ASEAN in race with China for economic survival: Philippine leader

ASEAN in race with China for economic survival: Philippine leader
Agence France-Presse
Manila

Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) must resist the urge
to stall closer regional integration, Philippines President
Gloria Arroyo said.
"For our diverse countries to survive and prosper, we need closer
integration. We need to think regionally and deepen regional
ties. Our national and economic interests lie in the destiny of
the region and our linkage with the rest of the world," she wrote
in the Asian Wall Street Journal's Tuesday edition.
Arroyo said the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) which has slashed
import tariffs on almost all goods traded among the Philippines
and five of the nine other members "has some way to go before it
will become an effective means of strengthening the region's
competitive economic position."
The accord brought down tariff levels on intra-ASEAN trade from
this year to between zero and five percent.
"Underlying AFTA is the realization that small, protected markets
will no longer work in the face of the competitive challenge
confronting us," she said.
"China embodies that challenge most starkly in terms of its power
and its proximity. ASEAN views the rise of China and other
regional groups as both a competitive spur and a market
opportunity."
However, ASEAN boasts that its combined gross domestic product is
now equal to that of China with only half the latter's population
would "remain an empty boast if the integration of the ASEAN
economy lags behind China's integration with the global economy."
"ASEAN nations must think hard about their national economies and
ASEAN's regional economic framework to determine how best to
position themselves to ensure their continued competitiveness and
to capitalize on the opportunities presented by a more open
China."
Arroyo said a proposed ASEAN-China free trade area would expand
ASEAN exports to the rapidly growing Chinese market as well as
"strengthen ASEAN as a platform for investors to sell to China."
"It is projected that the deal would boost ASEAN's sales to China
by 48 percent," she added.