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Introduction
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville Introduction 337 INTRODUCTION Sree Kumar There is a sense that ASEAN is being eclipsed by global events and factors beyond the control of individual member states even when they happen within the region. ASEAN has, in the meantime, been trying to find its centre in its interactions with the multilateral world. In the formative years there was the broader theme of being in the eye of the North-South dialogue. With low-cost labour, large supply of primary resources, and manufacturing capability, the importance of economic relations in a rapidly interdependent world formed the core of such a view. But the world has moved on. ASEAN has had to contend with different levels of multilateral interaction. ASEAN has had to come to terms with the European Union (EU) through the Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM), with the Pacific region through the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum, with the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and other regional trading arrangements, and a wider security dialogue through the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). If there is one word which is anathema to ASEAN, it is the word “integration”. ASEAN leaders have stayed clear of this word and all that it means for fear of being drawn into a path similar to that followed by the EU in its ambitions. ASEAN’s desires have been more modest. The hard “integrationist” approach of the EU is not for the region. The preferred approach is a soft one, more in consonance with the ASEAN way of consultation, facilitation and the like. But the ASEAN-EU relationship has been a beneficial but challenging one for both sides. The EU has been an important investor in the region, receiving in return manufactures and key primary products. Along this path ASEAN has had to weather the storms of social dumping, labour rights, minimum wages, environmental concerns, and a litany of complaints from the European “green” politicians and their constituency. The EU who was a latecomer to the ASEAN economies was also the first to depart when the Asian crisis hit. Despite all the best intentions of thinking about a EU relationship, ASEAN has had to learn that Brussels does not have the purse strings to help the region. That has always been the prerogative of the national governments of the EU member states. ASEM, however, is still an important focus with the ARF becoming a wider platform for discussing security concerns. The ARF allows the main actors in Asia, and those with an interest in the region, to actively seek congruence on ideological, political, economic, and territorial challenges. ASEM 068 AR Section VI 22/9/03, 12:54 PM 337 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville 338 Introduction is a strong but less visible pillar that supports the ARF architecture. At a time when economic relations are shifting resulting from the changing technology contours, ASEM, it has been felt, has to become more relevant by deepening the political dialogue, sharing common values, and seeking to create a network of future leaders. On ASEAN’s eastern flank, however, the principles of open regionalism and the increasing importance of APEC shed new light on how ASEAN should participate as a regional body. There was a constant refrain that APEC should be a loosely structured organization without a large and inflexible bureaucracy. This then became a chorus and that is exactly how APEC has been crafted. ASEAN’s role within APEC, and its weight, will depend largely on the trade-off between national interests of member countries and the collective interest, at one level, and the willingness to seek advantages by influencing the policies of other participants by sacrificing some sovereignty, at another. In the ASEAN world this is a tall order, following from the experience of the financial crisis. Of all the free trade areas that have instilled fear in ASEAN, NAFTA is the most commonly pronounced. There have been concerns over investment diversion, trade deflection and diversion, income effects, decline in export competitiveness, and the other such economic miseries. But the track record of the last five years has been a muted one. All economies have suffered from the collapse of the technology bubble; loss of competitiveness is being felt everywhere as the world’s workshop, China, has absorbed investments at a furious pace; and the developed world has discovered the pleasures of outsourcing, with...