ASEAN pushing for change

If encouraging messages about "bold initiatives" bandied about before (Monday) night's formal dinner are translated into policy, the leaders will have given a crucial boost to ASEAN's credibility.

The outside world is looking for leadership, and the meeting in Hanoi offers a great opportunity to show it. But should the summit become just another forum for ideological debate and economic fudge, the more go-ahead members may ask if there is any point in continuing with a group which too often seems to debate much but achieve little.

There does appear to be a new willingness to recognize that frank dialogue and occasionally painful action is required to solve the region's problems.

But can this disparate collection of nations agree on measures -- such as foreign ownership of land or a fast-track opening to foreign investment -- when there are so many divides within its ranks? Some members, for example, have laws which prohibit private ownership of land.

Even with a two-tier approach designed to give less-developed economies breathing space, policy differences may intervene. But at least the proposed bold plans do represent a real push for change; this is healthier for ASEAN's image than endless wrangles over Cambodia's admission. At a time when the organization's relevance is at stake, days spent debating its proper size suggest to critics that the leaders have lost touch with reality.

The past year's turmoil offers an opportunity for a fresh start. Crises in Indonesia and Malaysia have shifted power inside the group, and brought in new leaders with relatively radical ideas.

The year has shown the strengths of the democratic system in maintaining stability and aiding recovery; this may encourage the more authoritarian regimes to recognize that trade liberalization is one aspect of an escape from crisis.

The final test is whether all members will agree to the "bold initiatives". If they decide to be bland one more time, even more of their citizens will wonder what ASEAN is really all about.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong