Secretary General looks forward to ASEAN 10

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations marks its 28th anniversary today with its "ASEAN 10" vision nearing reality.

Established in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, ASEAN admitted Brunei in 1983 and Vietnam last month at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bandar Sri Begawan, Brunei.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post, ASEAN Secretary General Dato Ajit Singh discussed the possibility of the association embracing the remaining three countries in the region -- Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

JP: What are the prospects of Laos and Cambodia's membership in ASEAN?

Dato Ajit Singh: In Brunei, the (Laotian) foreign minister has already served notice to ASEAN that Laos would like to join ASEAN in two years, and talking to the Cambodians, I found that they too might also be interested in joining at around the same time.

JP: What about Myanmar who recently applied for observer status during the AMM?

Singh: Their application was made in Brunei, and ASEAN will be considering it, and perhaps by the next ministerial meeting here in Indonesia (next year), ASEAN will be ready to give a reply.

JP: Where there any hindrances or opposition towards Myanmar's intentions in light of the domestic political situation there?

Singh: No, I think generally the mood in Bandar Seri Begawan was a positive one and ASEAN was pleased at the developments that have been taking place in Myanmar. Also in particular the release of Madam Aung San Suu Kyi. ASEAN felt that they had contributed somewhat to this improved climate in Myanmar.

JP: How will the entrance of the new members affect the original ASEAN members since the new ones are considered less economically developed? Will the original members have to slow their pace so the new ones can adjust?

Singh: I don't think the original six need to slow their pace. What will probably happen is that we will have to embark on some plan to help the other newcomers to catch up with the six as fast as possible.

JP: How is this done?

Singh: Through cooperation. Through the involvement of the private sector in ASEAN by encouraging them to invest in these countries. Also through the participation of Japan and other friends of ASEAN who will be prepared to assist these countries.

I think we are already sort of planning this so that we can come up with a program for the uplifting of the economies by the time of the summit in December.

JP: So a plan is in the works?

Singh: No, there is no plan, we are thinking about it.

This is very much in our minds and this is something that we might want to have the Summit (in Bangkok in December) come up with something. Some kind of a call on the developed countries, such as Japan, the U.S. and the others, together with ASEAN, to assist these countries to speed up their economic development.

JP: How will the entrance of the new members affect the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area?

Singh: The coming in of Vietnam, for instance, will not slow down AFTA in anyway because we have already negotiated with the Vietnamese that upon entry they would undertake commitments. They have given us some commitments with regard to the granting of MFN (Most Favored Nation) status and national treatment of ASEAN products into Vietnam.

We have two years to prepare for Laos and Cambodia, and during these preparations the question of AFTA will be very important. We have to start helping these countries to phase into AFTA. We found in our experience with Vietnam that this was really one of the more difficult issues.

The only question is that, like Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam is also an economy in transition. They do require a lot of assistance to help them not only understand their commitments to AFTA but also to change their system so that it becomes more compatible to the rest of the ASEAN economies.

JP: Does this mean that the new members will have special/preferential treatment in AFTA for instance?

Singh: No. You have to be very clear in your mind that we are not in anyway giving them preferential treatment as far as AFTA is concerned. Where we will come in is to try and help fulfill these obligations (to AFTA). That's all.

JP: Critics say ASEAN has suppressed rather than resolved conflicts in the region and that the heightened tensions between fellow members in past months is evidence of these tensions coming to surface.

Singh: What we have to realize is the fact that without ASEAN these issues could have easily got out of hand and affected the peace and stability in the region. The fact we have ASEAN there, provides them the opportunity to discuss this (issues) in a neutral setting.

Of course we are not saying that ASEAN has been established to resolve bilateral issues. In fact, we have gone out of our way to say that we in ASEAN will not discuss bilateral issues. Unlike in other countries in other regions, member countries have been at peace without resorting to threats to use force and without any wars.

This has been one of the major achievements of ASEAN. People don't realize this. They take this for granted. (mds)