Cambodia, ASEAN and the Asian crisis<\/p>\n
During a ceremony in Hanoi on April 30, Cambodia formally
\njoined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as its
\n10th member. Membership in ASEAN is an important step in
\nCambodia's efforts to rejoin the international community. But the
\norganization as a whole is in no mood to celebrate the occasion.
\nSince the onset of the Asian currency crisis in 1997, ASEAN
\nmembers have been preoccupied with their own problems and have
\nshown less enthusiasm for expanding the grouping.<\/p>\n
Rapid economic growth created the conditions that enabled
\nASEAN to open up to new members, but it also exacerbated economic
\ninequalities in the region and focused more attention on the wide
\ndisparities in political development, democratization and human
\nrights records. Since the growth of the economies of Southeast
\nAsia has ground to a halt, these disparities have become a burden
\nfor ASEAN as a whole.<\/p>\n
The currency crisis struck just as ASEAN was beginning to
\nassert its leadership, forcing its members to concentrate on
\neconomic recovery. ASEAN may now have to postpone its plans to
\ninaugurate the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) until beyond the year
\n2002. Since increasing its membership to 10 states will not
\nguarantee a larger voice for ASEAN, it is imperative that the
\norganization concentrate on narrowing the political and economic
\ndisparities between its member states.<\/p>\n
-- The Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cambodia-asean-and-the-asian-crisis-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }