Proud postures prop a still-fragile ASEAN

(ASEAN's) strength has lain in quiet consensus-building to resolve issues rather than head-on confrontation. This was and remains a necessity rather than a virtue because sensitivities still exist; some are too deeply-rooted, with historical as well as racial implications. Unity, coupled with economic success, has given the bloc considerable clout on the world stage. To the point where it can stand up to American pressure on issues like human rights and Burma, and even to staking claims to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. But, as recent conflicts between Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines as well as between Malaysia and Indonesia show, ASEAN is still a fragile entity. Some deep-rooted suspicions are merely suppressed.

This is implicit in the studious avoidance of comment on each other's internal affairs, the slow advance toward a common free- trade zone and the gingerly efforts toward cross-boundary infrastructure projects.

If 30 years marks the completion of an entire generation, as ASEAN Secretary-General Ajit Singh noted in an anniversary speech, then it may take another couple of generations before ASEAN will arrive at the sort of union that the European community has achieved.

And that is only if all the countries within the group keep pace with each other in economic progress. Given the internal pressures building up in Indonesia and one or two other member states, that is not a guaranteed outcome. ASEAN leaders might consider working harder at these internal problems than striking poses on the world stage.

-- The Hong Kong Standard