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.