Malaysian leader proposes closer ties among East Asian countries

Malaysian leader proposes closer ties among East Asian countries to give region a stronger voice in world affairs

Associated Press and The Jakarta Post Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's leader urged East Asian nations Monday to form a regional grouping similar to the European Union to strengthen their voice in world affairs and reduce their dependence on the United States.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi suggested the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sign a declaration with China, Japan and South Korea similar to the one that created ASEAN more than 30 years ago.

"We are punching way below our weight," Abdullah told a conference of academics and officials from East Asian countries. At present, he said, East Asia is a "heavyweight, compartmentalized and cribbed in the featherweight class."

"Our present and our future are incredibly dependent on decisions made in Washington or New York or Geneva," he said. "We must enhance our voice, our weight and our role in the world of security, politics and in the realm of ideas, culture and values.

A pact formalizing an "East Asia community" would strengthen the region's contribution to "the fast evolving global structure of peace, security and civilization" that at present is minimal, Abdullah said.

"I believe that we in the region have dallied long enough," he said. "If we are truly fortunate, if we are truly persistent, it will take at least two generations for East Asia to reach the European benchmark."

Abdullah said regional groupings like the European Union and ASEAN had in the past managed to turn enemies into friends and been successful as "a conflict reduction, peacemaking and friendship-building machine in the modern world."

Earlier this month, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon also said in Seoul that there was a need to establish a regional grouping in Northeast Asia like the European Union in Europe.

"We have high hopes that a union of peace and prosperity modeled on the European Union can be realized in Northeast Asia in the not-so-distant future in Europe, we see the future of East Asia, Ban said in a key note address at a seminar on "Democracy in Asia, Europe and the World: Toward a Universal Definition."

To boost economic cooperation, Abdullah suggested an East Asian community could include a regional monetary fund that would supplement the Washington-headquartered International Monetary Fund, similar to how the Manila-based Asian Development Bank supplements the World Bank.

East Asian countries could also build what he called an East Asia diplomatic community to strengthen regional peace and friendship, which he said must be "the first without equals" among East Asia's priorities.

"Our desire for peace and friendship must be our main compass," Abdullah said. "If we lose this compass, East Asia will be in peril."

But he stressed that East Asians should ensure that relations remain strong without "key" outside countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia, India, Britain, France, Germany and Australia. He did not elaborate.