Noninterference goal fades among ASEAN members<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Reuter): The first political victim of Asia's
\neconomic crisis will be the region's rallying cry that countries
\ndo not interfere in each other's affairs, the head of a regional
\nthink tank said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"I think this is far and away the most important regional
\npolitical implication of the turmoil,\" said Bob Broadfoot,
\nmanaging director of the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic
\nRisk Consultancy.<\/p>\n
\"All of Asia now recognizes that there are cross border
\nlinkages that they were tending to ignore before,\" he told
\nReuters.<\/p>\n
Thailand pushed the entire region into economic turmoil with
\nits July 2 managed float of the baht after months of currency
\nspeculation.<\/p>\n
Currencies fell and rates soared throughout the region as the
\nspotlight fell upon current account deficits, rampant asset price
\ninflation, high foreign denominated debt exposure and
\ndisappointing economic growth.<\/p>\n
Although Thailand's situation was considered far worse than
\nelsewhere, its capacity to catapult the region into a prolonged
\nperiod of economic instability forced all Asian nations to
\ncontemplate their interdependence, Broadfoot said.<\/p>\n
This issue strikes at the foundation of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose members have prided
\nthemselves on an ability to speak as one voice on matters of
\ncommon interest while respecting each other's national
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
But the Asian economic crisis was the second reminder of the
\nelusiveness of this goal in recent months, falling hard on the
\nheels of ASEAN's decision in July to delay Cambodia's entry
\nfollowing a coup by Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, Broadfoot
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
China's contribution of US$1 billion to the Thai bailout fund
\nwas also significant given ASEAN's wariness of China's growing
\nregional influence, Broadfoot said.<\/p>\n
\"Asia needed a voice to position itself against this growing
\npolitical and economic clout of China,\" he said. \"But now
\ngovernments of Asia putting into bailout funds can twist the arms
\nof other governments if they perceive domestic policies could get
\nso out of whack they threaten to have regional repercussions...
\n\"When was the last time China coughed up US$1 billion for
\nanything?\" he asked. \"This is new. You now have governments that
\nare participating in a package to stabilize an economic situation
\nin another country -- and they're not doing it out of the
\ngoodness of their heart.\"<\/p>\n
Greater regional cooperation, probably through the
\n\"politically correct\" front of the International Monetary Fund,
\nwas now more likely in a region characterized by the sort of
\nauthoritarian governments and volatile politics that disrupted
\nCambodia earlier this year, Broadfoot said.<\/p>\n
\"The most important thing to remember is, it always starts
\nwith politics. And now what we have are the economic realities,\"
\nhe said. \"Now we see very, very clearly that the mismanagement of
\none economy, if allowed to go on, can have regional
\nimplications.\"<\/p>\n
The nine member nations of ASEAN are Brunei, Myanmar,
\nIndonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
\nand Vietnam.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/noninterference-goal-fades-among-asean-members-1447893297",
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