ASEAN Struggles to Change Its Reput (r)

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Subject: ASEAN Struggles to Change Its Reputation as Weak, Helpless  and

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ASEAN Struggles to Change Its
                    Reputation as Weak, Helpless
                    and Divided 


                          By Michael Richardson    International Herald
Tribune  14th June 1999

                    SINGAPORE - Even as Southeast Asian countries prepare to
complete
                    their formal political unity this month with the
admission of Cambodia as a
                    member of the Association of South East Asian Nations,
officials are
                    calling for new steps to restore the group's credibility.

                    Weaknesses and tensions have been exposed in ASEAN as a
result of its
                    enlargement and the economic crisis in East Asia,
officials and analysts
                    say.

                    Some members of the group, notably the Philippines,
Thailand and
                    Indonesia, are raising human rights issues in other
ASEAN countries that
                    were previously regarded as strictly the internal
affairs of the nation
                    concerned.

                    For example, the first Asian politician to criticize the
six-year prison term
                    given last week to former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim of
                    Malaysia on four corruption charges was President Joseph
Estrada of the
                    Philippines.

                    The economic crisis, and the popular demand for reform
and a better deal
                    for the poor, brought new governments with a stronger
commitment to
                    democracy to power in the Philippines, Thailand and
Indonesia.

                    Analysts said that the Philippines and Thailand -
Southeast Asia's two most
                    robust democracies - want to spread democratic
principles more widely in
                    ASEAN.

                    They said that Indonesia, under the weak but reformist
government of
                    President B.J. Habibie, wants to highlight its
democratic credentials to get
                    urgently needed international aid to help the country
recover from its worst
                    recession in more than 30 years. 

                    Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore warned during
a recent visit
                    to Brunei that ASEAN had lost much of its stature in the
East Asian crisis.


                    ''ASEAN as a group is being seen as helpless and, worse,
disunited,'' he
                    said. ''In our summits in 1997 and 1998, we failed to
convince the outside
                    world that ASEAN was tackling the crisis with
determination and
                    decisiveness to regain its high growth.''

                    ASEAN countries vary greatly in size, systems of
government and levels
                    of economic development. They include Brunei, Burma,
Indonesia, Laos,
                    Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. Burma, Laos
                    and Vietnam - which shunned ASEAN during the Cold War -
joined in the
                    past few years and remain staunchly authoritarian.

                    The economic crisis and ASEAN's enlargement - which will
be complete
                    when Cambodia joins at a special ceremony in Hanoi on
April 30 - are both
                    contributing to the group's tarnished image and current
weakness, analysts
                    said. 

                    ''Enlargement has increased ASEAN's political and
economic diversity,''
                    wrote Koro Bessho, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official
on loan to the
                    International Institute for Strategic Studies in London,
in a report published
                    recently by the institute. ''Given the organization's
principle of consensus,
                    this will make it hard to reach decisions.'' 

                    Thai and Philippine officials said the tradition of
noninterference in internal
                    affairs had precluded any effective monitoring of
financial and economic
                    danger signs in member states before the crisis struck. 

                    As a result, there was no early warning and possible
prevention of the
                    financial turmoil that spread from Thailand in July 1997
to other countries
                    in the region.

                    Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a foreign affairs advisor to
President Habibie of
                    Indonesia, said last month that Southeast Asian
countries had grown used
                    to sweeping problems under the rug. 

                    Citing widespread criticism of human rights abuses in
Burma, and territorial
                    disputes between association members that needed to be
resolved urgently,
                    she said that the time had come for ASEAN to consider
''creating a real
                    and effective crisis-management center through which the
countries in the
                    region may seek solutions to the problems'' confronting
them.

                    ''ASEAN countries should start discussing security in
all its aspects in a
                    transparent, structured, and balanced manner,'' Ms.
Anwar said. ''The
                    business-as-usual attitude, or ASEAN way of doing
business, can no
                    longer be maintained.''

                    She added that recent strains in relations between
Malaysia and Singapore,

                    and Indonesia and Singapore, underlined the need for
such a forum, saying
                    that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe might serve
                    as a model.

                    Analysts said that some ASEAN countries were likely see
this proposal as
                    a formula for further contention and would prefer
instead to leave political
                    issues on the back burner while concentrating on
hastening Southeast
                    Asia's economic integration.

                    Prime Minister Goh of Singapore said that the key to
recovery was to
                    regain investor confidence in the region.

                    ''We must adopt practical measures and persuade the
developed countries
                    to be involved in helping ASEAN recover,'' he said.
''One idea is for
                    ASEAN as a whole to organize joint investment road shows
to the United
                    States, Europe and Japan to sell the region.''

                    Mr. Goh said that this could be done late this year,
after the Indonesian
                    elections that officials of neighboring countries hope
will help restore
                    stability in ASEAN's largest member.

                    Mr. Goh said that the association should also encourage
more business
                    missions to the region from the major developed nations
and that it should
                    make sure that the right signals were sent to investors
that ASEAN
                    remained committed to economic liberalization and
welcomed foreign
                    capital. 

                    Rodolfo Severino, the association secretary-general,
told a conference in
                    Canberra last week that by the beginning of 2000, the
ASEAN Free Trade
                    Area would be substantially in place, creating an
increasingly barrier-free
                    market of 500 million consumers to attract investors. 

                    ASEAN finance ministers and central bankers are also
meeting more
                    frequently to improve surveillance of economic and
financial policies in
                    member countries, he said. 

                    ''What is little known is the fact that the ASEAN
governments have begun
                    to inform one another about their internal policies and
reforms, and have
                    exchanged views on them,'' Mr. Severino said. ''This
sharing of information
                    is motivated not only by the heightened need for
transparency; it is also a
                    mechanism for intensified consultation.''