Bogor to take APEC one step forward<\/p>\n
By Endy Bayuni<\/p>\n
BOGOR, West Java (JP): Leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic
\nCooperation (APEC) forum gather here today to take the grouping
\none step further forward from their last meeting in Seattle,
\nWashington, last year, on the question of a regional free trade
\nzone.<\/p>\n
But whether this will be a giant or a small step for APEC will
\nbe determined by the eight-hour informal discussions which the 18
\nleaders, or their representatives, are slated to hold during
\ntheir retreat to the Presidential Palace, a grand Dutch colonial-
\nstyle white building set in spacious green surroundings.<\/p>\n
Much will also depend on the ability of host President
\nSoeharto, the oldest and the most experienced statesman in the
\npack, to steer the discussions towards some kind of commitment on
\nthe question of free trade, widely regarded as the most important
\nitem on today's agenda.<\/p>\n
The 18 APEC leaders will be going to the Garuda Hall, where
\nthe meeting will be convened, by themselves. They will be
\naccompanied only by their interpreters.<\/p>\n
No aides<\/p>\n
No aides will be around them to advise, a condition seen as
\nideal for the leaders to speak their minds and give their
\npersonal visions on the future of APEC and the region.<\/p>\n
This is the same format that was used at the first APEC
\nleaders meeting in the quiet of Blake Island in Seattle, 12
\nmonths ago. The Blake Island meeting, which was attended by
\nleaders and representatives from 14 of the 15 APEC member
\ncountries, then came up with an \"Economic Vision Statement\" that
\noutlined their views on the economic future of the region.<\/p>\n
The vision also refers to the establishment of some kind of a
\ncommunity of Asia-Pacific countries, although it refrained from
\ntrying to define the kind of community they will strive for.<\/p>\n
Instead, the leaders then decided to ask APEC's Eminent
\nPersons Group (EPG) to once more conduct a study based on the
\noutline of the statement. The EPG report, presented to APEC
\nchairman Soeharto in August, recommends the establishment of a
\nfree trade area by the year 2020 if not before.<\/p>\n
Today, the leaders are back together again to take up the
\nrecommendation. Most of them were present in Seattle.<\/p>\n
Second timers<\/p>\n
Besides Soeharto, the second timers are U.S. President Bill
\nClinton, Canadian Prime Minister Joseph-Jacques Jean Chretien,
\nAustralian Prime Minister Paul Keating, New Zealand Prime
\nMinister Jim Bolger, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, South Korean
\nPresident Kim Young- sam Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong,
\nPhilippine President Fidel Ramos and Brunei Sultan Hassanal
\nBolkiah. Taiwan state minister Vincent Siew and Hong Kong
\nFinancial Secretary Sir Hamish Macleod, who are representing
\ntheir governments, were also in Seattle last year.<\/p>\n
The first timers are Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama
\n(who was elected only last June) and Malaysian Prime Minister
\nMahathir Mohamad (who declined Clinton's invitation to attend the
\nSeattle meeting). Then there are the three new kids on the APEC
\nbloc: Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Chile
\nPresident Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and Papua New Guinea Prime
\nMinister Sir Julius Chan.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, as APEC chairman and host of today's
\nleaders meeting, has made extensive and elaborate preparations
\nfor the event, both in terms of the meeting's substance as well
\nas the proceedings.<\/p>\n
He has already visited the Bogor Presidential Palace on two
\noccasions in the past two weeks to go over details of the
\nmeeting, the arrival of the leaders and the schedule. He also
\ninspected the rooms and facilities and also checked up on the
\nmenu.<\/p>\n
Informal<\/p>\n
Despite elaborate preparations, the Indonesian organizers have
\nrepeatedly emphasized that the Bogor meeting today, like in
\nSeattle, is informal.<\/p>\n
There are two main reasons for this: One is to create an
\natmosphere conducive to open and frank discussions without the
\nusual restrictions required under state protocols.<\/p>\n
Another reason is to appease China, which is reluctant to
\nparticipate at a meeting in which its representative has to sit
\ntogether with those of Chinese Taipei, the official name of
\nTaiwan, and Hong Kong. Host Indonesia has refrained from inviting
\nTaiwan's president or Hong Kong's governor for the same reason.<\/p>\n
Despite the informality of it all, including the attire the
\nleaders will be wearing today, the outcome of the leaders'
\nmeeting is crucial, especially if it decides on a deadline for a
\nfree trade area.<\/p>\n
There is also concern, echoed by Malaysia, that the leaders
\nmeeting is another step towards the institutionalization of APEC,
\nwhich as it has constantly reminded other APEC members, was
\nfounded as a loose consultative forum.<\/p>\n
The leaders meeting was the initiative of Clinton when he
\nenvisioned an Asia-Pacific community. President Soeharto
\napparently decided to hold the second meeting this year in view
\nof the unfinished business left at APEC on the question of the
\nEPG recommendation.<\/p>\n
Whether or not there's a need for a third leadership meeting
\nin Japan, the chair of APEC as of January, will also to a large
\nextend depend on Bogor, according to political analysts.<\/p>\n
If the national leaders can settle the crucial issue today,
\nthen there may not be a need for a third meeting next year. It
\nwill then be left to the APEC ministers to work out the details
\nof the APEC free trade.<\/p>",
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