ASEAN praised for its action on crisis
ASEAN praised for its action on crisis
By Meidyatama Suryodingrat
BANGKOK (JP): Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were praised here on Friday for taking tough action to overcome its economic crisis, but were also warned that further structural reform was needed to achieve a sustainable recovery.
United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright lauded the progress made during ASEAN's two-day Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) saying that the financial and economic crisis is "a test that ASEAN is passing".
"The hard decisions that some ASEAN nations had the courage to make on banking reform and privatization are paying off," she told the opening session of the PMC which brings together the 10 ASEAN members with their 10 dialog partners.
She noted that stability and growth in the region in the future will depend on several factors: market fundamentals which include regulation and investment; electronic initiatives such as internet readiness and paperless trading; along with a web of connections to electronic commerce.
"A critical component of this effort will be strengthening the rule of law and curbing official corruption and cronyism," Albright said.
South Korean Foreign Minister Lee Joung-binn in his address noted the tough steps that the ASEAN countries and his own have had to take and endure as a result of the crisis.
"The transformation has had its cost. The restructuring has been painful. It seems that not a single day goes by without differing groups clashing against each other," he said.
Albright stressed that Washington remains committed in assisting the recovery and reforms needed. She noted that the United States believes that "trade, not aid" is the best way to foster sustainable economic development.
Aid, according to Albright, can play a useful role in "jumpstarting" development and in responding to disasters.
U.S. assistance has increased from US$201 million in 1999 to $226 million this year.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also noted that while the rebound over the past 18 months has exceeded expectations, caution remains appropriate.
"It may be the removal of key pre-crisis vulnerabilities, like overvalued, pegged exchange rates, low foreign reserves and excessive short term debt, has reduced the risk of a similar acute crisis in the future," Downer said.
"But further structural reform, particularly financial and corporate restructuring, is needed to achieve sustainable regional recovery".
Downer further called on his ASEAN colleagues to remain alert to external developments, such as a slowdown in the U.S. economy which could severely limit growth through a drop in demand for exports.
"This initial driver of recovery, net exports, continues to perform strongly. But stronger import growth is reducing trade surpluses in many East Asian economies," he said.
Following a general session of all 20 foreign ministers or their representatives during the opening PMC session, the respective ministers broke for individual sessions in which ASEAN delegates or ministers met with each of the 10 dialog partners individually in separate sessions.
During the ASEAN-China session, both Malaysian Foreign Minister Hamid Albar and Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab, who arrived Friday morning from Indonesia, welcomed and urged their Chinese counterpart Tang Jianxuan to proceed further on talks on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.
Malaysia is the ASEAN coordinating country in dialogs with China, while Indonesia is the next coordinating country to take over from Malaysia.