ASEAN and United States clash over aid programs
ASEAN and United States clash over aid programs
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
BATAM, Riau (JP): A senior American official said yesterday
that ASEAN member states should not expect an increase in aid and
that trade and investment should be the main instrument of
growth.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific
Affairs Winston Lord maintained that while aid was important, it
should not be the primary engine for development.
"We will continue to have some aid programs in Asia, but the
real emphasis has got to be on trade and investment, bilateral
dealings, regional through APEC (Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation) and global efforts through the WTO (World Trade
Organization)," said Lord.
"I can't promise there'll be a lot of foreign aid in the
future, particularly for this region which on the whole is very
dynamic," he added.
Lord headed a U.S. government delegation to attend a two-day
dialog with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
counterparts.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The association holds regular meetings with its dialog
partners, such as the United States, to discuss political and
economic issues of mutual concern. This year's dialog, the 13th,
was originally scheduled for January but had to be postponed
because bad weather prevented the U.S. officials from leaving
America.
During yesterday's opening the chairman of the dialog, Izhar
Ibrahim, expressed concern at the continued drop in aid programs
of the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID).
"I would like to reiterate the concern of ASEAN due to the
diminishing USAID commitment towards ASEAN," said Izhar who is
director general for political affairs at the Indonesian foreign
ministry.
He said ASEAN understands that Washington is developing
economic and commercial orientation in its relations with other
countries, however he pointed out that the association will soon
be admitting new members -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- who are
less economically developed than the present members.
When asked by journalists, Lord acknowledged the challenges
facing the new members but stressed again that aid should not be
the sole barometer in determining America's commitment to the
region.
He added that the Clinton administration shares the concern
about the United States' cutback in resources for international
activity.
"We have managed, because of the importance of this region, to
have much fewer reductions in this region than we have in other
regions of the world," Lord noted.
Nevertheless the apparent rapid development of ASEAN itself
seems to be one of the primary factors precluding it as a major
recipient of aid.
"Certainly aid funds for Asia are not as crucial as they are
to some other regions in the world given the dynamism and the
economies out here," Lord said.