Why East Asia summits are still important
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The 15th ASEAN summit is being held from October 23-25, 2009 in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand, on a theme of "Enhancing connectivity, empowering peoples," which puts the emphasis on building closer community ties among its member nations.
ASEAN is an intergovernmental organization, not a supranational body with a role over and above its members' sovereignty. Its rules do not allow it to interfere in its members' domestic affairs but simply lay down norms for their interaction. But the organization is currently trying to agree new rules and institutions, including a Human Rights Commission, in order to deepen cooperation and solidarity among its members.
Free Trade Agreements between ASEAN and its regional partners China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India, will come into force soon. The China-ASEAN FTA (CAFTA) takes effect from January 1, 2010. In geographical terms, CAFTA will be the largest FTA in the world, covering an area of 13 million square kilometers and a population of 1.9 billion. In terms of economic weight, with a combined GDP of US$6 trillion, it will be the third biggest FTA after the North American FTA and the European FTA.
East Asian integration has accelerated as China, Japan and South Korea have become more willing to work together to achieve it. China, Japan and South Korea have been holding trilateral summits alongside ASEAN summits for a number of years, and last year the three countries began holding annual summits outside the ASEAN framework.
ASEAN, as an organization of relatively small countries, faces a challenge for the leading role in boosting East Asian cooperation. At their second trilateral summit, China, Japan and South Korea pledged to work together towards regional economic integration. It will be hard for ASEAN to keep pace with its bigger neighbors on the integration issue if it does not increase its strength and cohesiveness.
The international financial crisis hit East Asia badly, leading to social upheaval in some countries. As the international economic situation improves, East Asian summits need to work out a common approach to tackling the crisis. China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Australia are all members of the G20, and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva represented ASEAN at the G20 meetings in London and Pittsburg. East Asia should work together within the G20 to boost its international status and help reshape the international financial and economic order.
East Asia summits are vital because they exemplify open and inclusive cooperation among regional partners. As East Asian countries develop and become more prosperous, they are coming to know and understand each other better than ever before, from the points of view of the economy, culture, and security issues. This can only be good for the regional security situation, which remains stable, despite the continuing existence of deep differences among ASEAN members and their partners in the region.
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