SAARC and APEC do count - Taurus - South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation; Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Group - Brief Article

Business Asia, Feb, 2002 by Tim Fisher

IT HAS TAKEN nearly 15 years for the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation, or SAARC, to arrive on the centre stage of world focus. It happened in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and it happened in the first week of January 2002.

Actually, Kathmandu was an appropriate venue for an elevation of SAARC, as it was at Kathmandu in late 1987 that the very first meeting of this grouping of South Asian countries took place.

The event, or moment, which quickly zipped right around the world, was no more than a handshake. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf walked across the conference floor, in front of all assembled, and reached out to give a warm but cunning handshake to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Sitting alongside the Indian Prime Minister, no doubt determined by some alphabetic or protocol order, was a rather startled representative from the Kingdom of Bhutan, who looked relieved when the two leaders of the two largest nations of SAARC simply made polite physical contact.

It was an important moment in the deliberations of SAARC. It was a counter point to some fierce rhetoric, through to artillery shells, which India and Pakistan have been hurling at each other on just about every day this year, or many last year. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the aftermath of the SAARC Summit disintegrates into all out war, or onward limited war, or thanks to the intervention of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and others, some form of tense peace.

However, the very existence of SAARC allows for both formal and informal dialogue and interface to occur between the giants of India and Pakistan, right through to the world's most densely populated nation, Bangladesh, and the tiny nations of the Maldives and Bhutan.

Still, SAARC has a very long way to go before it catches up with other regional groupings such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its trading arm, the ASEAN Free Trade Association (AFTA), let alone with the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Group (APEC).

In recent years the ASEAN grouping has made progress, including not only engendering economic upturn, but managing with a degree of coordination sharp economic downturn. It has made modest progress with lowering tariff barriers between member nations, but there are still some sharp divisions on such issues as passenger motor vehicle industry policy involving high levels of protection, causing strong tensions between the two neighbours of Malaysia and Thailand.

Again, the ASEAN regional grouping helps ease the burden with its regular set of meetings between various Ministers, helping to build high levels of communication and confidence. However, there is one somewhat tragic abberation, namely the advent of the ASEAN singsongs, involving truly excruciating performances by Ministers and officials of many countries, who each time vow "never ever again"!

Overshadowing all of this is the larger organisation of APEC, perhaps too large with the arrival of Russia and Peru as new members.

For all that, APEC has shown a capacity to point the right direction on trade liberalization, and significantly has provided a capacity of dialogue involving the USA but not Europe.

Initially confined to matters economic, and helpfully including both Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong as well as China, APEC has, at least indirectly, moved beyond the economic to border issues, most notably defence and security. In September 1999, the APEC Leaders Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, provided Prime Minister John Howard, US President Bill Clinton and others, the chance to quickly put together a UN international force to restore law and order in East Timor.

Then, in October 2001, at the famous Shanghai gathering of APEC, again the official limitations of APEC were stretched in the aftermath of the horrific events of September 11. This was to allow formal and informal dialogue in relation to the unfolding war against terrorism, particularly in Afghanistan.

The acid test for APEC will be whether the Bogor Declaration of Free Trade between developed nations of APEC by 2010 (developing nations 2020) will be ditched or will in fact be adhered to. So far no member nation has actually repudiated the Bogor Declaration, but watch this space closely.

Worldwide, there are many regional organisations, quite apart from the UN itself and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). There are also specific purpose groupings such as the Cairns Group of Nations, launched by Thailand and Australia to help promote agricultural trade liberalisation.

On balance, all of these organisations do confer some benefit, but sadly, often falling short of the maximum potential available from the various groupings. So I hope that SAARC, now having had its moment in the sun, will blossom further, and that the ASEAN grouping will follow the initiatives of former Thai Foreign Minister Dr Surin Pitsawan. As for APEC, let us see whether the Bogor Declaration, with all its benefits, will be delivered in full or simply shredded.