By Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nation (Thailand)
What is the best way for the European Community to woo Asean after over a decade of constant bickering over Burma's political situation?
Accession to the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) would be one way. After all, France showed the way at the Cebu summit in January when it became the first European country to sign the TAC. Other plans included the adoption of the much-needed vision statement on an enhanced EU-Asean partnership at Nuremburg, Germany, last week.
The EU, with whom Asean established relations in 1977, is among the oldest of the grouping's dialogue partners, which include the US, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand. Strange as it may seem, the framework of Asean-EU cooperation and bilateral mechanisms is still limited. The most important is the 1980 Asean-EU Cooperation Agreement and other new agreements includuing the Trans-Regional EU-Asean Trade Initiative of 2003 to improve trade and investment flows. When the EU notified Asean at the Cebu summit in January and reconfirmed last week that it would like to accede to the treaty later this year, Asean leaders were elated. Back in 1992, the group tried to reach out to all major powers including the US for endorsement of its regional code of conduct. None heeded the appeal back then. Asean views the EU desire to accede to the TAC as a new impetus to fire up the relationship. Asean leaders will do everything to facilitate the signing in November when they meet in Singapore. The UK has also expressed a wish to accede to the TAC separately, following France's move. At the moment, experts from both sides are working out the modalities for the accession. There is no provision in the TAC that allows a regional entity like the EU to accede to the treaty, as it is restricted to a state.
It is possible the EU might opt for a similar modality that Australia used with Asean two years ago. At the upcoming Asean meeting in Manila in July, the EU and Asean will issue a joint statement of the EU's intention to accede to the treaty. For Asean, the top priority will be a change in the protocol to allow the EU to join the TAC. But there is one caveat - if the 22 signatories to the TAC do not see eye to eye on the EU's signature, it could further delay the process.
To strengthen Asean-EU ties, it is crucial to have a bold vision that will encompass the whole gamut of cooperation including environmental protection, human rights and democracy, and terrorism, among others. The EU and Asean realise they have not maximised their relations. Previously, the EU has never had a clear policy towards Asean. It attempted to do so at Karlsruhe in 1994 when Germany, as the EU president, outlined the first policy towards Southeast Asia. Germany has done well, especially last week at Nuremburg, in fostering closer Asean-EU cooperation. As Europe's largest investor in Asean, Berlin has maintained a practical approach, along with France. However, the lack of democratic progress and continued political oppression inside Burma will drag down otherwise healthy ties. Now that three decades have elapsed, the EU realises it must review ties with Asean as the group has expanded from six to 10 members. The EU also has nearly doubled its membership.
Overall Asean-EU relations have been held hostage over the Burmese issue since it was first raised at the post ministerial meeting with the EU in Kuala Lumpur in 1991. At that meeting, Asean defended Burma vigorously: Asean would handle the Burmese issue as it knew the problem well. Over the past 16 years, the tone of Asean-EU cooperation has depended on prevailing sentiment over Burma. Although tensions have subsided, the issue remains a barrier.
More than the Asean top echelon would like to admit, Asean is slowly emulating the EU model. After years of labelling the EU as being too liberal, the Asean Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on the Asean Charter has taken up some features of the EU structure: the EPG recommended that Asean leaders meet twice a year instead of once; decision making in the future will include majority voting if there is no consensus. Unfortunately at the foreign ministerial retreat at Siem Reap recently, the EPG idea to establish a union as a future objective was quickly dismissed. They are content with building the Asean Community as an ultimate aim.
Cambodia, as the grouping's Asean-EU coordinator, is working hard on the commemorative summit between the two groupings. The task seems daunting. Since 1995, leaders from the Asia-Europe Meeting have met at least six times, but each time a few leaders were not in attendance. The logistics of getting all the EU and Asean leaders to meet for only one day appears impractical. The EU prefers a troika representation, with current, previous and incoming EU chairpersons as delegates. But Asean wants more leaders to attend.
Cambodia's credibility and diplomatic finesse is at stake. Phnom Penh must convince the EU of the imperatives of a commemorative summit. It is now struggling to live up to the expectation of a consortium of donor countries. Failure to fulfil this objective could easily jeopardise Cambodia's grand plan. In contrast, Singapore has made progress preparing for the first Asean-US summit. As host of the 40th anniversary Asean summit, Singapore wants to add value to this historic gathering.
Like the EU, the US and Asean have never before convened a summit. So far, the schedules of their leaders have not coincided. This time, however, US President George W Bush is scheduled to attend the upcoming Apec conference in Sydney in November, so the possibility is high that the inaugural Asean-US summit will be held in Singapore ahead of the Apec meeting. But nobody knows if Burmese strongman, General Than Shwe, will be able attend the first Asean-US summit in Singapore.
