APEC must move ahead

The Santiago summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum has ended. Few specifics emerged, but that is not the chief value of these annual gatherings. Above all, they provide a convenient opportunity for the leaders of 21 member economies surrounding the Pacific Ocean to meet.

APEC summits, despite the 'Economic' in the grouping's name, have become as much political as economic affairs. This is understandable given the fact that the organization has no decision-making authority, and many of the nations involved have had little substantial dealings with one another.

In these circumstances, it is only natural that political integration becomes as much a requisite for, as a by-product of, economic integration. In recent years, APEC leaders have wrestled with the problems posed by terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and this year they turned to North Korea's nuclear program. But as important as are these political issues, APEC should not lose sight of its fundamental economic raison d'etre.

In the long term, nothing would contribute as much to regional political stability as a steady advance towards regional economic integration.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore