ASEAN moves to cross region's digital divide

ASEAN moves to cross region's digital divide

SINGAPORE (AFP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took a step towards bridging the region's digital divide Friday with the signing of an agreement to link its members electronically.

But regional leaders admitted the "e-ASEAN framework agreement" would not be enough to close the yawning gap between an Internet-savvy society like Singapore and a dirt-poor country like Laos.

Economic disparities, uneven command of English and political restrictions were seen as stumbling blocks to the group's efforts to give their half-billion citizens easy access to computers and telecommunications.

The pact seeks to liberalize trade in information and communication technology (ICT) products, services and investments, promote cooperation among public and private sectors, promote "knowledge-based" societies, and create an "ASEAN Information Infrastructure."

The 10-member ASEAN pledged to create high-speed Internet connections, develop "ASEAN content" for the web and take steps to boost electronic commerce, including mutual recognition of digital signatures.

Leaders signed the e-ASEAN agreement the traditional way, by hand, and then witnessed a demonstration of the ink-free digital signatures, forecast to become an essential part of international business in the 21st century.

The chairman of the e-ASEAN task force, former Philippines foreign minister and telecommunications executive Roberto Romulo, admitted the agreement on its own was not enough.

"Even under the best circumstances, it will be difficult for ASEAN to overcome the digital divide," Romulo said. "Funds will always be a problem."

The initiative, designed to help ASEAN members compete in a global economy, will "transform ASEAN into one seamless, borderless market of 500 million consumers instead of 10 fragmented markets," an ASEAN statement pledged.

Romulo painted a less rosy picture, saying that compared to Malaysia and Singapore, the rest of ASEAN was behind in its development of information technology, with some economies "well behind."

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the ASEAN summit paid particular attention to how the six strongest ASEAN members can assist with capacity and manpower development in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

"But I think it will take some time for these countries to be able to actually take advantage of e-ASEAN," he said.

Goh, addressing the key issue of language, said the ASEAN leaders "discussed the need for all the ASEAN people to master English because unless we are able to master English, we will not be able to get our population to use IT ... and take advantage of the new economy.

"So the decision was taken that we should emphasis the importance of English in our respective countries," he said.

"This is a decision by the leaders that you need to have English for the countries to be able to transit to the knowledge- based IT economy so as to be able to compete with other economies."

Romulo called for private-sector involvement, saying "governments will have to provide the political will to make it happen (but) they don't have the money."

Development of the Internet in developed nations has raised fears in some quarters of a new discrimination, between those who are online and those who are not.

Politics could also stand in the way of promoting freedom of communication.

Officials of army-ruled Myanmar, where mere ownership of a fax machine requires a license, refused to directly answer questions on Internet access, resulting in an embarrassing moment for the launch of e-ASEAN.

Myanmar's Economic Minister David Abel was evasive when questioned by reporters on what would be the requirements to have Internet access.

"We have the Net set up in Myanmar but we don't have the law yet. We are writing up the law, so the Net is available and it is set up as required," Abel said.

The use of the telephone and fax machines "has to be worked out according to the law," he added.