Accession to the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) would be one way. After all, France showed the way at the Cebu summit in January when it became the first European country to sign the TAC. Other plans included the adoption of the much-needed vision statement on an enhanced EU-Asean partnership at Nuremburg, Germany, last week.
The EU, with whom Asean established relations in 1977, is among the oldest of the grouping's dialogue partners, which include the US, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand. Strange as it may seem, the framework of Asean-EU cooperation and bilateral mechanisms is still limited. The most important is the 1980 Asean-EU Cooperation Agreement and other new agreements includuing the Trans-Regional EU-Asean Trade Initiative of 2003 to improve trade and investment flows. When the EU notified Asean at the Cebu summit in January and reconfirmed last week that it would like to accede to the treaty later this year, Asean leaders were elated. Back in 1992, the group tried to reach out to all major powers including the US for endorsement of its regional code of conduct. None heeded the appeal back then. Asean views the EU desire to accede to the TAC as a new impetus to fire up the relationship. Asean leaders will do everything to facilitate the signing in November when they meet in Singapore. The UK has also expressed a wish to accede to the TAC separately, following France's move. At the moment, experts from both sides are working out the modalities for the accession. There is no provision in the TAC that allows a regional entity like the EU to accede to the treaty, as it is restricted to a state.
It is possible the EU might opt for a similar modality that Australia used with Asean two years ago. At the upcoming Asean meeting in Manila in July, the EU and Asean will issue a joint statement of the EU's intention to accede to the treaty. For Asean, the top priority will be a change in the protocol to allow the EU to join the TAC. But there is one caveat - if the 22 signatories to the TAC do not see eye to eye on the EU's signature, it could further delay the process.
To strengthen Asean-EU ties, it is crucial to have a bold vision that will encompass the whole gamut of cooperation including environmental protection, human rights and democracy, and terrorism, among others. The EU and Asean realise they have not maximised their relations. Previously, the EU has never had a clear policy towards Asean. It attempted to do so at Karlsruhe in 1994 when Germany, as the EU president, outlined the first policy towards Southeast Asia. Germany has done well, especially last week at Nuremburg, in fostering closer Asean-EU cooperation. As Europe's largest investor in Asean, Berlin has maintained a practical approach, along with France. However, the lack of democratic progress and continued political oppression inside Burma will drag down otherwise healthy ties. Now that three decades have elapsed, the EU realises it must review ties with Asean as the group has expanded from six to 10 members. The EU also has nearly doubled its membership.
Overall Asean-EU relations have been held hostage over the Burmese issue since it was first raised at the post ministerial meeting with the EU in Kuala Lumpur in 1991. At that meeting, Asean defended Burma vigorously: Asean would handle the Burmese issue as it knew the problem well. Over the past 16 years, the tone of Asean-EU cooperation has depended on prevailing sentiment over Burma. Although tensions have subsided, the issue remains a barrier.
More than the Asean top echelon would like to admit, Asean is slowly emulating the EU model. After years of labelling the EU as being too liberal, the Asean Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on the Asean Charter has taken up some features of the EU structure: the EPG recommended that Asean leaders meet twice a year instead of once; decision making in the future will include majority voting if there is no consensus. Unfortunately at the foreign ministerial retreat at Siem Reap recently, the EPG idea to establish a union as a future objective was quickly dismissed. They are content with building the Asean Community as an ultimate aim.
Cambodia, as the grouping's Asean-EU coordinator, is working hard on the commemorative summit between the two groupings. The task seems daunting. Since 1995, leaders from the Asia-Europe Meeting have met at least six times, but each time a few leaders were not in attendance. The logistics of getting all the EU and Asean leaders to meet for only one day appears impractical. The EU prefers a troika representation, with current, previous and incoming EU chairpersons as delegates. But Asean wants more leaders to attend.
Cambodia's credibility and diplomatic finesse is at stake. Phnom Penh must convince the EU of the imperatives of a commemorative summit. It is now struggling to live up to the expectation of a consortium of donor countries. Failure to fulfil this objective could easily jeopardise Cambodia's grand plan. In contrast, Singapore has made progress preparing for the first Asean-US summit. As host of the 40th anniversary Asean summit, Singapore wants to add value to this historic gathering.
Like the EU, the US and Asean have never before convened a summit. So far, the schedules of their leaders have not coincided. This time, however, US President George W Bush is scheduled to attend the upcoming Apec conference in Sydney in November, so the possibility is high that the inaugural Asean-US summit will be held in Singapore ahead of the Apec meeting. But nobody knows if Burmese strongman, General Than Shwe, will be able attend the first Asean-US summit in Singapore.
No comments:
Post a Comment