Noninterference is the same as inaction

Noninterference is the same as inaction

TOKYO: ASEAN is back. That is the message coming from Bangkok last week as foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hold their annual get-together. North Korea's debut at the ASEAN Regional Forum, which follows the foreign ministers' meeting, has contributed to the optimism, as has the economic recovery among the group's members.

Both are promising signs; neither is permanent. If ASEAN wants to reclaim its place on the international stage, the group's members are going to have to make some hard choices about their organization, its purpose and its operating principles.

ASEAN has not lived up to expectations. Its members account for only 1.5 percent of world gross domestic product; by contrast, the United States alone has more than 20 percent. The organization's lackluster response to the 1997 financial crisis and the chaos in East Timor last year prompted many to dismiss it as a talk shop, incapable of responding to crises no matter how important.

This year, questions about ASEAN's relevance have been drowned out by the hubbub over North Korea's debut at the ARF meeting. Once the novelty of a North Korean representative wears off ... ASEAN will have to face the relevance question.

Fortunately, members have recognized the problem. Singapore's foreign minister noted that Southeast Asia's rebound since the 1997 crisis had not changed the view that ASEAN was a "sunset organization" and that a continuing failure to act would further marginalize it.

That view was echoed by the chair, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, who opened the conference with a call to resist a "false sense of complacency" and to speed up economic integration to help ASEAN compete with other trading blocs.

In response, foreign ministers agreed on a new mechanism to tackle regional problems. A "troika" composed of the current, preceding and next scheduled chair would be able to deal with emergencies and help set ASEAN's stance on international issues.

The group also initiated the "ASEAN plus three" meetings, which include China, Japan and South Korea. This gathering brings Northeast and Southeast Asia together in an institutional setting for the first time.

The "troika" initiative could be rendered useless by ASEAN's doctrine of strict non-interference in the affairs of members. Officially, the group represents the foreign ministers, and will only operate with their consent. It will not be able to make decisions for them. In other words, it will be powerless.

This is ASEAN's dilemma. The members must decide if they want to stick to the principles that served them well during ASEAN's first years, when the group was much smaller -- as were its ambitions. As has become apparent in recent years, non- interference is the same as inaction.

-- The Nation / Asia News Network