Toward an East Asian community: a two-speed ASEAN?

Résumé du document

?It is essential that countries who want to move quicker towards integration, on a voluntary basis and in precisely defined projects, can do so without being held back? . The author of this statement could definitely have been Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, or even his Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra. Actually, these words are those of President Jacques Chirac during a European summit in 2000 in which the French leader pushed a two-speed Europe with the richest European countries moving ahead as regional integration is concerned. But in fact, as regards East Asian quest for building a regional community, Chirac's words are likely to be quite relevant too, especially as Singapore's and Thailand's view on that is concerned. Taking into account the very diverse levels of economic development and economic structure , as well as the reluctance of most East Asian countries to accept the leadership of anyone of them, giving it the right to impose certain rules on them, Singapore and Thailand are likely to ?adopt a strategy of moving ahead on trade liberalization in the hopes that others may be encouraged to join? . ?The two-speed approach to European integration, pushed by the Germans and the French, was key in accelerating progress at various stages of the European Union's history? , especially when new members with lower economic levels joined the union. Would it be the same for ASEAN? Is any regional organization, as soon as it includes countries with very different economic development levels, likely to adopt a multiple speed strategy? This paper argues that such a strategy could help to break the deadlock in the East Asian regionalism process since it will obviously lead to a win-win situation among the different East Asian countries while it also avoids the emergence of a dominant and maybe imperialistic actor. Why can we speak about a win-win situation, why is it in both the richest and the poorest countries' interest to agree on such a strategy? These are the questions we would like to answer in this paper by first pointing out the differences which exist among the East Asian countries and then by analyzing the arguments which support this approach [...]

Extraits

[...] Smith, “ASEAN's Ninth Summit: Solidifying Regional Cohesion, Advancing External Linkages” pp. 424-25 Chia Siow Yue, Economic Cooperation and Integration in East Asia p Ibid, p Ibd, p Michael Vatikiotis & John McBeth, tango speeds Asean integration” Chia Siow Yue, Economic Cooperation and Integration in East Asia p Ibid, p Ramkishen S. Rajan, “Trade liberalization and the new regionalism in the Asia-Pacific: taking stock of recent events”, in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, August p Tariffs, quotas and more generally speaking any concessions, when allowed, should apply to all. [...]

[...] International Relations of East Asia Tutorial Final Short Paper Week 13: Asian Regionalism: Toward East Asian Community? A “two-speed ASEAN” as an efficient way to integrate very different countries into one regional community? is essential that countries who want to move quicker towards integration, on a voluntary basis and in precisely defined projects, can do so without being held back”[1]. The author of this statement could definitely have been Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, or even his Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra. [...]

[...] This is why the MFN clause is very important and should be respected at any times, as well as why the profits should benefit every one, either through huge economic spin-offs or through redistribution. J. Chirac cited in “Chirac pushes two-speed Europe” (online) in BBC news, 27/06/2000 Available from World Wide Web: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/807923.stm) Chia Siow Yue, Economic Cooperation and Integration in East Asia in Asia-Pacific Review, Vol No p Anthony L. Smith, “ASEAN's Ninth Summit: Solidifying Regional Cohesion, Advancing External Linkages” in Contemporary Southeast Asia no p Michael Vatikiotis & John McBeth, tango speeds Asean integration” in Far Eastern Economic Review, Vol Iss 23/10/2003 Anthony L. [...]

[...] At least, the views on the costs and benefits of the liberalization are very divergent among the ASEAN countries. According to the economist Hadi Soesastro, quoted by Michael Vatikiotis and John McBeth, “Singapore and Thailand may want to push, but others particularly Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia are still reluctant to take the plunge” and their elites still “favour protectionist policies”[9]. For instance, in November 2000, Malaysia refused to accept the liberalization of car tariffs. All these differences play in favour of a progressive approach where the more willing countries can move ahead without being held back by the others and where the poorer countries benefit from the help of the wealthier ones. [...]

[...] This approach is based on complementarities between countries. By establishing linkages between developing countries and higher-incomes ones, these arrangements promote further economic integration while at the same time it tends to benefit to all. As Rajan points it out, the extent that contracting parties to a RTA agree to move beyond their respective World Trade Organization commitments, there may be a demonstration effect that motivates future rounds of broader multilateral negotiations under the auspices of the WTO”[14]. This framework is likely to encourage countries to present their new ideas to the other ASEAN leaders so that the ones which agree to could move ahead, generating profits which could then be invested to help the poorest countries. [...]