Uniting (East) Asia

Uniting (East) Asia

The conclusion of the ministerial meeting of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cebu, the Philippines,
earlier this week was quite satisfactory. The 10 foreign
ministers of the regional grouping agreed to a set of modalities
for membership to a high-level pan-Asian caucus set to hold its
inaugural summit in Kuala Lumpur later this year, called the East
Asia Summit.

They agreed to inclusive criteria that would allow major
players in the region such as China, Japan, South Korea, India,
Australia and New Zealand to sit together at a common forum with
their ASEAN counterparts.

ASEAN sees the expansion of its own cooperation and community
building to include the wider region of Asia, specifically East
and North East Asia, to include giants China, Japan and South
Korea. This was originally envisioned as a very gradual formative
process, as ASEAN itself was still in the initial phases of
establishing its own "community".

But certain ASEAN countries were "impatient" for the process
to occur and saw the East Asia Community as a way of realizing by
other means repressed and rejected initiatives. Thus, despite
initial protestations from Indonesian foreign ministry officials,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a "political decision"
and said during the ASEAN Summit in Vientianne last year that
Malaysia would be granted its wish to convene an East Asia
Summit.

The difficulty was then agreeing to a set of modalities that
would preliminary define what this new gathering was. Most
notable was the question of membership.

Malaysia's proposal to convene an East Asia Summit comprising
the same members as the ASEAN plus Three process (the 10 ASEAN
member states, plus China, Japan and South Korea) would have been
an exercise in superfluousness, given that it would have been a
copy of an already successful on-going process. One of the two --
ASEAN plus Three or the East Asia Summit -- would have been
condemned to irrelevance.

Going into Cebu, ASEAN seemed polarized between two schools of
thought. One -- led by Malaysia -- wanted a limited membership
for the East Asia Summit of the ASEAN plus Three. The other --
led by Indonesia -- sought a wider membership comprising major
players in the region, including India, Australia and New
Zealand.

The ministerial retreat in Cebu was another example of the art
of ASEAN-speak and resolving what seem to be divisive viewpoints
in a diplomatically amicable manner. The "settlement" was such
that it was acceptable to all in a sum-sum principle.

We found this very satisfactory for three reasons. First was
the "inclusive" nature of the new grouping, which set transparent
guidelines for all major regional players to be included. One of
the key requisites is accession to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation (TAC).

While it is not guaranteed that all of the countries mentioned
above, particularly Australia, will attend the inaugural summit,
it was imperative that the East Asia Summit be introduced without
purposely excluding certain countries. Hence, those countries
that are not at the summit, but believe they are significant
players in the region and deserve an invite, will not be in Kuala
Lumpur by their own choice.

In other words, the summit cannot be perceived as shutting out
any particular country. The East Asia Summit is a noble and, if
successful, strategic initiative that could put in place the
mechanism for improving cooperation and security in the region.

The results of the Cebu meeting were also satisfactory because
they ensured that ASEAN will remain the driving force behind this
new initiative. By themselves most of the 10 ASEAN member states
do not compare to giants such as China, Japan and South Korea.
Even as a united entity, ASEAN would still be in the shadows of
these East Asian countries. The agreed upon modalities energize
ASEAN's role in this "megaproject" of nations.

Hopefully, the spirit of conciliation and unity among the
ASEAN members in Cebu will be sustained as the association
embarks on this journey to unite Asia.

It is now up to countries like Australia to make the most of
this golden opportunity. Jakarta has endeavored to make it
possible for Canberra to join this new fraternity. It is up to
Australia to cede to the same rules as everyone else if it wishes
to become a true friend of the region by signing the TAC.