ASEAN complete: Is it stronger or weaker?

ASEAN complete: Is it stronger or weaker?

By Thomas Lanig

SINGAPORE (DPA): It was a sober, almost austere event, but the
official acceptance of Cambodia into the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) last Friday was nonetheless the fulfillment
of its founders' long-cherished dream: the grouping is finally
complete, with all the region's 10 members on board.

Despite the occasion's symbolic importance, no-one felt like
celebrating unduly in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, where foreign
ministers had arrived with relatively small delegations. "We are
more conscious about austerity these days," said one official.

The comparatively downbeat atmosphere was indeed a sign of the
times. Two years ago, Southeast Asia still had a reputation as a
booming growth region, which at times presented itself somewhat
arrogantly as a success model the West would do well to emulate.

Then came the Asian crisis. "Ironically, (ASEAN) is at its
weakest, even though the grouping now stands for all of Southeast
Asia," commented Singapore's Straits Times.

"It is an unfortunate situation. Everyone is weak," agreed
Thanat Khoman, one of the two surviving founders of the grouping.
"But the only way for a weak ASEAN to achieve economic betterment
is to enlarge itself to counter the tide of globalization," he
told Bangkok's Nation newspaper.

ASEAN's weakness has not just been economic. The group's
international influence has also been diminished, some experts
argue, by its inability to find common answers to the crisis.

Politically, the grouping that includes many one-time "tiger
economies" has become a paper tiger, and the Asian crisis is now
also an ASEAN crisis. "ASEAN has lost much stature in the
crisis," admits Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

One of the reasons for this, critics say, is actually ASEAN's
enlargement, which has made the group less homogeneous.

ASEAN was founded in 1967 by Singapore, Thailand, the
Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Brunei came on board in 1984
and Vietnam in 1995. Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joined the club in
1997, while Cambodia's entry was delayed by a bloody coup there.

The group of ten remains sharply divided into relatively
wealthy and dirt-poor members: Per capita income varies from
US$30,000 per year in Singapore to less than $300 in Vietnam and
Cambodia.

Politically, the democracies of Thailand and the Philippines
are worlds apart from the military dictatorship in Myanmar.
Cambodia now strengthens the ASEAN faction of have-nots, and of
nations with questionable democratic legitimacy.

The group's structural problems are increased by ASEAN's
unwritten principle of non-interference in the affairs of its
members, a concept that has all but paralyzed the grouping
politically, critics say.

"Southeast Asian countries have grown used to sweeping
problems under the rug," Dewi Fortuna Anwar, foreign affairs
advisor to Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, was quoted as
saying.

Like Bangkok and Manila, Jakarta is increasingly questioning
the sacred policy of non-interference.

A high-profile victim of the ASEAN crisis has been relations
with the European Union, in a dispute over human rights abuses in
Myanmar.

"Summary executions, torture, forced relocation of villagers
and widespread use of forced labor. It is a depressing list that
does not do ASEAN proud," commented the Straits Times. Despite
the regime of terror, Myanmar's partners refrain from openly
criticizing the generals of Yangon.

Last Friday, only one person's chest was swelling with pride.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gained important international
legitimacy by joining the regional club. After decades of war and
civil strife, his country has finally gained a respectable place
in the community of nations.

Of course, Phnom Penh also hopes for a badly-needed economic
upturn. Experts agree that Cambodia will benefit in the long term
from its ASEAN membership and the AFTA free trade zone members
aim to declare in 2002, even if there will be some initial
adjustment pains.

In the long run, what is true for the grouping as a whole also
applies to Cambodia: The future of ASEAN will depend on whether
its member-states are able to make life better for their 500
million people -- in other words, whether they can revive the
success of the first 30 years.