Time to revisit Asean Way as road to regional community

The Asean Community (AC) will be established at the end of this year. For people in Thailand and in many other Asean member countries, all the focus is on the economy and the Asean Economic Community. There is little talk and little awareness of the political-security and socio-cultural fronts, the other two pillars of the Community.

Yet all three pillars are essential for a true community to take shape. A true community must be a community of people. It must be about bringing people together and creating a sense of a shared destiny, one of peace and prosperity in the region and a good life for all Asean peoples. To achieve this, we have to have aspirations about such a destiny based on a developed set of values and an Asean identity.

 

Today’s challenge

Asean has always responded to the challenges of the times. When Asean was founded, the focus was on security matters. It was to ensure that conflicts within the region at the time would not interrupt the development of its members. This was achieved successfully and Asean was able to bring all 10 Southeast Asian countries into the organisation. Subsequently, when economic competition became the main challenge, Asean responded with AFTA and trade deals with dialogue partners – and now with the AEC, one single market, one production base.

Now there are fresh challenges at the global level. For Asean to have a deserved place and voice in the global community, we have to stay relevant and prove to the rest of the world that we have valuable contributions to make as a community. Size, unity and economic bargaining power are important but insufficient to achieve this goal.

 

Beyond the AEC

That is why a narrow focus on the AEC and the economic dimension would be a mistake.

While economic integration will help build the community, the reality is that the TPP, RCEP and other mega trade deals in the pipeline will supersede it. More importantly, economic agreements can only be part of the story; many don’t recognise that while tariffs are almost zero within Asean, the take-up rate among Asean businesses in many countries remains low, suggesting a lack of awareness, or the presence of other barriers.

Recent EU experience also provides important lessons. Ambitious economic integration through a common currency almost split the European Union, with people in member countries angered by forced austerity. What should impress us with the EU is the strong determination to stay together despite the scale of austerity in some countries and the taxpayers’ burden in others. That determination is based on the belief that the Union means so much more than just the economic benefits. It has become the best guarantee for peace and a vehicle with which Europeans can express their common values and exert their identity on the global stage. 

 

Revisiting the Asean Way

Asean must therefore find its common values and identity. To do so, it must look back and look forward. Raising awareness through education, particularly about our region’s history – especially the affinities and close cultural ties among members in the past – will contribute to trust-building and help create a sense of belonging. But we most also look forward and begin to think about what kind of community we want to be.

One useful starting point is to revisit the Asean Way, a phrase that has both positive and negative connotations. It may be difficult to define what the “Asean Way” is, but it definitely captures a certain identity of the region. It is a natural and useful starting point on which we can build on.

People, myself included, used to criticise the Asean Way as being unambitious and a way to side-step relevant and sensitive issues based on the principle of non-interference. But through time, the Asean Way has surely evolved. It has become the practice of “flexible engagement” although this was never officially recognised.  

One concrete example of this is the case of Myanmar. If Asean had followed the Western way and decided to alienate Myanmar, we would see the progress we are seeing there today. Asean engaged, but engaged the Asean Way. The rest of the world mistakenly thought we did not care about Myanmar but at all the Asean summits, there would always be discussion about Myanmar. Asean did not use public statements to bring about change, because in this region, face matters and trust must be earned through respect. When Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, the rest of the world could not get in to provide assistance. It was only because Asean had built up trust that we became the bridge for the rest of the world to provide relief to Myanmar.

 

A few suggestions

We have to build on this to create an Asean identity or set of values to take the Community forward and translate them into practical terms. Here are a few suggestions.

l As far as economic integration is concerned, we should not aim for one production base and a single market: Asean should be a “caring economy”. Our guiding principle should be that we care about our neighbours, and we care about all Southeast Asian people. The AEC must work for everyone. No one in the region will be left behind or marginalised in this very fast changing and fast evolving global economy. Asean should set a minimum standard of living for everybody and provide a mechanism to help member countries to achieve such a standard. Asean might even take a lead in taking a common stand on the issue of stability and inequality by demanding that the global financial system be made to serve the real sector more effectively.

l Secondly, we have to share global concerns on issues like the environment. For example, how can we be a community if we can’t even have a joint plan as Asean to tackle the issue of haze? This is not an issue for one country. Asean governments and multinational corporations must all take responsibilities. Another case in point is the issue of the Rohingya, where there is a tendency to point fingers and say “You deal with this” instead of saying “We will ALL deal with this”. Drugs, human trafficking, terrorism, natural disasters and transnational crimes are other issues that require a truly regional response.

l On the issue of political rights, continued evolution of the Asean Way is also badly needed. During Thailand’s chairmanship, the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was established and leaders provided opportunities for parliamentarians, youth and the civil society to engage with them. Both initiatives were far from perfect but were surely steps in the right direction. There has been little progress since and it is time to make them an integral part of the AC.

 

Political leadership needed

None of this is easy, with many members grappling with their own domestic challenges. It took visionary leadership from our predecessors who recognised security problems and economic challenges to make Asean evolve and respond and bring us to where we are today. So it is vital that current Asean leaders take the initiative to set out a vision of shared destiny and values, setting the scene for the peoples of Asean to realise that vision and practice those values. Only then will an Asean identity emerge that reflects who we are and where we want to be. Only then can Asean call itself a true Community.

 

Abhisit Vejjajiva is leader of the Democrat Party. This article is based on his speech “Stronger ASCC, Closer Asean”, delivered at the ERIA symposium, Kuala Lumpur, on November 16.