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Competition or Cooperation
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17858 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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3 / 1990 |
2,274 Words |
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Dalton West
Dalton West, executive vice president of the Global Strategy
Council, specializes in Asian affairs |
The idea of an enlarged Asia Pacific economic community is one whose time has come - and gone – several times in recent years. But now it looks like it's here to stay. For some, this marks the emergence of the Pacific Century (PC) and although Europe may continue to capture the front pages, the world's economic and political center of gravity will shift from Europe and the Atlantic to Asia and the Pacific. Others, however, see it as a sign of rising protectionism and the division of the world into competing trading blocs in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Neither view is quite correct.
The most recent initiative, known by its acronym APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), was set in motion by Australia's prime minister, Bob Hawke. It began with a speech by Hawke in South Korea in January 1989 and led slowly to a preliminary meeting of ministerial-level representatives from twelve countries in November.
In his speech, Hawke cited supporting multilateral trade liberalization, lifting Asia Pacific trade barriers, and encouraging regional policy coordination as major objectives. A year later, these remain the declaratory objectives of APEC.
Some give the initiative little chance of succeeding in the long term because the participating nations are separated by vast distances and widely divergent cultures. On the other hand, its mission has never been clearly defined. Given the history of diversity and rivalry in the region, success might well be defined simply, as it is in ASEAN (the association of South East Asian Nations): namely, coming together, a paramount achievement. That yardstick, however, leaves unanswered questions about timing
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