SE Asian countries seek unity through technology

SE Asian countries seek unity through technology

SINGAPORE (AP): The nations of Southeast Asia - ranging from poor, agrarian Laos to ultra-modern, Internet-savvy Singapore - might seem worlds apart when it comes to economic development.

But their leaders will try to bring them closer together this week through technology.

Officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are scheduled to sign a free-trade pact on Friday aiming to eliminate duties on information technology goods and services by 2010. The accord also seeks to facilitate e-commerce among the region's citizens.

A draft of the "e-ASEAN Framework Agreement," released to the media on Wednesday, said member states would work to establish high-speed Internet connections within the region.

The draft said the group would also provide information about ASEAN to tourism Web sites and digital libraries.

It said member countries should enact laws and policies to make electronic commerce safe and effective for consumers. It urges ASEAN members Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Myanmar to pass legislation making digital signatures as legally binding as their pen-and-paper counterparts.

A digital signature is a copy of a person's signature saved in a computer as an image. If a coffee grower in Vietnam wanted to make a deal with a buyer in the United States, they could seal their pact by attaching a digital signature to an e-mailed contract.

Several ASEAN countries, including Thailand and Singapore, have some form of digital signature legislation on the books. The United States, Germany and Ireland recently passed digital signature laws.

The draft's call for greater legal protection is important because many Asians are afraid to buy or sell things over the Internet. Often, they don't have legal recourse if an online transaction is not honored.

The e-ASEAN draft also said the grouping should work "to adopt measures to protect intellectual property rights arising from e- commerce" and to promote consumer privacy. Intellectual property theft is common in Southeast Asia.

The draft said ASEAN would work in stages to liberalize cross- border trade in information technology products. Less developed members Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam would be given more time and help to open their markets and develop infrastructure.

The other ASEAN countries - Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines - will begin eliminating e-commerce barriers in January 2003. Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will start in January 2008, according to the draft.

The draft said the pact was part of the grouping's vision to create an ASEAN Free Trade Area - a goal which has been stalled by protectionist measures such as Malaysia's insistence on maintaining automotive tariffs.