Regional parliamentarians gather

Regional parliamentarians gather

(20-09-2005)

President of the Lao National Assembly Samane Vignaket and Viet Nam National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An (left).— VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung

VIENTIAN — The region’s politics, economy and society are being discussed by the more than 300 delegates attending the 26th general assembly of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO) that opened in Vientiane, Laos, yesterday.

"AIPO has taken measures to make the forum more effective and participatory," said its president and president of the Lao National Assembly, Samane Vignaket, when he opened the session.

But the process should be steady and match reality while a regular co-ordinating mechanism between AIPO and ASEAN was determined, he said.

Developments in both the world and the region had been positive because of the exchange of visits since AIPO’s last general assembly.

These had created a favourable environment for the promotion of peace and co-operation and enhanced the development of ASEAN members and other countries.

"However, we have had to face various challenges such as terrorism, transnational crime, communicable diseases and natural disasters," he said. The soaring oil price had also hampered economic development."

Laos Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachith called for ASEAN nations to "maintain the fundamental principles that were the basis for co-operation among member countries" so as to attain the association’s 2020 objectives.

Parliamentarians from eight AIPO countries – Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and Laos, representatives from two AIPO special observers – Brunei and Myanmar , their dialogue partners and nine AIPO observers attended the first plenary session immediately after the official opening.

ASEAN general secretary Ong Keng Yong and an East Timor representative also attended.

Topics for discussion included:

Measures against terrorism and piracy;

The Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia;

The road map for ASEAN’s economic development;

Establishment of an ASEAN development fund;

Legal co-operation inn combating women and child trafficking;

Disaster management and international security; and

Trade liberalisation.

Viet Nam’s National Assembly chairman Nguyen Van An told the session that the Asia-Pacific countries in general and Southeast Asia in particular had worked to maintain sustainable development.

The status of ASEAN had been raised and continued to be steady in the wider regional integration process, he said.

AIPO was important in reflecting the voice, will and aspirations of nations.

Its 26th general assembly was being held immediately after the Second World Conference of Parliamentary Speakers at the United Nations in New York.

The important final declaration of that conference required AIPO to undertake its activities in the most practical and efficient way so as voters obtained the best result.

As ten years an AIPO member, the Viet Nam National Assembly had joined the mainstream of ASEAN and was working with other member parliaments to consolidate solidarity, unity, co-operation and development of both organisations.

The national assembly chairman said that he believed that AIPO would play an even more important role in promoting peace, stability, development and the prosperity of nations.

Congratulatory letters

In a congratulatory letter to the general assembly, Viet Nam’s President Tran Duc Luong wrote that it was taking place at a time when the international and regional situation was complex with uncertain and unpredictable elements in international relations.

International terrorism still posed a major threat to regional and national development and security, the letter says.

Other challenges include civil wars, ethnic conflict, poverty, epidemics, natural disasters, environmental destruction and unfairness in trade between developed and developing countries.

Yet Southeast Asia has been able to maintain peace, stability and high economic growth.

The common aspirations of its people have been well reflected in outstanding success of the ASEAN 10 Summit and clear directions set out in the Vientiane Plan of Action that is intended to build a dynamic, resilient and closely bonded ASEAN community by 2020.

AIPO has always been important to the promotion of co-operation among ASEAN parliaments and made worthy contribution to the close ties between legislative and executive bodies, the letter says.

It has overcome differences to make a substantive contribution to the enhancement of mutual understanding, trust, and friendship among nations, while working closely with governments in addressing pressing political, security, economic, and social issues and improve people’s life.

It meant that AIPO has become an important regional political forum. — VNS

 

From: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02POL200905

 

ADB launches publication on Asian economic cooperation and integration

 

ADB launches publication on Asian economic cooperation and integration UzReport.com [01:40] 02.09.2005 The Asian Development Bank today launched Asian Economic Cooperation and Integration: Progress, Prospects and Challenges. This book represents the latest thinking on the subject from highly respected experts in the field. Based on the papers presented during the High-Level Conference on Asia's Economic Cooperation and Integration organized by ADB last year, the book evaluates the current state of economic cooperation and integration in Asia; explores the potential benefits, complexities, and challenges of regional cooperation and integration; and discusses possible directions for enhancing economic integration within the region. "Regional cooperation and economic integration are keys to unlocking Asia's vast potential, to spurring strong and sustained economic growth across the region, and to making sure that every citizen of every country can have the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling life," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said during the launching ceremony held in Singapore. "The reality is that regional cooperation is a relatively new concept in Asia - so much so that we have only just begun to measure its benefits and decipher the lessons that will help Asia move forward. It is my hope that this collection of expert analyses will serve as a roadmap as the Asia and Pacific region moves into a new era of development." The publication is a follow-up to the two-volume book entitled Monetary and Financial Integration in East Asia: The Way Ahead, released by ADB last year. This new book features views on different aspects of regional cooperation from senior policymakers, representatives from multilateral agencies, and academics, including Masahiro Kawai, a professor of economics at the University of Tokyo who will head ADB's new Office of Regional Economic Integration beginning October. The book opens by describing Asia's increasing importance in the world economy and the significance of regional integration to sustain equitable growth, and then delves into issues related to cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, money and finance, and infrastructure. According to President Kuroda, recent trends show that much progress has been made in terms of market-led integration in Asia. He noted that, in East Asia, increased intra-regional trade and investment are leading to greater synchronization of business cycles. Due to factors such as the region's growing interdependence, the popularity of regionalism in other areas, and intensity of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, there are now determined efforts to support market-led integration with various regional cooperative initiatives.

