Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (centre), the Asean summit
host, gestures to fellow leaders as they prepare for a grpup
photograph in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. (EPA Photo)
KUALA LUMPUR — The global response to terror and
extremism has taken centre stage at the Asean summit, where
the formal
declaration of the Asean Economic Community
(AEC) was expected to be the
centrepiece event.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
said he had intended
to open the summit to talk about the bright future for the
10-country economic community of 620 million people with
a combined economic
output of US$2.5 trillion. The AEC
officially comes into effect on Dec 31.
"But the events of recent days
and weeks have cast a shadow over
us all," he said on Saturday at a
business conference preceding
the summit.
The summit is taking place against
the backdrop of the bombing
of a Russian airliner over Egypt, a suicide bombing
in Beirut,
a series of attacks in Paris, the slaying of a Malaysian hostage
by
militants in the southern Philippines, and a jihadist attack
on a hotel in
Mali.
"The perpetrators ... do not
represent any race, religion or creed.
They are terrorists and should be
confronted as such, with the
full force of the law,'' Najib said in a stirring
speech that repeatedly emphasised the tolerance of Islam.
He also cautioned that a military
solution alone would not be
enough to defeat terrorism. "It is the
ideology propagated by
these extremists that is the cause of this sadistic
violence. ...
We must not lose sight of the fact that the ideology itself must
be exposed as the lie that it is — and vanquished. For it is not
Islamic. It
cannot be.''
US President Barack Obama,
meanwhile, vowed to fight the
"evil'' and "hateful'' ideology
unleashed by the Islamic State.
"We will not allow these
killers to have a safe haven,'' he said.
Referring to the attack on a luxury
hotel in the capital of Mali
on Friday, he said the world was determined
"to push back on
the hateful ideologies that fuel this terrorism".
Protesters from the Muslim activist
group Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia demonstrate near the Asean Summit venue in Kuala
Lumpur
against the visit to the Malaysian capital by US President
Barack Obama.
(EPA Photo)
While there have been pockets of
extremist activity in
Southeast Asia, notably in the Philippines, Indonesia and
southern Thailand, by and large the region has not suffered from
the kind of violence
seen in the Middle East, where the Islamic
State is most potent.
Mr Najib suggested that economic
growth has been the bedrock
of Southeast Asia's relative peace and progress.
Now the
region is aiming for greater economic, political and cultural
integration
through the AEC.
Envisaged in 2002, work on the
community began in 2007, and
it is already delivering benefits to the region,
said Mr Najib.
Tariffs on trade have been reduced to zero, or near zero,
helping
bring down prices of goods, unemployment is down to 3.3%,
citizens
enjoy visa-free travel through nine out of 10 countries
, and are allowed to
work in other countries in the region in
eight major sectors, including
tourism.
Despite the good news that Mr Najib
delivered, the AEC still
falls short in more politically sensitive areas such
as opening
up agriculture, steel, auto production and other protected sectors.
Intra-regional trade has remained at around 24% of Asean's total
global trade
for the last decade, far lower than the 60% rate seen
in the European Union.
There are also other hurdles, such
as corruption, uneven
infrastructure and unequal costs of transport and
shipping.
As well, a wide economic gulf divides Southeast Asia's rich and
middle income economies — Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore,
Brunei, Thailand and
the Philippines — and its four less
developed members, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar
and Cambodia.
Tan See Seng, a professor of
international relations at the
S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in
Singapore, said
it was true that there were no tariffs at the borders of Asean
countries. "But once you enter ... you may have to grease the palms
of
some people in certain Asean countries to proceed. T
hese 'behind the border'
barriers ... are a key impediment slowing
down the process of integration,'' he
said.
The focus on security and economic
issues at this weekend's
summit might leave less time for discussion of one of
the
thorniest issues facing the 10-country Asean bloc: China's
growing regional
ambitions.
Asean's relationship with China is
highly complex and
ambivalent. Despite being a competitor, China has also
played
the role of a principal financier in helping Asean reach its goals
to
temper its image as an economic threat. It is also one of
the largest markets
for heavily export-dependent Asean
economies including Thailand.
At the same time, it has not
hesitated to bully Asean countries
in staking its claim to most of the South
China Sea, where
the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei
have
competing claims. China has also irked Asean countries
by creating artificial
islands from reefs to bolster its claim.
As a result, Japan has seen an
opportunity to assert its soft
power in the region in hopes of keeping China at
bay.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
has been conducting
a major diplomatic offensive in Kuala Lumpur, saying his
country was the "best partner'' for Asean and the rest of Asia as
they
gear up for a new development phase toward lasting
sustainable growth.
He said Japan was committed to
bolstering its overseas
development assistance of about US$1.4 billion to the
region.
In a veiled reference to China he
added: "We do not impose
our culture on others. ... We think together and
move together
with the local people.''
Mr Obama, meanwhile, stressed the
virtues of the US-led
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which
some
other Asean countries including Thailand, are considering joining.
He said the recently concluded
12-country trade pact was a win
for the original signatories, which include
Malaysia, Vietnam,
Singapore and Brunei.
"TPP is a win for the United
States. I'm not going to be shy
about this," he added, noting that the
deal would open up
markets for US manufacturers and agricultural producers.
At the same time, he said, Malaysia
would be able to sell
more mobile phones to Mexico, Singapore could sell more
medicines to Peru, and Vietnam would sell more leather
goods to Japan.
He said the benefits went beyond
trade to "include important
strategic and geopolitical benefits".
News,Asean,Bangkok Post, 22 November 2015.
Hope that with all cooperation of every country in the
world ,we can stop the terror even.
Hope all Asian country can get along well to stop torror
even and provide more economic growth to the country.
Sincerely Yours.
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