Expanded ASEAN is positive for the region<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Political scientists and observers from the
\nAsia-Pacific region said yesterday that the planned expansion of
\nthe Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a
\npositive development for the region, provided it is carried out
\nin a pragmatic way.<\/p>\n
\"The current drive by the Southeast Asian people themselves to
\nbe one Southeast Asia of ten countries is really a milestone in
\nthe region's history,\" Hasjim Djalal, Indonesian ambassador-at-
\nlarge for the Law of the Sea and Maritime Affairs, said at a
\nworkshop held by the Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies (CSIS).<\/p>\n
The workshop, held to highlight CSIS's silver anniversary, was
\ncalled \"One Southeast Asia in a New Regional and International
\nSetting\".<\/p>\n
ASEAN, a regional political and economic grouping formed in
\n1967 to act as a buffer against communist expansion, currently
\nhas seven members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the
\nPhilippines, Brunei, and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
ASEAN's membership will be extended to ten countries with the
\ninclusion of Cambodia and Laos next year and Myanmar later. The
\naverage economic growth of ASEAN's current members ranges between
\n6 and 8.5 percent.<\/p>\n
The admission of Vietnam, a communist country, into ASEAN last
\nyear was proof of the association's constructive and positive
\nrole in maintaining peace and stability in the region, Hasjim
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Liao Shaolian of China's Institute of
\nSoutheast Asian Studies of Xiamen University said that since
\nASEAN has provided a better example of flexible regional
\ncooperation than any other international organizations, ASEAN
\ncould play a better role in the triangular geopolitical strategy
\nbetween Asian powers like China and Japan, and the United States.<\/p>\n
Although most speakers agreed on the positive developments the
\nassociation has achieved, a number of participants also voiced
\nworries that ASEAN, with its extended membership, may not achieve
\nas much as it did before, and that the economic growth of some
\nmember countries may slow down.<\/p>\n
John Bresnan, professor of the School of International and
\nPublic Affairs at Columbia University, New York, said that since
\neconomic growth has transformed each ASEAN member country's
\npolicies and interests, new challenges and problems have arisen
\nand new strategies are needed.<\/p>\n
Bresnan said that ASEAN needs thorough understanding and keen
\nobservation by foreign policy analysts.<\/p>\n
These political analysts should be \"well-equipped and
\nknowledgeable of the developments in other member countries,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Masahide Shibuzawa, the director of the East-West seminar,
\nsaid Japan would welcome \"ASEAN 10\" as long as it plays a
\npositive role in the region.<\/p>\n
Shibuzawa said that bilateral ties between China and Japan are
\ngood now, but \"in the event that relations between Japan and
\nChina turn sour,\" Tokyo might ask ASEAN to face Beijing.<\/p>\n
He also said that ASEAN, as a regional power, could also offer
\nthe new security environment the U.S. has been looking for
\nfollowing the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n
Jusuf Wanandi, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CSIS, said
\nASEAN could play a bigger role in promoting peace and security as
\nwell as equity and social justice in the region.<\/p>\n
\"ASEAN should also try to provide what the UN could not
\nprovide, by implementing collective security systems like
\npeacekeeping, not only here, but also in other parts of the
\nworld,\" he added.<\/p>\n
ASEAN's role in helping achieve a comprehensive peaceful
\nsolution to the Cambodian armed conflicts in the last decade was
\nwidely praised.<\/p>\n
One of the participants from the Philippines, however,
\nreminded the workshop that extension of membership in the
\nassociation means also that ASEAN will have more responsibilities
\nand obligations.<\/p>\n
Soedjati Djiwandono, member of the CSIS Supervisory Board,
\ncautioned that the planned extension of membership should be
\ncarried out in a pragmatic way and not at the expense of any
\nmember's national interest.<\/p>\n
ASEAN's achievements and successes were mainly due to the
\nmembers' economic strength and accomplishments, he added. (ego)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/expanded-asean-is-positive-for-the-region-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}