APEC sets its course on economy

The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

As APEC summits go, the Bangkok session just concluded was pre-ordained to be one of the most charged in the decade-long history of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. And so it has proved.

Firstly, bitterness over the World Trade Organization's inconclusive Doha Round in Cancun was transferred to Bangkok. All the principals to the dispute bar the Europeans were represented. This was unfinished business.

As the APEC bloc accounts for half of world trade, its decisions matter. Secondly, United States President George W. Bush's concurrent Asian tour, much of it to countries which are seedbeds as well as victims of terrorism, meant that security and counter-terrorism would share the limelight with economic matters.

After New York and Bali security has a charter right to be raised in non-indigenous fora, starting with the principal Group of Seven bloc. Countries led by Malaysia which sought in Bangkok to keep APEC purely about trade should be respected for their devotion, but it was not realistic to de-link security from the conditions which permit commerce to thrive.

North Korea's missile firing during the summit discussions was rightly dismissed as a stunt, but it reminded delegates that this continent has plenty of unresolved tensions that can work against trade flows. North Korea happens to be only the most acute challenge.

On trade, the APEC members to their credit took the positive, forward look in the final declaration. Instead of chastising the Cancun WTO session as an opportunity lost, the stress was on lending their 'strong support for continuing the valuable work done'.

But more than polite language will move the trade facilitation process along. Political will, flexibility, genuine give-and-take -- these are the demands that must be made of every contracting party. The APEC session featured all the principals who fought the Cancun fight -- the United States and Japan for the rich world which defended their corner in agriculture and open markets; China, among the leaders of the emerging bloc's revolt against lopsided trade rules; the Cairns hardy perennials Australia and New Zealand which feel hard done by in the grain and meat trade; and the rest of APEC's members from South America and Asia which try to make a go of development models.

APEC will count for little if each year's session churns out homilies, and the delegates return home and plot how to defend only their interests. The first summit in Seattle was credited with helping revive a previous stalled trade round.

A decade later, the Bangkok summit has a heavier duty to rescue the Doha Round as trade animosity has hardened since. Member states should instruct their teams to be open-minded when the WTO reconvenes in Geneva in December.

As for security, America's at times robust approach has antagonized even some of its friends. Muslim nations in the APEC family feel keenly the unintended consequences of the war on terror and the uneven U.S. approach vis-a-vis the Israelis and the Palestinians. These are real dilemmas. They could get unmanageable.

By visiting Southeast Asia, Bush is making a powerful statement of his determination to get on top of the terror challenge. He has received the requisite support in the Bangkok communique which urges countries to root out "transnational terrorist groups" and eliminate the danger posed by weapons proliferation. But he should take the time to listen to especial concerns when he visits Indonesia after an overnight stop in Singapore.