East Asia economic bloc unlikely, Akrasanee says<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The East Asian economy will only get better and stronger and has
\nthe potential to become one of the world's most powerful economic
\nforces, according to Thailand's former minister of commerce
\nNarongchai Akrasanee.<\/p>\n
However, Akrasanee doubted that such situation would lead the
\ncountries within the region toward forming an integrated economic
\nbloc -- a concept that has been center stage in the region in the
\nlast two to three years.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the emerging East Asia economic area will be
\nthe third economic center of the world, but is unlikely to be an
\neconomic bloc,\" he said in a speech on Wednesday, during the
\nlaunching of a book titled, ASEAN-Japan Cooperation: A foundation
\nfor East Asian Community, to commemorate the 30th year of a
\nrelationship between the Association of Southeast Asian countries
\nand Japan.<\/p>\n
Akrasanee was invited to deliver the 2003 Panglaykim Memorial
\nLecture before a forum here organized and hosted by the Center
\nfor Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a respected think
\nthank in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Akrasanee, a former senator who currently serves as an advisor
\nto Thailand's deputy prime minister, pointed to negative
\nimplications if the area were to form such a bloc -- the reason
\nwhy it was unlikely.<\/p>\n
The impacts would all center mainly on two things.<\/p>\n
Not only would it prompt retaliatory action from other areas,
\nbe it within or outside the region, but would also -- more
\nimportantly -- exclude themselves from the outsiders.<\/p>\n
Both would only bring in undesirable impacts to the area, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The concept of an East Asia economic bloc -- which should
\ngroup together the region's established economic giants such as
\nJapan and South Korea, coupled with the newly born China, with
\nAsia's emerging economies in the manner of ASEAN countries -- has
\nbeen widely discussed not only in the region, but also outside.<\/p>\n
Akrasanee highlighted a number of reasons behind the emergence
\nof such a discussion. First of all, the countries in the area are
\nbeginning to realize that they have become a significant part of
\nthe world's economy.<\/p>\n
By the end of last year, the combined gross domestic product
\n(GDP) of those countries stood at 21 percent of total world GDP,
\nwhile exports reached a quarter of the world's total. In
\ncomparison, in the 1970s, the total GDP and exports in the area
\nwere still 14 percent and 9 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n
Aside from that, Akrasanne went on, other reasons for the
\nintensive discussion on the issue were that these countries were
\ndisappointed at the unjust system exposed by the existing global
\neconomic corporation such as the World Trade Organization (WTO),
\nas well as how the global financial system works -- often very
\nmuch against developing countries, as evident in the recent
\nregional financial crisis.<\/p>\n
Another point that only recently came to the surface was the
\npolitically driven economic system, which has been introduced by
\ndeveloped countries, notably the U.S.<\/p>\n
\"They are ruining many things what we're trying to accomplish
\nby doing that. First they did it with the politics of the Cold
\nWar, and now, with the politics of international terrorism.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-asia-economic-bloc-unlikely-akrasanee-says-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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