Asian and European leaders meeting in Vientiane this week have an
opportunity for frank discussion on inter-regional issues of concern
The Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem)
this week in Laos will mark a good opportunity for leaders to discuss political
and economic cooperation and a future direction so that the two regions can
work constructively together.
The meeting this year is held
against the backdrop of many incidents that will shape the future of
inter-regional cooperation, including the ongoing crisis in the euro zone, the
inconclusive trade talks held under the auspices of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) and the re-emergence of territorial disputes in Asia.
If the leaders in attendance shy
away from touching upon these critical issues, the meeting could be irrelevant.
Asem is one of the biggest
gatherings of leaders from both regions. Those scheduled to attend this year
include China's Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, French
President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.
At any rate, the active
participation of national leaders from Asia and Europe is a welcome
confirmation that Asem has regained momentum. Some of the Asem meetings in
recent years have lacked active participation by some leaders, at a time when
Asian countries were struggling to recover from the 1997 financial crisis, and
the European Union was focusing on expansion and its own internal economic
problems.
The Asem theme this year reflects
an ambition that the regions hope to strive to achieve in the future. This
year's meeting convenes under the theme "Friends for Peace; Partners for
Prosperity". The meeting will also welcome new members including Norway,
Switzerland and Bangladesh.
A multilateral forum such as Asem
should help ease concerns that any single country - such as China - might play
too predominant a role in the region. Europe's closer ties with Asia should
provide a platform for both regions to prosper. The Asem meeting can also pave
the way for new infrastructure for businesses to thrive. For instance, the Asem
leaders can, at least, signal their intention to conclude the WTO's Doha Round
of multilateral trade talks, which has been long overdue. The conclusion of the
talks is crucial in order to gain the participants' faith in a free and fair
international trade system. After all, Laos, the Asem host, is set to become a
new WTO member after the country's National Assembly ratifies the agreement.
In addition, Asem provides a
perfect forum for Asian and European leaders to exchange views on the euro-zone
crisis and what Asia can learn from the European Union. The euro-zone crisis
has affected Asian economies, as many countries in this region export a lot of
products to the EU. The links are not limited only to trade in goods, but also
financial and other services.
The idea of Asean's economic
integration has also been, more or less, inspired by the EU model. But the debt
crisis in the EU has, nonetheless, revealed the challenges faced when a group
of countries decide on monetary integration.
The inclusion of Myanmar in the
meeting should also mark a new chapter for EU diplomatic relations in the
region. Prior to this, the EU's economic sanctions on Myanmar had become a
thorn in the side in the context of the EU's relationship with Asean. EU and
Asean trade negotiators faced a deadlock, for example, over how to include
Myanmar in the planned Asean-EU free-trade agreement.
The opening up of Myanmar should
mark a new chapter in both regional and inter-regional cooperation. The EU has
floated ideas to create bilateral trade agreements with many Asean countries.
The Asem should thus provide a forum for both sides to air their views and
ideas on how these agreements should go forward.
On security and geo-political
issues, the Asem can also provide a forum for leaders to sort out territorial
conflicts. While Asean cooperation can be affected by disputes in the South
China Sea, the flare-up of tensions between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu
islands could affect the entire region.
These are among the issues that
the leaders should discuss to help formulate solutions, thus making Asem a
relevant forum to set directions for inter-regional cooperation in the future.
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