ASEAN must rally around new vision

ASEAN must rally around new vision

BANGKOK: Supachai Panitchpakdi's proposal for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to include China is sound, given that the group lacks a progressive attitude.

In recent years, ASEAN has taken few significant initiatives in making the region more dynamic economically. Some of the reasons are well known, including the economic and political crises that erupted beginning in 1997. But the world has moved on while ASEAN has been left behind to play catch-up.

The groundbreaking proposals by Dr Panitchpakdi, who will take over the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s top post next year, are more than timely. In a speech in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, he strongly proposed that China be brought into the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), whose tariff reductions should be further brought forward.

At the same time, links must be forged with other major North Asian nations, such as Japan and South Korea, to form the East Asia Economic community. ASEAN can evolve into a bigger regional grouping, at least economically.

The proposals should be adopted by the leaders of ASEAN and North Asian countries as a new engine of economic dynamism. East Asia in many ways has already fallen behind due to internal difficulties faced by respective countries. This is all the more reason for the region to come together and work as a bloc for the future of the people.

As pointed out by Dr Phisit Pakkasem, former chief of the National Economic and Social Development Board and a member of the East Asia Vision Group, the Americas have made progress in the formation of a Free Trade Associations of the Americas, with the backing of the United States. The pact is expected take effect by 2005. Meanwhile, the European Community plans to give special trade access to 54 least developed countries.

The actions of the Americas and the EU will further strengthen their trade blocs. Asia has not really come together and many of the recent efforts at regionalism through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) have not borne much fruit because the agreements are non-binding.

Supachai also stressed that the admission of China into AFTA is more than just a question of regional ties. It will help ASEAN to better take advantage of China's entry into the WTO, expected later this year. ASEAN can ride China's coattails and also become an attractive location for Chinese investors.

Will leaders of ASEAN live up to the challenge? So far, only Singapore has been busy making bilateral free trade pacts with other countries around the world.

Malaysia and Thailand have not played their parts, nor are Indonesia and the Philippines in a position to become more aggressive.

A crisis sometimes presents an opportunity for a region to come together. This is another opportunity for the leaders of ASEAN to put their heads together and look to the future. It is not ideas that are missing, but the political will to see them through.

Otherwise, a bleak future awaits the region, because other parts of the world have moved on, and other parts of Asia have other opportunities to pursue. The pan-Asian economic community is a vision that has been around for some time, but now it needs to be taken up again and made to work. So simple, and yet so difficult.

-- The Nation/Asia News Network