The term "Asean
connectivity" has become a new buzzword in this part of the world as the
10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are
set to form the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
Physical connectivity is seen as
a key driver of Asean economic integration, which includes not only the 600
million consumers of the 10 member countries but also the additional
populations of China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
In terms of road and highway
connectivity in mainland Asean, Thailand serves as a good example of how
countries in the region can benefit from both "horizontal" and
"vertical" integration of economic corridors.
The latest case in point is the
Indian government's granting of a US$500 million loan to Myanmar, part of which
will be used to finance construction and improvement of roads and highways in
Myanmar to be connected with existing routes in India and Thailand. When completed,
the three-nation highway will be about 3,200 kilometres long, running from
India through Myanmar and Thailand, where routes will continue to Thailand's
northeastern region into Loas and Vietnam.
This will create an east-west
economic corridor, directly linking at least five countries from the Indian
Ocean to the South China Sea.
The other major economic corridor
is the north-south route linking southern China with Myanmar, Laos and
Thailand, and continuing all the way down to Malaysia and Singapore.
However, cross-border
cooperation, as underlined by multiple road and highway routes being built or
readied for the advent of the AEC, is being hindered by regional conflicts in
the South China Sea.
There are now six claimant
countries in the South China Sea "conflict", each disputing the
sovereignty of various islands and islets. The maritime disputants are China,
the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Further north, China,
Japan and South Korea are claimant countries to other islands, islets and
reefs.
The South China Sea dispute alone
has affected the unity and integrity of certain Asean countries and partner
countries, especially in their individual relations with China itself.
Fortunately, Thailand is not a
party to these disputes, and will next year act as coordinator between Asean
and China for the next three years. This will put Thailand in the highly
challenging role of being a "bridge" between China and the Asean
countries that are involved in maritime disputes with China.
Unless the issue is handled with
care and settled peacefully through negotiation, it will be highly unlikely
that efforts to fully integrate all of Asean will be successful. In this
context, Dr Surakiarti Sathirathai, a former minister of foreign affairs, is spearheading
an effort to set up what could become an Asian peace and reconciliation
foundation based in Bangkok. In his opinion, Bangkok is a suitable venue, as
evidenced by earlier international talks here to resolve regional conflicts in
other parts of Asia, such as that between the Tamil Tigers and the government
of Sri Lanka.
Early next month, the former
foreign minister will host an international preparatory conference to set up
the organisation, with dozens of prominent figures in government and international
affairs being invited to attend the groundbreaking event.
Hopefully, the initiative will
lead to a long-lasting mechanism that may help the Asean Secretariat and UN in
resolving regional conflicts. The initiative could even be useful for
international experts to help Thailand resolve its own domestic political conflict
and social divide, which has destablised the country over the past decade.
Nophakhun Limsamarnphun
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