ASEAN’s newbies come into their own

Two decades later, the answer is quite clear – the newer member states are moving toward full integration in the economic, political and security, and socio-cultural spheres.

In fact, the acronym CLMV, first used in 1994, seems a bit anachronistic in the present context. After all, it is the economies of the newer ASEAN members that have been pushing up the group’s overall economic growth in recent years.

These four countries no longer fit into the CLMV grouping as a separate tier of ASEAN members; their integration into the regional organisation has advanced by leaps and bounds. Truth be told, these newer ASEAN member states now insist that they be addressed by their own individual names, and not be lumped together into the CLMV basket. They would like to be perceived as equal partners.

.

ADS by Cloud 9:
.
– SPACE RESERVE FOR YOUR ADVERTISEMENT –
.

.

For example, Vietnam has proven beyond any doubt that since joining ASEAN in 1995, it has assimilated well into the bloc’s structure and processes. After more than two decades as a member state, Vietnam will soon lead the group that it once battled by strengthening its cohesiveness and speeding up its decision-making process. Its turn as ASEAN chair in 2020 and its non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council that same year bears witness to the country’s diplomatic vision. Vietnam’s proactive ASEAN policy has accelerated the normalisation of ties with the West, as well as promoted its regional and international profile.

During its first decade in ASEAN, Vietnam was busy adjusting to the “ASEAN way”, which it quickly grew accustomed to, and then excelled at. Indications emerged in 2010, during Vietnam’s first chairmanship of ASEAN, that it was able to chart the group’s future ties with dialogue partners on key regional issues, including the South China Sea dispute. Vietnam has pushed ASEAN to be bolder in engaging with external powers, an approach that sometimes proved inconvenient for the bloc’s more conservative leaders.

In economic integration, Vietnam has become one of most open economies in ASEAN. Since undertaking economic reforms in 1984, Vietnam has signed 17 free trade agreements – even though it is still not classified as a market economy. With these global free-trade pacts, Vietnam is aiming high and wants to be a middle-income country within the next two decades.

The other newer members are also integrating well with ASEAN, although they are struggling with some aspects of regional economic integration – mainly trade facilitation and harmonising rules and procedures. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have focused their recent efforts on attracting much-needed foreign investment and expanding exports. For the time being, trade privileges from the United States and the European Union have given a boost to the economic growth and development of the newer ASEAN members. These, in turn, have had a positive impact on their domestic political and social reforms.

.

ADS by Cloud 9:
.
– SPACE RESERVE FOR YOUR ADVERTISEMENT –
.

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have been identified as rising economies with average GDP growth of 7 percent, according to the April 2018 economic update by the World Bank.

A former war-torn country with 13 million people, Cambodia has reaped a huge economic windfall since joining ASEAN in 1999. Despite criticism of the Hun Sen government and its gagging of media freedom, the country’s economy continues to grow, providing confidence to foreign investors looking for stability and predictability.

As a landlocked country, Laos has proven to be a special member of ASEAN. Against all odds, Laos has successfully transformed itself into a land bridge between two Asian giants, China and India, through regional and global connectivity plans that involve the country of more than 7 million people. Of late, the country’s new leadership team under Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has focused on decreasing its reliance on hydroelectric power exports to neighbouring countries, mainly Thailand. Laos is concentrating on becoming a hub of international linkages criss-crossing Southeast Asia and, by 2030, hopes to be able to graduate from the list of the world’s Least Developed Countries.

Myanmar’s integration with ASEAN has been not been easy. After the country joined the group in 1997, it took Nay Pyi Taw more than 10 years to take advantage of Myanmar’s membership in ASEAN. The country’s transition to more political and economic openness, starting in 2011, has yielded positive outcomes in transforming what was once the most isolated country in Southeast Asia into one that is the focus of global attention – both in terms of foreign investment and tourism. Myanmar has had to cope with sporadic violence and clashes with armed ethnic groups, the ongoing Rakhine State crisis and a difficult peace and national reconciliation process. Without a proper resolution of these domestic challenges, Myanmar’s full integration with ASEAN by 2025 – the end date of the “ASEAN Community Vision” – will be in doubt.

At 51, ASEAN is lucky. Its member countries have been implementing key action plans toward regional economic integration without jeopardising the association’s principles of non-interference and consensus. Barring the influence of unexpected disruptive forces, the integration of new and old ASEAN members would accelerate, and go deeper, in the coming years.

Kavi Chongkittavorn is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) in Bangkok, Thailand, and a former editor of The Myanmar Times.

KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN  04 JAN 2019

.

ADS by Cloud 9:
.
– SPACE RESERVE FOR YOUR ADVERTISEMENT –
.

All photographs, news, editorials, opinions, information, data, others have been taken from the Internet..aseanews.net | [email protected] / For comments, Email to : Aseanews.net