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.