JP/6/OTHER

JP/6/OTHER

APEC must move ahead

The Santiago summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum has ended. Few specifics emerged, but that is not
the chief value of these annual gatherings. Above all, they
provide a convenient opportunity for the leaders of 21 member
economies surrounding the Pacific Ocean to meet.

APEC summits, despite the 'Economic' in the grouping's name,
have become as much political as economic affairs. This is
understandable given the fact that the organization has no
decision-making authority, and many of the nations involved have
had little substantial dealings with one another.

In these circumstances, it is only natural that political
integration becomes as much a requisite for, as a by-product of,
economic integration. In recent years, APEC leaders have wrestled
with the problems posed by terrorism and the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, and this year they turned to North
Korea's nuclear program. But as important as are these political
issues, APEC should not lose sight of its fundamental economic
raison d'etre.

In the long term, nothing would contribute as much to regional
political stability as a steady advance towards regional economic
integration.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore