Southeast Asian countries must be more proactive, scholar urges<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian countries should focus on \"strategic
\nengagement\" with regional neighbors and Europe, rather than
\ntraditional \"non-interference\", a leading European scholar said
\non Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Corrado Letta, an Italian who chairs the strategic thinking
\nteam for the upcoming fourth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in
\nCopenhagen in October, said European investors had been
\nabandoning Southeast Asia in recent years because of the lack of
\nprogress in relations between the two regions.<\/p>\n
\"Investors will welcome the transition to a more strategic
\nengagement principle,\" Letta told a discussion at the Asian
\nlaunch of his scholarly book ASEM's Future.<\/p>\n
Letta presented a paper with the thought-provoking title Can
\nAsians Think? Can Europeans Listen? at the discussion, which was
\njointly sponsored by the ASEAN Foundation and the Italian
\nEmbassy.<\/p>\n
His book is a two-volume work charting how the European Union
\nand Asia, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN), can strengthen cooperation.<\/p>\n
He did not elaborate on his \"strategic engagement\" concept,
\nbut stressed that policies in any country should be based on
\n\"strategic thinking\" and \"strategic listening\", rather than
\nemotional reactions to events.<\/p>\n
The principle should be applied to the practice of good
\ngovernance -- including human rights and democracy -- as this
\nwould be noted by investors, he said.<\/p>\n
A departure from the non-interference principle could also
\nrevive ASEAN, he said, noting the regional grouping has been
\nvirtually inactive since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's former foreign minister Ali Alatas did not dispute
\nLetta's call for more strategic engagement, saying ASEAN was no
\nlonger so dogmatic about non-interference.<\/p>\n
But Alatas told the discussion it was impossible to expect
\nASEAN countries to drop non-interference altogether, because it
\nhad helped promote harmony in the region.<\/p>\n
Issues in one country that affected other countries in the
\nregion had been widely and openly discussed, he said, citing the
\nproblems of haze from forest fires originating from Indonesia,
\npiracy and international human smuggling as examples where ASEAN
\nwaived the non-interference principle.<\/p>\n
Alatas admitted, however, that \"we could have done much more.\"<\/p>\n
On the slowing down in relations between Europe and Asia,
\nAlatas pointed to faults on both sides, saying each had been
\npreoccupied with problems in its own backyard.<\/p>\n
ASEAN countries have had to deal with a major financial crisis
\nand the enlargement of the group to 10 members, Alatas said. He
\nadded Indonesia, which had previously provided leadership for the
\ngroup, had virtually turned inward in the face of its domestic
\ncrisis.<\/p>\n
But he said the European Union has also faced problems,
\nincluding \"hangovers\" from the Kosovo war and the Balkan conflict
\nand the addition of new member states. Also, big EU corporations
\nhad been consolidating within Europe instead of spreading their
\nwings, Alatas said.<\/p>\n
Under these circumstances, Asia-European relations could not
\nbe expected to grow as fast as many would like, he said.<\/p>\n
\"But it doesn't mean that we should stop trying.\"<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/southeast-asian-countries-must-be-more-proactive-scholar-urges-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }