Asian powers reach initial agreement on pan-Asia trade<\/p>\n
Vijay Joshi, Associated Press\/Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Diplomats preparing for the inaugural East Asia Summit reached an
\neleventh-hour agreement on Thursday on a grand plan to eventually
\ncreate a cohesive economic community across the disparate region.<\/p>\n
At issue was how deeply integrated the community should be and
\nhow fast it should be created, and whether it should be driven by
\nthe summit's sponsor, the 10-nation Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations.<\/p>\n
India's insistence on firm commitments to integrate in a pan-
\nAsian economic community had for months held up finalization of a
\ndeclaration diplomats were preparing for leaders at Wednesday's
\n16-nation summit.<\/p>\n
But hectic negotiations on late Thursday resolved the
\nproblems, both sides said.<\/p>\n
"We're very happy everyone agreed to the Kuala Lumpur
\ndeclaration on East Asia summit including India. India is in the
\nprocess, so there is no more problem," Malaysian Foreign Minister
\nSyed Hamid Albar told reporters.<\/p>\n
An Indian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because
\nhe was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed Syed
\nHamid's comments. "Everything has been sorted out. Just some
\nfinishing touches have to be given here and there," he said.<\/p>\n
He said India also has no objection to ASEAN being "in the
\ndriving seat" to lead the initiative.<\/p>\n
The East Asia Summit comprises ASEAN, Australia, China, India,
\nJapan, New Zealand and South Korea.<\/p>\n
The 16 countries account for about 3 billion people, or half
\nthe world's population, and a fifth of global trade. Any
\npartnership to form a trading community would rival Europe or
\nNorth America.<\/p>\n
But large questions remain about how European-style
\nintegration can take shape in a region ranging from communist
\nLaos -- one of the world's poorest economies -- to democratic
\nJapan -- the world's second-largest.<\/p>\n
The Indian diplomat said that India had asked for "deepening
\neconomic integration and community building" in East Asia, in
\nother words a free trade area in a European style community.<\/p>\n
"We had articulated our views and both find reflection in the
\ndocument," he said.<\/p>\n
Thursday's agreement is only a first step toward a regional
\neconomic community, which could be years away. The East Asia
\nSummit must create a mechanism for the vision to take shape. How
\nthat is done is something for the leaders to decide at the
\nsummit, diplomats said.<\/p>\n
So far, the region's free trade agreements generally are
\nbetween a single large country and a small country or a bloc of
\nsmall ones - without any comprehensive accords among heavyweights
\nsuch as China, Japan and South Korea and India.<\/p>\n
China's enormous size and growing economy have given it
\nincreasing influence with ASEAN and it is reluctant to share top
\nbilling with India, which is pushing for faster integration in
\npart to better export its expertise in software development.<\/p>\n
China's traditional tensions with Japan also represent a
\nhurdle, said Takashi Terada, an international relations expert at
\nthe National University of Singapore.<\/p>\n
ASEAN, which holds its own summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday,
\nhas come under strong pressure in recent years to get member
\nnation Myanmar to bring about democratic reform and release pro-
\ndemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
The country's military junta has declined, despite frustrated
\npleas from its neighbors. Still, the issue was not expected to
\nfigure prominently in this year's summit despite renewed U.S.
\npressure on the issue, said Syed Hamid, the Malaysian foreign
\nminister.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-powers-reach-initial-agreement-on-pan-asia-trade-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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