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.