ASEAN towards 2000<\/p>\n
Besides the landmark security treaty that declares the whole
\nof Southeast Asia a nuclear-weapons-free zone, several other
\nstrategic decisions and agreements were made during the meetings
\nof the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Thai
\ncapital Bangkok last week.<\/p>\n
The combined results of the meetings pave the way for ASEAN to
\nplay a much bigger international role in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
Clearly the most important outcome was the agreement achieved
\non accelerated removal of tariff barriers to intra-ASEAN trade.
\nFor many goods, the new targets are now earlier than the target
\ndate for the advent of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), itself
\nalready brought forward from 2008 to 2003.<\/p>\n
True, the tasks involved in fully realizing the AFTA plan
\nremain formidable and the real difficulties will not show
\nthemselves for two or three years time. When the member countries
\nfinally get down to practical details, they will find themselves
\nin the real world, in which there is potential for conflict
\nbetween national and regional interests.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the political determination shown in moving
\ntowards AFTA ahead of the deadline will serve to maintain the
\nmomentum of cooperation in the region and will further strengthen
\nthe relevance of ASEAN as a regional economic grouping.<\/p>\n
Of the next greatest significance was the agreement on the
\nlaunching, next month, of negotiations on the liberalization of
\nfinancial services, maritime transport, telecommunications, air
\ntransport, tourism, construction and business services within
\nASEAN. Another strategic agreement relates to the protection of
\nintellectual property rights through, among other things, the
\nestablishment of a region-wide patent and trademark system.<\/p>\n
Apart from further supplementing and supporting AFTA, these
\ntwo agreements are important for making the Southeast Asian
\nregion more attractive to mid- and high-tech industries. ASEAN's
\nmembers have either achieved newly-industrialized-country status
\nor are rapidly advancing towards it. That makes it necessary for
\nthem to shift more to mid- and high-tech industries, as their
\nlabor-intensive enterprises start to lose their competitive
\nadvantage to countries with lower labor costs, such as India,
\nPakistan and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
The fourth important agreement reached relates to the efforts
\nto develop stronger economic links with the three other Southeast
\nAsian countries -- Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos -- with a view to
\ntheir eventual inclusion in ASEAN. It is too early to be certain
\nthat, in the year 2003, AFTA will be a common market of more than
\n500 million people. Nonetheless, the agreement in Bangkok
\nincreases the likelihood that such a huge common market will
\nmaterialize before 2010.<\/p>\n
The decision to help the three potential members early, before
\nthey join ASEAN, is not only quite strategic but also makes a lot
\nof common economic sense. Obviously, the three countries should
\nbegin adjusting their economies to mesh with those of their
\ndynamic neighbors. They must begin adhering to the principles of
\nthe market economy, for example. That process, in turn, requires
\na lot of institution-building efforts. Assistance from ASEAN's
\nmore developed members will, indeed, accelerate the process and
\nwill, it is hoped, make the adjustment less painful.<\/p>\n
However, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos should also realize that,
\nalthough they face tough economic requirements in seeking to join
\nASEAN, they will gain immediate benefits from their inclusion in
\nthe association. We expect that the three nations will soon
\nbecome more attractive to foreign investors. Foreign businesses
\ninterested in establishing enterprises in any one of the three
\ncountries will no longer see only the size of the particular
\nnational market, but a common market of more than half-a-billion
\npeople. A case in point is the European Union. Empirical studies
\nhave shown that foreign investment in Sweden, Austria and Finland
\nincreased sharply long before they finally joined the European
\nUnion early this year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-towards-2000-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}