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.