EU must not downplay SE Asia, says Singaporean minister
EU must not downplay SE Asia, says Singaporean minister
SINGAPORE (AFP): It would be a mistake for the European Union (EU) to downplay Southeast Asia in favor of the more vibrant economies of Northeast Asia, a Singapore minister said in a speech issued here Thursday.
Singapore Trade Minister George Yeo said that because of Southeast Asia's political and economic difficulties, European businesses were sidestepping the region in favor of Japan, China and South Korea.
But he said in a speech delivered at the "Europe in Asia" conference in Brussels on Wednesday that "it would be a mistake for Europe to concentrate only on Northeast Asia and downplay Southeast Asia."
Yeo cited historical ties between the two regions dating back to the Dutch, British, Spanish and French colonization of the region and the business opportunities Southeast Asia could offer to European companies.
"Within East Asia, it behooves the EU to see Southeast Asia as a separate area with which to build a direct relationship. Europe's involvement in Southeast Asia's past facilitates its involvement in Southeast Asia's present and future," he said.
"Unlike the presence of the US, China and Japan, Europe's presence in Southeast Asia suffers no complications of recent wartime memories or of big-power strategic rivalry," he said.
US forces fought Japanese troops in Asia-Pacific battlefields during World War II. The United States and emerging power China are at loggerheads over several issues, from human rights to a US missile defense system.
Yeo said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area, or AFTA, could offer a "good alternative to China" as a manufacturing base as the region returns to the growth path following the global economic slowdown.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam which together offer a market of 500 million people.
AFTA aims to establish a free trade area within ASEAN's six more economically developed members by 2003 and at a later date for its poorer members.
Yeo invited European companies to view ASEAN as a base for trade and manufacturing. He cited the ASEAN Investment Area scheme which opened up manufacturing, forestry, mining, fishery and agriculture as well as services related to these sectors to foreign investors.
"Because of their outward orientation, Southeast Asian cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore are more welcoming to Europeans than Northeast Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing," Yeo said.
Between 1990 and 1997, ASEAN-EU trade expanded by 12 percent, with a broad range of products traded. However, Yeo said there was still room for improvement.
"This requires from the EU a clearer policy towards Southeast Asia which goes beyond particular business interests or political issues," he said.
For example, European leaders should assess the political situation in Indonesia comprehensively and not just focus on individual issues such as East Timor, he said.
ASEAN-EU ties have also been hamstrung by European concerns over human rights violations in military-ruled Myanmar.
Yeo told the Europeans that ASEAN is no threat to any other country or region. In contrast, economic relations with China or Japan either by the US or the EU always involve a strategic dimension to it.
ASEAN is a market too important for Europe to ignore, Yeo said, adding that major sea lanes between East Asia and Europe pass through Southeast Asia.
"A strong ASEAN enhances peace and stability in a part of the world that is of strategic importance to Europe," he said.