EU-SE Asia ties: Passion in the making?

EU-SE Asia ties: Passion in the making?

Chris Patten, Brussels

It's never easy to be told that your relationship lacks passion
-- even if the criticism is not personal but rather directed at
two regions of the world. Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong recently said of the European Union (EU) and Southeast Asia
that relations are "good" but "passive rather than passionate"
and "nowhere near their maximum potential".

I certainly agree that the EU and Southeast Asia can do even
more together, but I believe we have already lit the sparks of
the kind of relationship Goh is seeking.

Over the next three days, as I travel from Singapore, where I
will formally open a new EU Delegation, to Jakarta, where I and
other EU representatives will attend EU-ASEAN and ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) meetings, I will underline that the EU's commitment
to Southeast Asia is certainly not passive -- and to speak
personally, it is truly heartfelt.

Since a twist of political fate sent me to Hong Kong over ten
years ago, I have been fascinated by this region's rich diversity
and economic dynamism. I am not alone. Asia has inspired
Europeans through the ages and it is fair to say, vice-versa.
Nowadays, the EU and ASEAN are each other's third largest trading
partner, and the Trans-regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative
(TREATI) should improve this pleasing state of affairs still
further. But, our relationship is based on more than trade, and
rightly so.

As globalization makes geographical distance ever more
irrelevant, our two regions face many common challenges and
opportunities. We both suffer global ills, such as poverty,
failing states, organized crime, trafficking in drugs and
prostitution, and the terrible evil of terrorism. How much more
effective would we be at overcoming these if we made better joint
use of the tools at our disposal -- free and fair global markets,
a strong multilateral system and development cooperation? Lifting
people out of poverty and making the world a safer place are aims
we should all be passionate about, Asian and European alike.

In July last year, the European Commission published its
strategy to widen and deepen EU cooperation with partners in
Southeast Asia. Whereas before our relationship was limited to
traditional bilateral economic and development cooperation, now
we are open to the possibility of joining forces on a vast array
of issues such as human rights, counterterrorism, migration,
science and technology and trans-national crime.

The key to unlocking the full potential of this promising
relationship is, we believe, ensuring that our attentions are
well channeled. Having brought peace and prosperity to its own
war-torn continent, the EU is an ardent proponent of regional
integration. Not only does this ambitious goal, however it is
achieved, mean that regions add up to more than the sum of their
parts, but regional integration also locks in peace. And regional
groupings can find receptive partners with whom they can work.
This is why the EU has been and continues to be a loyal supporter
of ASEAN and is keen to see ARF, the only Asian-wide security
organization, play a real role in conflict prevention in the
region (Pakistan's participation for the first time is therefore
very welcome). It is also why the EU has encouraged the
development of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM).

At this week's ministerial meetings in Jakarta, and during my
bilateral contacts with Asian leaders, we will be discussing all
these issues and more, but I suspect one matter in particular
will occupy a great deal of our time and collective frustration
-- the struggle for democracy in Myanmar. This is certainly an
issue on which EU passions run high.

The spread and entrenchment of democracy and human rights is
fundamental to the EU's thinking and its relations with others.
But, Asia also has its own champions in that struggle. India has
again recently demonstrated its democratic credentials and there
have been remarkable elections in Malaysia, South Korea and
Cambodia. In a few days' time Indonesians will go to the polls
for the first-ever direct presidential election just months after
a peaceful parliamentary vote. The contrast with Aung San Suu
Kyi's unacceptable treatment at the hands of the junta in Myanmar
couldn't be more stark. Like ASEAN, we want to see democracy
given a chance in Myanmar, and we are therefore prepared to take
a bold stance in its defense. However, this should not prevent
our Asian partners from benefiting from regular dialog through
ASEM with all 25 countries of the now enlarged EU and it must not
be allowed to dampen our relationship with the whole region. We
are ready to negotiate deeper bilateral relations with any state
that so wishes.

So, while it is perfectly true that every relationship needs
passion. I would add that for it to be lasting, it also needs the
kind of mutual understanding and confidence in one another that
comes with time. The countries and citizens of the EU and
Southeast Asia are learning to work together. In so doing we are
laying solid foundations for what I am confident will become an
increasingly satisfying relationship.

The writer is the European Union's Commissioner for External
Relations.