The "Shift to Asia": don't overlook Asean
When people talk of the "shift to Asia" all eyes seem to turn to China. After all, it's China that has swept up the superlatives of the past decade
The Thai Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN, under the Ministry of Commerce), working with The Nation newspaper has just concluded its 2012 Symposium in Bangkok, on the Asean Economic Community, “AEC: 2015 and Beyond”. The AEC is perhaps the biggest step forward in economic integration that the world has seen since the creation of the eurozone. And the approach is an Asian one indeed: be practical, go for the economics first, consolidate the gains, and leave the politics aside.
By removing tariff barriers, harmonising rules and regulations across the Asean community so as to facilitate trade and investment, and laying groundwork for a 600 million-strong common market, the AEC has the potential to put Asean firmly on the global economic map.
This is not just about numbers.
Having started as a project of bureaucrats and summitry, the AEC is now calling on its citizens to transform not only their markets, but also their “mindset.” For Thai Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, this requires a philosophical shift – from thinking that Asean integration represents the threat of competition (and being squeezed out), rather than an opportunity to create a bigger economic pie.
This change in mindset can’t come soon enough, according to Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan, who pointed out that at nearly every level, an Asean that shies away from generational change risks being sidelined. Yet change at this scale is easier said than done. It’s not just about ratification of the accords, but rather driving these down through vested interests and outdated practices that are notorious in areas like as customs administration and infrastructure development.
A similar transformation is needed in the business community and public as well, and it is for this reason that the DTN has held the symposium: to spread the word about AEC, and to encourage people to take the leap, and indeed, to own the process. Because, ultimately, as Dr Surin (the rare politician who still retains his connection with ordinary people) pointed out, the AEC is fundamentally about people: improving the lives of Asean’s 600 million citizens. “This is your project!”
If the energy in the room was anything to go by, ordinary business people and citizens are trying out the mind-set change, and warming up to the AEC project. And once they do, the AEC could take off. Is the world ready?
