CO06033 | What Europe Day can mean for ASEAN

ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 — a date few Southeast Asians may remember or even realise as signifying ASEAN Day — through the signing of the Bangkok Declaration by its five original member countries. The then-Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Narciso Ramos spoke of the dangers of Southeast Asia’s “fragmented economies” should they continue pursuing their own “limited objectives” and “conflicting endeavours”. These are similar allegories to Minister Schuman’s own words of a need for a “common economic system”, a “deeper community” and his caution against the peril of “sanguinary divisions”.

Notwithstanding an appreciation of the symbolic value of Europe Day among certain Asian diplomats and political elites, an explanation for absentia among Asian societies in general would probably involve the region’s relatively vast geographical distance from Europe. The general sentiment among Europeans may be mutual, through a remark to this writer by an EU official in Brussels that Southeast Asia does not belong to Europe’s “near abroad”; a geographical term that has little relevance in a globalised world.

The shared sense of dislocation can also be attributed to what another EU official described to the writer as the loss of an “intuitive link” between Asia and Europe. This intuitive link was forged during initial contacts between the 16th and 17th centuries until the period between the end of the Second World War and the closing stages of decolonisation by the 1970s.

Until the end of the Cold War, both Asia and Europe became preoccupied with their own trajectories. Europe became predominantly engaged with its integration agenda, which left little resources and political energy to pursue active external relations. Asia also tended to neglect Europe as it became satisfied with its strong economic and political ties with Japan, the US and APEC as the US-led multilateral vehicle.

The 1990s could be said to mark the turning point in mutual relations. With the EU’s signing of the Maastricht Treaty and the completion of the Single Market Programme by the end of 1992, Europe was in the position to rediscover its relations with Asia, which displayed its potential to become the centre of world economic growth.

At the same time, Asia was experiencing a growing perception of APEC as a mechanism to channel American business interests into rapidly growing Asian markets, as well as the vulnerabilities that come with an over-dependence upon American and Japanese markets. Given the circumstances, ASEAN was quick to respond to the lead taken by the European Commission through the latter’s 1994 New Asia Strategy and subsequent initiatives seeking to improve trade and investment, higher education and environmental management and integration in ASEAN as well as to improve the EU’s visibility in this region.

In essence, a new era of Asia-Europe and EU-ASEAN relations has only just begun and holds much promise for both regions and the international community. The EU is keen to help ASEAN to redress the enormous economic disparities between ASEAN members which are restraining the region’s efforts towards deeper integration post-AFTA enroute to an ASEAN Community.

ASEAN countries are also appreciative of the constant support it receives from the EU, including the latter’s generous support for the reconstruction of post-tsunami Aceh in Indonesia. ASEAN can also draw upon some of the established ‘best practices’ by EU agencies in dealing with various security challenges and contingencies.