Asia partnership ‘builds bridges to the future’

Date: 07/03/1996

By Shada Islam

WE have already had NAFTA, APEC, ASEAN and the WTO. Now prepare for ASEM, the buzz-word for the European Union's new 'partnership of equals' with ten East Asian states.

EU and East Asian leaders meeting in Bangkok for their first Asia-Europe meeting last weekend pledged to start an ambitious new dialogue covering trade, business, culture and politics. Their aim, European Commission President Jacques Santer said after the talks, was to “build bridges to the future”.

Chaired by Thailand's Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa, the meeting in Bangkok was attended by heads of government from all seven ASEAN members (Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia), plus China, South Korea and Japan and a total of 11 EU leaders. Only Spain, Sweden, Greece and Denmark stayed away for domestic political reasons.

“The message from Bangkok is that two of the most important regions of the world are going to work together to create confidence and reciprocal understanding,” said Lamberto Dini, Italian premier and current holder of the EU presidency, afterwards, adding: “ASEM is not about creating new institutions. We have set in motion a process of cooperation.”

Still, if the ambitious agenda established in Bangkok is anything to go by, ASEM looks set to hog the lion's share of the EU's foreign and trade policy agenda for the next two years.

Starting in June this year, ASEM's senior trade officials will begin consultations on key issues such as investment and trade liberalisation. Foreign ministers from the group will meet in early 1997, followed by a meeting of ASEM economics ministers in the same year and another ASEM summit will be held in the UK in 1998.

There will also be discussions on drawing up an Asia-Europe investment promotion action plan, a business forum in France, negotiations on cooperation in the building of a trans-Asian railway, the establishment of an environmental technology centre and exchange programmes between universities.

“The EU will throw its weight behind all projects and endeavours aiming at the success of ASEM,” promised Santer. “This meeting could well prove to be of historical importance.”

It was not until mid-1994, with the adoption of a new EU strategy for the region, that the Union started to view Asia with anything resembling respect. But, as Santer put it, EU governments have quickly learned to treat their Asian partners with “equal dignity”.

As a result, ASEM will not be marred by clashes on difficult issues such as human rights or labour standards. “The EU decided to abandon old clichés in favour of a non-confrontational normal dialogue on human rights,” said External Relations Commissioner Manuel Marín.

Even Portugal's new Prime Minister Antonio Guterres decided to play the game, surprising Indonesia's President Suharto - and his EU counterparts - by using the summit's first-night informal dinner to suggest that Lisbon and Jakarta should end their stalemate over East Timor by slowly restoring diplomatic relations. Guterres said the two countries should open “sections of interest” in the Dutch embassy in each others' capitals in exchange for the release of East Timorese rebel leaders and UN monitoring of human rights.

“People expected Portugal to make trouble in Bangkok,” stressed Guterres, referring to fears that Lisbon could raise hackles at the summit by once again lambasting Indonesia's human rights record in East Timor. “We decided to try and solve the problem.”

Despite the wide agenda, trade will comprise the core of ASEM relations. Although there is no firm agreement on dismantling tariffs comparable to the 2020 free trade goal set by APEC, Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan says that if Asia Pacific states really start liberalising trade, the EU will be ready to match their tariff-slashing moves.

Brittan also used the summit to urge Asian countries to make more generous offers in the WTO to open up their telecommunications sectors and to start work on an international treaty to liberalise cross-border investments.

The Asians have not committed themselves to either request, but EU officials say Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian suggestions for a study on eliminating barriers to bilateral Euro-Asian investments are an encouraging start.