ASEAN: A key partner of EU in emergimg Asian region
ASEAN: A key partner of EU in emergimg Asian region
Yeo Lay Hwee sketches out the future direction of the
relationship between ASEAN and the European Community
Asia-Europe relations have been receiving a lot of attention
lately. ASEAN, with its long-standing links to the European
Community, has been at the forefront of pushing for greater
European engagement in Asia. The EU itself, after a thorough
review of the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the
Community's industries, has also come to perceive the economic
dynamism of Asia as presenting opportunities, and not threats, to
its own economic well-being.
This change in the EU's attitude towards Asia was captured in
the EU's recent communications on Towards a New Asia Strategy. In
its New Asia Strategy, ASEAN is seen as the cornerstone of the
EU's dialogue with the region.
Relations between ASEAN and the EU are at a turning point
because of changing perceptions and attitudes on both sides. The
sustained, rapid growth in the ASEAN economies and its deepening
through AFTA; the deepening and widening of the EU; the
increasingly integrated and highly competitive global economy;
have all contributed to these changes. ASEAN and EU ministers and
officials have recognized that the time has come to review the
current relationship, and strengthen it further in a spirit of
greater equality and partnership. An ad hoc Eminent Persons
Group, comprising nine members from the EU and seven from
ASEAN, was created to assist in this task.
A comprehensive look at the existing ASEAN-EU relationship
reveals its asymmetry in the realm of economic co-operation.
While the EU is ASEAN's third largest trading and investment
partner after Japan and the U.S., ASEAN ranks low in the EU's
pyramid of priorities. ASEAN's annual trade with the EU
constitutes only about 4.75 percent of the EU's external trade,
and the EU's investments in ASEAN represent less than one percent
of the EU's cumulative FDI for the period 1982-1992. The EU has
also reduced its development assistance to ASEAN over the years.
Now, the EU's development aid is limited to Indonesia and the
Philippines.
As more and more ASEAN countries have moved into the higher
income bracket, the EU has wanted to move away from the donor-
recipient relationship. For the Europeans, economic cooperation
in the future would have to take place with respect to the EU's
own priorities -- stimulating economic growth on the basis of
mutual interest. Rapid economic growth has transformed ASEAN into
a serious trading partner. Expanding market and rising income
will make ASEAN an increasingly important market for European
goods and services. Pro-business government and political
stability, continuous liberalization and deregulation, AFTA and
the emergence of growth triangles, make ASEAN an attractive
investment haven.
Unfortunately, beyond the preserves of a small segment of
policy-makers and bureaucracies, ignorance about each other and
the changes taking place remains. ASEAN businesses see Europe as
a "fortress" too preoccupied with its own internal affairs, slow
in adapting and highly protectionist. Similarly, Europeans have
the tendency to lump ASEAN together with many other developing
countries, seeing them as economically backward and politically
unstable. ASEAN-EU relations are still perceived as primarily a
North-South relationship.
Such ignorance and lack of knowledge about each other are
impediments to a better and more meaningful relationship. This is
because no amount of policy dialogs and official meetings can
replace solid economic and sociocultural ties based on mutual
benefits and understanding. As it now stands, there is no
shortage of formal, institutional links from the ASEAN-EU
Ministerial Meeting to the Joint Cooperation Committee and the
Senior Officials Meeting, and also the various sub-committees.
Therefore, the challenge is to expand relations beyond the
preserves of the bureaucracies to the wider segment of the
societies. Both ASEAN and the EU have to work towards raising
each other's profile to win public support for their political
co-operation and encourage greater private sector involvement in
their economic cooperation. The role of the business sector is
especially crucial since economic cooperation is the main thrust
of this new partnership for growth.
While economic cooperation is the main thrust of ASEAN-EU
relations and is best driven by the private sector, the political
and security dimension of the relationship remains an important
domain for politicians and officials. Political will is important
for successful commercial and economic cooperation. Also,
security is so intricately linked to economics that it is
unrealistic to try to separate the two.
The political and strategic dimension of ASEAN-EU relations
have always been on a more equal footing. Both sides have tried
to advise each other on the various political and security issues
in their respective regions. Indeed, the institutionalization of
relations in 1978 with the first Ministerial Meeting marked the
EU's recognition of ASEAN as a factor of stability and balance in
South-east Asia. The strategic glue that held the two groups
together seemed to have loosened following the demise of the
Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Differences of opinion
concerning Myanmar, East Timor, the application of human rights,
environmental issues became more pronounced. However, in these
areas, the differences were discussed among equals. As the EU
thinks through its strategy towards Asia and decides to
concentrate on economic cooperation, the differences are slowly
being narrowed again.
ASEAN sees the EU's engagement in the security realm in this
region as a stabilizing factor. With clear understanding that
regional stability is the fundamental for continued growth and
prosperity, ASEAN has taken the lead in trying to fashion a new
security architecture for the region.
In conceiving the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN sees
multilateralism as the means to strengthen peace processes in the
Asia-Pacific. The EU also sees its participation in the ARF as in
line with one of the reasons behind greater European integration.
European leaders have felt that Europe should play a more
powerful and influential role in the field of international
relations, notably within the triangle of the U.S., East Asia and
Europe. Hence, the EU has requested its representation in the ARF
to be increased from the current one to three. This is a clear
indication of the importance the EU places on security in the
Asia-Pacific.
There is no doubt that both ASEAN and the EU see intrinsic
values in closer links between themselves. However, with ASEAN
increasingly involved in regional affairs, particularly within
APEC, and the EU preoccupied with its own deepening and widening,
there is a potential danger of ASEAN-EU ties being downgraded.
Hence, the need to put the ASEAN-EU relationship in a greater
Asia-Europe context.
In addition, ASEAN-EU relations on their own cannot be an
entirely equal partnership by virtue of the disparities between
their economies. There will, therefore, be a real limit to how
far this relationship can grow. However, when viewed as an
integral part of a greater Asia-Europe relationship, the scope
for cooperation between ASEAN and the EU economically and
politically, and also in the areas of development assistance to
third countries, is tremendous.
ASEAN is very much a part of the dynamic East Asia; and ASEAN
has both historical and cultural ties, and formal, institutional
linkages with the European Community. Hence, it is in a good
position to bring Europe and Asia together. ASEAN's role in
building political and economic bridges between Europe and Asia
is valuable. The ARF and the Asia-Europe meeting are clear
examples of ASEAN's initiatives and commitment to this role.
ASEAN-EU relations will provide the EU with a strong footing
for the implementation of its nascent Asian strategy. Seen in
this light, the future direction of the relationship has great
potential and can be a true partnership for growth.
Yeo Lay Hwee is a Research Associate at the Institute of Policy
Studies.