ASEAN summit marks the beginning of a new era<\/p>\n
Leaders of the seven-member Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations will meet in Bangkok tomorrow. Political analyst Dewi
\nFortuna Anwar speaks of the summit's importance.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The fifth ASEAN summit in Bangkok tomorrow will
\nbe an historic occasion. In addition to the seven members of
\nASEAN, the summit will be attended by the leaders of Laos,
\nCambodia and Myanmar. Laos and Cambodia will be official ASEAN
\nobservers, while Myanmar's leader will attend as a guest of the
\nhost country.<\/p>\n
This is the first time that leaders from the 10 countries in
\nSoutheast Asia have met in a regional forum. Vietnam, which had
\nbeen at odds with ASEAN since its establishment in 1967, joined
\nthe association as a full member in July this year. Laos,
\ntogether with Vietnam, has been an official observer of ASEAN
\nsince 1992, when the former signed the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and
\nCooperation in Southeast Asia. After some hesitation Cambodia
\nalso acceded to the Treaty at the last ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
\nin Brunei in July, thus becoming an ASEAN observer. Myanmar is
\nthe only Southeast Asian country that has not developed an
\nofficial link with ASEAN. Laos, on the other hand, has already
\nexpressed its wish to become an official ASEAN member by 1997.<\/p>\n
The first ASEAN summit to be hosted by Thailand marks the
\nbeginning of a new era for Southeast Asia. For centuries the
\nregion has been divided, first by colonial rulers and later by
\nthe Cold War. The end of the Cold War enabled Southeast Asian
\ncountries to bury their ideological and political differences,
\nand work together towards a common future.<\/p>\n
It is fitting that the first gathering take place in Bangkok.
\nFor it was here that the modest Bangkok Declaration establishing
\nASEAN was made on Aug. 8, 1967. The founding fathers of ASEAN had
\ndreamt of uniting Southeast Asia under one regional organization,
\nbut the Cold War stood in the way. Twenty-eight years later the
\ndream is becoming a reality.<\/p>\n
The current summit is symbolic and substantive in nature and
\nsignifies the evolution of ASEAN. It is clear that the widening
\nof ASEAN, with the inclusion of Vietnam, will not hamper intra-
\nASEAN cooperation as many had feared. Vietnam has shown a
\nwillingness and ability to participate in the ASEAN Free Trade
\nArea (AFTA), though it won't be able to until slightly after
\n2003. Further enlargement of ASEAN will not disrupt existing
\nASEAN projects, now mostly centered around AFTA, since new
\nmembers can join when they are ready.<\/p>\n
Besides finalizing the move towards AFTA through the Common
\nEffective Preferential Tariff plan, the Bangkok summit will
\nrealize the decade-long struggle for a Southeast Asian Nuclear
\nWeapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ). This concept was first introduced in
\nthe early 1980s by Indonesia's then foreign minister Prof.
\nMochtar Kusumaatmadja, as an integral component of ZOPFAN (Zone
\nof Peace, Freedom and Neutrality).<\/p>\n
The concept of ZOPFAN for Southeast Asia, introduced in 1971,
\nwas difficult to sell during the Cold War, when the region was
\nused as a proxy battleground by the great powers. It was
\nbelieved, however, that a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, similar to
\nthe ones already established in other parts of the world such as
\nthe South Pacific, would be more concrete and attainable.<\/p>\n
As it turned out, however, the SEANWFZ concept could not be
\npushed through during the Cold War due to the strategic location
\nof the region. Of all the major powers, the United States has
\nbeen the most opposed to the SEANWFZ.<\/p>\n
In Bangkok a treaty establishing the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone
\nwill be signed by all of the regional leaders. Some cynics argue
\nthat while the SEANWFZ is now feasible with the end of the Cold
\nWar, it is no longer a necessity. Nevertheless, the zone means
\nlong term insurance and a way to prevent regional countries from
\ndeveloping nuclear weapons. Peace cannot be taken for granted and
\nwe must strive to put in place as many mechanisms as possible to
\nprevent the outbreak of conflict.<\/p>\n
Another important aspect about the Bangkok summit is the
\ninstitutionalization of the summit itself. ASEAN has been in
\nexistence for over 28 years, but there have only been five summit
\nmeetings, including this one. The first summit meeting was held
\nin Bali in 1976, nine years after ASEAN was founded. A year later
\nthere was another summit, but the third summit only took place in
\n1987. For years, a meeting of high level policy makers was not
\nconsidered an essential and routine part of regional cooperation.<\/p>\n
Since then there has been a significant change of attitude.
\nFor ASEAN to remain vital and viable in the face of
\ninternational changes and economic competition, the heads of
\nstates or governments must be involved in every aspect of ASEAN
\ncooperation.<\/p>\n
At the fourth summit in Singapore in 1992 it was agreed that a
\nhigh level meeting would be institutionalized and held on a
\nregular basis. One hopes that the direct involvement of ASEAN's
\ndecision makers will speed up regional cooperation and economic
\nprogress.<\/p>\n
The writer is head of the Regional and International Affairs
\nDivision at the Center for Political and Regional Studies of the
\nIndonesian Institute of Sciences.<\/p>",
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