Will SARS crisis boost ASEAN's co-responsibility?<\/p>\n
Kavi Chongkittaborn, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok<\/p>\n
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
\ntraditionally believe that they can always turn a crisis into an
\nopportunity. Soon they will find out if this is true when they
\nmeet in an informal summit to discuss the deadly SARS virus in
\nBangkok on April 29.<\/p>\n
If the summit goes well, as the Thai leaders hope, it could
\nherald a new beginning of closer cooperation brought on by new
\nchallenges and uncertainties. Since the economic crisis in 1997
\nthe region has been trying to recover from financial turbulence
\nonly to be jolted by a new international environment.<\/p>\n
ASEAN leaders thought that they had already had their worse
\nnightmare: the Bali bombing last October. But the war on Iraq
\nchanged that perception. And within days, as if to rub salt into
\nthe wound, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
\n(SARS) reached ASEAN's doorstep. Past lessons have taught the
\nleaders that, as with the SARS virus, ASEAN must work and respond
\nquickly to contain any mounting crisis.<\/p>\n
Over the past months, SARS has already wrecked key ASEAN
\neconomies. Singapore has suffered the most, and the island's
\nleader has already said that it could be the worse crisis in its
\nhistory. Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand
\nhave yet to reveal the extent of the damage the virus has done to
\ntheir economies.<\/p>\n
This emergency summit, called by Singapore Prime Minister Goh
\nChok Tong, was ASEAN's first and took the shortest time to
\nprepare. Each ASEAN leader is feeling the pinch.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, incident, the Thai
\ngovernment called for an informal ASEAN summit to discuss and
\nassess the implications that the terrorist attacks on America
\nwould have for the region. No other member bought the idea.<\/p>\n
In its 36-year history, ASEAN has held 12 summits altogether,
\nfour of them informal. Eight were convened in the past 10 years -
\na period full of political and economic uncertainties. It was
\nalso a time of enlargement that has been full of anxieties. With
\neach summit, the ASEAN leaders stressed that their solidarity and
\ndetermination had been strengthened to face new challenges.<\/p>\n
Before Goh's call for the summit, there were discussions
\nwithin ASEAN about whether its troika mechanism could be used so
\nthat only affected countries needed to pay attention.<\/p>\n
Since its establishment in 2000, the troika has not been
\ntested. Despite the desire to do so, the idea was trumped by a
\nsummit. The ASEAN troika, comprising Brunei, Cambodia and
\nIndonesia, has no SARS victims, so it would be redundant for it
\nto lead the discussion.<\/p>\n
Now a summit has come again with the SARS epidemic. Prime
\nMinister Thaksin Shinawatra said confidently that the summit
\nwould demonstrate to the world that ASEAN was ready to act in
\ntime of crisis and find a common solution.<\/p>\n
The Thai officials preparing for the summit are optimistic
\nthat ASEAN countries will be more willing to tackle the deadly
\nvirus in a collective way, agreeing on common guidelines and
\nmeasures that would not otherwise be agreed upon in normal times.<\/p>\n
The concept of collective responsibility has long been
\nfavoured by the ASEAN leaders, but they have not been able to
\nimplement it in full. Oftentimes they agreed on a common
\napproach, but when it came to practice, it was hard to implement.
\nThe question of national sovereignty has always come into play.<\/p>\n
The grouping's past activities show that when confronted with
\na crisis, ASEAN's overall response had been cautious and slow as
\nmember countries weigh their interests.<\/p>\n
With the SARS outbreak, the ASEAN way of doing things is no
\nlonger sufficient to cope efficiently with the peril. ASEAN
\nmembers cannot drag their feet and wait for a consensus any more.
\nSingapore, Thailand Vietnam and Malaysia have all quickly come up
\nwith their own preventive measures. Some are more stringent than
\nothers.<\/p>\n
With some coordination, these measures could have been in tune
\nwith each other and protected common interests. For instance,
\nboth Thailand and Malaysia could have had consultations before
\nthe former decided to discourage Thais from visiting China and
\nthe latter slapped a ban on entry visas for Chinese tourists.<\/p>\n
Beijing is unhappy with this treatment. That explains why
\nChina has been reluctant to join the informal summit, at least
\nuntil it has SARS under control in its own back yard.<\/p>\n
Taken on the whole, the tourism industry in three ASEAN
\ncountries - Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand - has been the
\nhardest hit. Unfortunately, their lack of cooperation also shows
\nup their longstanding rivalries. With SARS, tour packages under
\nthe ASEAN banner have been shattered.<\/p>\n
It will not take long to find out whether this SARS curse will
\nturn into a blessing in disguise by promoting collective
\nresponsibility among ASEAN countries, which could eventually
\nbroaden the grouping's cooperation on transnational issues.<\/p>",
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