Kuala Lumpur summit takes ASEAN to higher plane<\/p>\n
Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Since its inception 38 years ago, the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) has operated on principles that, in spite
\nof its seemingly endless summits and meetings throughout the
\nyear, defy a true organization in its strict sense of the word.
\nIt has remained essentially a loose organization with very few
\nrules.<\/p>\n
There are no leaders but only rotating chairs. Its decisions
\nare not binding, which allows members to opt out of any agreement
\nor pact if they felt it went against their national interests.
\nMembers don't take decisions, but rather consensus. And at least
\nuntil recently, they don't interfere or comment on the domestic
\naffairs of fellow members.<\/p>\n
Change is apparently in the air.<\/p>\n
With ASEAN expanded to include all 10 members in the
\ngeographically defined Southeast Asia since 1997, and with ASEAN
\nincreasingly playing a bigger role in international affairs, and
\nwith the group pushing for free trade arrangements within the
\ngroup and with their neighbors, and with China and India rising
\nfast to become regional powers, there is a growing realization
\nthat ASEAN has got to change its ways.<\/p>\n
And, as former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas argues,
\nit is not a question of whether or not ASEAN members are ready,
\nbut more a question of when.<\/p>\n
\"We should have done this a long time ago,\" Alatas told The
\nJakarta Post at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport lounge
\nbefore boarding his flight for Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Alatas is in Kuala Lumpur in his capacity as a member of the
\nEminent Persons Group (EPG) overseeing the drafting and
\nestablishment of the new ASEAN Charter. The charter itself won't
\nbe ready at the ASEAN summit this week, but ASEAN leaders will
\ngive their endorsement for officials to begin work on drafting
\nthe group's constitution.<\/p>\n
\"ASEAN has operated on the basis of declarations rather than
\ntreaties,\" Alatas said. Each of the 10 ASEAN members has
\nappointed a representative to the EPG.<\/p>\n
The European Union (EU), which is struggling to enact a new
\nconstitution, has operated on the basis of the Treaty of Rome.
\nThe Africa Union and the Organization of American States are also
\nfounded upon charters. A charter would establish the association
\nas a juridical personality and a legal entity. It would make
\nclear the association's objectives,\" Rodolfo Severino, ASEAN
\nsecretary-general 1998-2002, writes.<\/p>\n
\"The charter would enshrine the values and principles to which
\nthe association's members adhere, and which, in a real sense,
\ndefine its very nature,\" Severino said in a paper he wrote for
\nthe Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).<\/p>\n
How far ASEAN members are willing to go in crafting a charter
\nremains a big question mark. An ASEAN constitution that is
\nbinding will mean that members have to abide by the rules, and
\nthus could very possibly entail the loss of some sovereignty. The
\nEU experience is a good example.<\/p>\n
\"We should not talk about sacrificing sovereignty. We should
\nredefine sovereignty itself to accommodate the fact that
\ncountries will have to give up something for the good of the
\nregion,\" Alatas said.<\/p>\n
The Kuala Lumpur declaration to be read out on Monday at least
\nshows the goodwill of ASEAN leaders to formalize their relations.<\/p>\n
The charter will incorporate many of the principles already
\nenshrined in earlier ASEAN documents, most notable of which are
\nthe Bangkok Declaration of 1967, the Bali Concord of 1976, the
\nTreaty of Amity and Cooperation of 1976, the Southeast Asia
\nNuclear Weapons Free Zone, the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the ASEAN
\nVision 2020, the Bali Concord II of 2003, and the Vientiane
\nAction Program of 2004.<\/p>\n
But negotiations for the charter are expected to be tough on
\nhow much sovereignty members are willing to give up. ASEAN is
\nmade up of monarchies, republics, democracies and authoritarian
\nregimes, and they often don't see eye to eye on many things.
\nGoing by the EU experience of pushing its own new constitution,
\nASEAN probably still has a long way to go before it comes up with
\na charter.<\/p>\n
\"No. There's no deadline to speak of. But we expect to see a
\ndraft of the text by next year,\" Alatas says.<\/p>",
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