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94. ASEAN Towards 2020: Strategic Goals and Critical Pathways
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
ASEAN Towards 2020: Strategic Goals and Critical Pathways 473 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville 94. ASEAN TOWARDS 2020 Strategic Goals and Critical Pathways NOORDIN SOPIEE Reprinted in abridged form from Noordin Sopiee, “ASEAN Towards 2020: Strategic Goals and Critical Pathways”, in ASEAN Towards 2020: Strategic Goals and Future Directions, edited by Stephen Leong (Kuala Lumpur: Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia; and London: ASEAN Academic Press, 1998), pp. 21–28, by permission of the author and the publishers. The founding fathers of Asean who met in Bangkok a generation ago had a vision for our region, which was called ‘Southeast Asia’, which hopefully in the decades ahead will be called ‘the Asean Community’. Their vision was: • a Southeast Asia at one, safe and secure, living in peace and prosperity; • residing not in isolation from each other but working together and in the fulsome spirit of mutual respect; • building not a system of peaceful coexistence but a community of collaborative peace and harmony; and a region that was: • insulated from outside strategic interference and left in peace by the Big Powers to pursue its own internal development; and • but fully plugged into the international grid, hooked on to the dynamism of the global engines of growth, reaping all the benefits that a full economic engagement with the rest of the world could bring. This Vision of 1967 sounds almost trite today. But it was novel, bold and revolutionary at the time of its birth. It was quite without precedent and not without risk. The historic art of regional reconciliation it engendered 30 years ago and the statesmanship it inspired over the last generation changed the course of Southeast Asian history. Our world will never be the same again. Thirty years on, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Asean, as we move to complete the unprecedented and historic uniting of Southeast Asia, it is appropriate to dream again: to craft an equally inspirational but realistic vision — Asean’s 2020 Vision. Indeed, at the end of this year, at the informal summit of Asean leaders, a 2020 Vision for Asean is to be adopted. Hopefully, our discussion today can contribute, how094a AR Ch 94 22/9/03, 1:00 PM 473 474 Noordin Sopiee By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville ever modestly, to the process of reaching a strong consensus. GETTING THE VISION RIGHT Obviously, it is critical to get the Vision right. In trying to do so, the following considerations appear to be critical: • Asean’s 2020 Vision must be comprehensive and multidimensional in scope; it must not only be a political vision, an economic vision, and a diplomatic vision but all three — and perhaps above all, an immensely human and an immensely humane vision. And because Asean has always had an internal and an external agenda, Asean’s 2020 Vision must deal with what must be done within the Asean Community and with that Asean must do with regard to the rest of Asia, the Asia-Pacific and the world. • Asean’s 2020 Vision must be a vision capable of ‘grabbing’ the masses as well as the elites. • It must be inspirational yet realistic and achievable, striking a responsive chord of hope and anticipation. • There is also a need to ‘step out’ of our time. 2020 is almost a quarter century from now. Many of assumptions and limitations of the present will no longer prevail. A great deal of lateral, nonlinear , thinking will be necessary. • A full consensus is of course essential. The Vision must be a force for unity and cohesion on our long journey to 2020. A brilliant Vision that divides is not a good one. Yet a watered-down, un-inspirational Vision to which no one has the slightest objection and for which no one has the slightest enthusiasm, would also be a most unfortunate mistake. • A Vision must decide the destination and the objective. It is not a strategic plan. It is not a Plan of Action. It is not a road map, setting out the route. Rather, a Vision must set the end point, the place to be reached. • The central idea or ideas must be simple and crisp and the number of key ideas mut be small. A ‘Vision’ which cannot be easily or orally articulated and whose content can only be discerned from detailed reading of the ‘Vision’ document is not a vision...