ASEAN nations told to address credibility crisis

ASEAN nations told to address credibility crisis

BANGKOK (AFP): Singapore's deputy premier Lee Hsien Loong
urged ASEAN nations on Thursday to put aside their differences,
boost economic cooperation and reverse the perception their
alliance was "weakened and drifting".

Lee said the 1997 regional meltdown not only devastated
regional economies, but also fractured efforts to launch
agreements that would have freed up trade and investment among
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members.

"The crisis has also raised doubts about ASEAN's credibility
and relevance as a regional organization," he told a luncheon
hosted by the central Bank of Thailand. "ASEAN appeared divided
and slow in responding to the crisis, and even now is seen as
weakened and drifting."

Lee said the expansion of ASEAN to 10 members, while crucial
for long-term strength, had made it "harder for the organization
to maintain focus and reach consensus."

With military-run Myanmar and communist Laos and Vietnam now
in the fold, ASEAN's policy of non-interference in members'
affairs has been more sorely tested than ever.

The deputy prime minister said that as a result of these
distractions, the world now doubted whether ASEAN would ever be
able to pursue economic cooperation, lower trade barriers and
restore prosperity and confidence. "ASEAN countries must not
allow this situation to continue," he warned.

He urged his neighbors to accept globalization as a reality
that must be harnessed for their own benefit, and to embark on
the painful process of deregulation and liberalization that it
required.

The pre-crisis momentum that spawned major initiatives like
the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and ASEAN Investment Area must
also be recaptured, he said.

"The crisis has caused some countries to hold back, in order
to give struggling domestic industries more breathing space.

"(They) should not lose sight of the wider benefits of ASEAN
cooperation to their economies as a whole."

Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei -- as countries
faring better than other members -- should lead the push to put
ASEAN cooperation on track again, he said.

Singapore, ASEAN's strongest economy, has been criticized by
its neighbors for forging free-trade agreements outside the ASEAN
grouping.

But it has defended its policy, saying that by entering into
sub-regional pacts, the small but prosperous island-state is
helping draw attention to the ASEAN region, whose poorer members
are not prepared to forge similar accords.

Singapore ministers have warned several times in recent months
that ASEAN risks becoming a "sunset organization" eclipsed by its
more vibrant Northeast Asian neighbors.

"If ASEAN economies do not deliver by way of structural
reforms and strong, sustained economic recovery ... international
investors will relegate us to the sidelines, and we will be
marginalized," Lee said.