Asean summit opens
- By: BangkokPost.com
- Published: 28/02/2009 at 03:21 PM
Leaders of 10 Asean countries attended the official opening of the 14th Asean summit on Saturday afternoon at the seaside resort of Cha-am, Phetchaburi province.
The opening ceremony began at 2.30pm, with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, as chairman of Asean, promising that Asean is committed to building a regional environment of peace and prosperity, and to strengthening links with the rest of the world.
The people of Asean, he said, would benefit the most from the reinforcing of the Asean community.
"We are going to witness Asean moving towards our goal...It is not for the rich and the powerful, but for the people of our community.
"I'm honoured to be able to work with felllow Asean leaders to secure for our peoples and for future generations the blessings of enduring peace, stability and prosperity,'' Mr Abhisit said in his speech.
The key feature of the Asean community was the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, he said.
Mr Abhisit also addressed issues of economic development.
"We need to accelerate the development of an attractive single market and production base that will help attract foreign trade and investment," he said
The opening ceremony marked the launch of the Asean anthem, entitled the Asean Way. The song was composed by Thai musicians.Asean also launched its own cartoon character, which is an alien named Blue who has 10 friends -- one from each Asean country.
Asean looks to the future
- Published: 28/02/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
There is much to occupy the leaders of Asean in Cha-am this weekend as they shape policies designed to benefit long-term regional rather than purely national interests. In this they will be ably assisted by support staff providing projections, situation awareness reports and ensuring that all relevant facts are at the ministers' fingertips. But that alone is not sufficient to guarantee the success of the summit. Deft handling of the agenda is necessary to avoid important meetings getting bogged down in sideshows and petty distractions, which is always a danger at such large gatherings.
As chair, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will be in the driving seat and responsible for moving everything forward and keeping the discussions on track. He will have a unique opportunity to display his leadership skills while creating a rapport with fellow Asean leaders. There is also fence-mending and confidence-building to be done, after all the political turmoil which delayed this summit and bruised Thailand's international image.
A great deal of time at the last summit in Singapore was devoted to the Asean Charter and formation of a human rights body. The principal theme this year can only be the global economic situation as it affects this region. Notably the collapse of export markets and the spectre of mass unemployment. On a lesser note, there is the setting of terms of reference for the Asean human rights body. Given the principle of non-interference in each other's affairs, it is hard to see this Asean initiative ever wielding much clout. While ministers will certainly discuss the plight of the Rohingya boat people, who come from Rakhine state in Burma, the issue would fall outside the human rights body's mandate, for instance, because it would have no authority to investigate or act on violations of rights within Asean member countries, including Burma which is at the heart of the problem.
The way to rectify this is to widen the scope of its authority and create a human rights body more resembling a lion than a lamb. That would give it credibility.
The ten-member regional grouping has come a long way since the first Asean summit was held in Bangkok in 1995 and chaired by Banharn Silpa-archa. Its very relevance now depends on how quickly it reacts to the challenges of the day and its response to the economic downturn has been admirably well-focused. Fortunately it has not had to act without precedent. Thailand and the other countries making up Asean learned valuable lessons from the 1997 financial crisis, and the Chiang Mai Initiative, a programme established in its wake to provide emergency funds to countries in turmoil, was wisely put in place in May 2000.
In Phuket last weekend, the Asean finance ministers and their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea (Asean Plus Three) enlarged this fund to US$120 billion to help regional states cope with financial stress. The five most economically developed Asean members, including Thailand, will contribute 20% while Asean's bigger neighbours will chip in 80%. Now the highest priority must be given to making this fund operational.
International summits often create high expectations and give the impression that something vitally important is about to emerge from all the turbulence, but then comes the letdown in a bland final communique.
This is not always a reason for despair. Asean has never been known for putting all its cards on the table. Much of the diplomacy occurs in quiet discussions in venues outside the main conference area. These contacts take time to bear fruit and are rarely reflected in post-conference declarations, which are largely compromises born out of consensus decision-making.
