>\n
Although the membership of ASEAN countries within APEC is
\nstill on an individual basis, ASEAN remains a coherence voice
\nwithin the forum.<\/p>\n
\"Of course there are nuances, but ASEAN remains solid,\" Alatas
\nsaid in the APEC discussion aired by the ANteve last Sunday.<\/p>\n
Now with talks within APEC about the establishment of a free
\ntrade area and about the move to further institutionalize the
\nforum, ASEAN's unity is being tested once again.<\/p>\n
Indonesian officials said the ASEAN ministers, as has been
\nthe tradition, are scheduled to have their own informal meeting
\nbefore the APEC ministerial conference gets underway on Friday.<\/p>\n
Officials said ASEAN will also continue to push with its idea
\nof establishing the East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC), grouping
\nAsian countries within APEC although the idea has been opposed by
\nthe United States, and Japan, which ASEAN is counting on to
\nbecome a member, has not given any firm response.<\/p>\n
For Indonesia, and for the other ASEAN countries and other
\ndeveloping countries for that matter, its participation in APEC
\nis seen as a way of countering or neutralizing the tendency for
\nthe big economic powers to try to dominate its economy.<\/p>\n
Alatas, during the same television program, pointed out that
\nthe United States and Japan would try to dominate the ASEAN
\neconomies anyway \"with or without APEC\".<\/p>\n
Through the multilateral forum provided by APEC, the
\ndeveloping countries can neutralize or counter this tendency to
\ndominate, something that is impossible to do on a bilateral
\nbasis, so the argument goes.<\/p>\n
Observers said however that with the expanding APEC
\nmembership, ASEAN would eventually lose some, but not all,
\ninfluence over APEC's future.<\/p>\n
It is just as well that APEC in 1993 declared a three-year
\nmoratorium on new members while it reviews the criteria for
\nmembership of what now becomes an exclusive grouping, at least as
\nseen by outsiders.<\/p>\n
A number of other countries are already knocking on APEC's
\ndoors. Russia and Vietnam now feel they qualify to be part of the
\nelite group given that their economies are now \"interacting\" more
\nactively with the rest of the region. On the other side of the
\nPacific, Peru is also keen in jumping on the APEC bandwagon.<\/p>\n
Brazil and Argentina have also expressed an interest although
\nthey are unlikely to be accepted because their shores are not on
\nthe Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
Similarly, India's request to join has been turned down for
\ngeographical reasons. Only Asian countries with shores on the
\nPacific qualify. But Indonesia and a number of other countries
\nhave been pondering the establishment of an Indian Ocean economic
\ncooperation forum, and the prospect has been enhanced now with
\nthe opening up of South Africa.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-retains-some-control-over-apecs-direction-1447902657",
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