From: http://www.uzreport.com/e/index.cfm?sec=1&subsec=3&n_ID=17987

 

 

China on the Rise

It’s funny. The whole of this week, the Ghanaian private radio station CITI-FM (http://www.citifmonline.com) has dedicated each day to talking about the rise of the red dragon, as it were.

 

This morning, in the Business Edition, there was an interesting insight into the philosophy between the Ghanaians and the Chinese and their attitude to work. Sounds like Ghanaians have some way to go!

 

Nonetheless, that a small developing country like this can be facing serious problems with cheap, Chinese goods being dumped in the country is not so much a novelty as it is a reflection of the growing trend of China and its expansion.

 

Below is an article from Yale Global Online, which originally featured from Financial Times.

 

Enjoy!

Emmanuel

As the catalyst of Asia's recent economic growth, China has widely been seen as the first non-Western power since Japan to emerge with the potential to transform the global order. Instead of facilitating regional integration, however, China's ascendancy is threatening to divide Asia, causing a clash of national identities and fueling nationalist sentiments. Perceiving China's modern military as a threat, many ASEAN members, including Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, have bolstered their security ties with the United States – even while deepening trade and diplomatic cooperation with Beijing. Moreover, India has also strengthened its economic partnership with its "natural ally," the United States, while Japan has embraced a new diplomatic assertiveness amidst outbreaks of anti-Japanese protests throughout China. Further constrained by its authoritarian political system, China, as Daniel Twining notes, may not become a new Middle Kingdom to which its neighbors defer. "Clearly," he says, "there are significant challenges to its regional leadership that Beijing must manage skillfully." – YaleGlobal   China's Rise Threatens to Divide Asia, Not Unite It Daniel Twining The Financial Times, 22 August 2005 Not since modern Japan moved on to the world stage a century ago has a non-western power emerged with such potential to transform the global order as China today. The Pentagon sees a budding rival military power; the US Congress views Chinese acquisitions of US companies as a national security threat; and Mario Monti, the former European commissioner, laments that Europe could one day be little more than "a suburb of Shanghai". If China's dynamism is causing a crisis of confidence among western nations, its gravitational pull also appears to be drawing Asian neighbours into its orbit. Some perceive a new Asian community in the making, constructed around Chinese power and influence. For 2,000 years, Asian states ordered themselves as tributaries of the Chinese empire. Could Asia's past also be its future? In reality, China's rise is dividing Asia, not uniting it. Opinion polls show that throughout the region, its growing military power is increasingly seen as a threat. Clearly, there are significant challenges to its regional leadership that Beijing must manage skilfully. Japan's new assertiveness is largely a response to China's transformation. As one of the world's largest economies, with a modern military force, Tokyo will not willingly cede regional leadership to its historic rival. Japan has revitalised its alliance with America, stationed troops in Iraq and pledged to help defend Taiwan. India is also unwilling to fall into line. It is liberalising its economy and building a robust strategic and economic partnership with what its leaders call its "natural ally", the US. India's economy is smaller than China's, but its potential power may be greater. Most importantly, India, like Japan, is a democracy in which leaders enjoy popular legitimacy, and political conflict is resolved at the ballot box. China's unelected leaders, by contrast, sit on a tinderbox of political and social unrest: according to its public security minister, there were 74,000 grassroots protests in China in 2004, the highest ever. Predictions that China will be the world's largest economy by 2050 assume it will enjoy decades of internal political stability and external peace. Few other great powers that have risen so fast have been so fortunate. The Association of South East Asian Nations has sought to restrain Chinese power by enmeshing it in regional institutions. But whereas Asean is engaging China to tame the aggressive realpolitik that has characterised its foreign relations, Beijing views the same institutions as a way to extend its regional influence and has sought to exclude the US. In planning for the first East Asia summit, to be held in Malaysia in December, China also tried to exclude India, Australia and New Zealand – but was overruled by Asian nations including Japan and Asean members. As China's regional influence grows, most Asean members are working to hedge against or balance its power. While deepening trade and diplomatic co-operation with Beijing, many members – US allies such as Thailand and the Philippines, key swing states such as Singapore and emerging regional powers such as Indonesia – have also increased security ties with Washington. Australia has reinvigorated its US alliance. As an engine of Asian economic growth, China's role is breeding conflict as well as co-operation: Asian states, concerned about losing foreign investment to China, worry about the hollowing out of their economies. Rather than helping shape a shared regional identity, China's ascendancy is in some ways causing a clash of national identities and fuelling nationalist sentiments. China is Japan's largest trading partner, but violent protests over the legacy of the second world war have accompanied shared prosperity. Taiwan is the largest single investor in China – and the nation most likely to be attacked by it. China's authoritarian political system further constrains its ambition to lead Asia. If democracies largely adhere to international rules and norms because their societies are governed by law, should China's neighbours expect it to build a rules-based regional order and respect their sovereign rights when it does not treat its people with the same regard? Despite its meteoric rise, China may not become a new Middle Kingdom to which its neighbours defer. Thanks to China, Asia may be uniting economically, but strategically it may be coming apart. The writer, a former adviser to Senator John McCain, is the joint Fulbright/Oxford scholar at Oxford University and a consultant to the German Marshall Fund of the US. Source: The Financial Times Rights: © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2005