Ajit Singh optimistic about ASEAN's future

JAKARTA (JP): It was 30 years ago today when five foreign ministers signed their name on a document now called the Bangkok Declaration, formerly signifying the birth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The grouping from its original membership of five -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- has now grown to include Brunei, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

ASEAN Secretary-General Dato' Ajit Singh has much to be proud of as he helms an association that has become one of the strongest and most respected in the world. But with the admission of new members and the coming of a free-trade era, there are now new challenges for the association.

"I think one of the most important issues we'll be facing is ... how to integrate the new countries," he said.

Laos and Myanmar, and eventually Cambodia when it is finally accepted, are transitional economies and lack the pace of development their other ASEAN brothers share.

It will be a major task for ASEAN to help these new members shift from centrally planned economies to market economies, which are often characterized by high inflation rates and weak financial institutions.

"But I'm not pessimistic about that. I'm optimistic we'll be able to assist these countries to integrate into ASEAN through cooperation -- not only cooperation and assistance from ASEAN, but also aid from multilateral agencies," he said.

While 30th anniversary celebrations are a time to look back with pride at the association's accomplishments, many ASEAN buffs cannot help but feel a little bit saddened that unforeseen developments in the past month prevented Cambodia from being admitted during an ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month.

The political turmoil in Cambodia forced the postponement of its membership.

For Ajit Singh, who ends his five-year term as secretary- general at the end of the year, it must have also been a disappointment since his dream was to oversee the inclusion of 10 Southeast Asian states into the grouping.

But Ajit remains optimistic: "Now it's only a question of time before Cambodia can enter."

"I hope that since we are going to have this 30th anniversary celebration for a whole year, from this August until next August, ... that we'll be able to bring Cambodia in by the end of the year or whenever conditions permit," he said.

Ajit will be replaced by Filipino Rodolfo Severino on Jan. 1, 1998.

What homework does ASEAN have left?

"ASEAN has so many things on its plate," Ajit said as he pointed to the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the ASEAN Regional Forum and other areas of cooperation.

But as many problems have been overcome in the past 30 years, Ajit highlighted the fact that the ASEAN spirit and the ASEAN way will also prevail, no matter what obstacles lie ahead.

"The whole idea of the 30th anniversary celebration of ASEAN is that we have developed a strong ASEAN identity, there is a strong feeling of mutual trust and confidence in each other, there is a strong habit of consultation and reaching decisions by consensus," he said.

"We have never fought with each other. This is something that we can't overstate because if you look at the history of other regional organizations, they always have problems between members," he explained.

He then pointed to ASEAN's ability to seek avenues for resolutions, or at least suspensions, of territorial conflicts.

Ajit also denied when asked if the consensus decision-making process in ASEAN would become more difficult. "I'd say that the decision-making process will not be more difficult than what it has been for the last 30 years," he replied.

So what direction will ASEAN go in coming years? More political security?

"No, you cannot divorce political issues from economic issues, both are very important, because we need political stability and peace in ASEAN to be able to keep making economic progress," Ajit said.

"The fact that we've had peace and stability for the last 30 years has enabled us, enabled ASEAN, to make economic progress," he added. (10/mds)

Integration -- Page 12