Uncertain times will test Asean spirit
SINGAPORE’S The Straits Times
The Straits Times says:
Uncertain times will test Asean spirit
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Even when great-power relations in Asia were good, Asean needed to find its own economic and strategic space between them. Now that relations between the United States and China are souring, against the larger background of a possible retreat from globalisation and the renewal of strategic rivalry, it is imperative for Asean countries to draw closer so that they can deal with wider discord more effectively. The danger of complacency is that Asean itself could be divided along externally created fault lines. That would mean a severe setback for South-east Asia, which has emerged as a successful example of regionalism. While there is little that Asean can do to influence relations between the great powers decisively, it must not let the drift into global tensions undermine its hard-won centrality. This means that the great powers must not bypass Asean when pursuing their interests in South-east Asia.
In one sense, the challenge is for Asean to find its way back to the future. The association began life as a product of the Cold War, but it survived the global contest between the United States and the Soviet Union by not tilting to one side so abjectly as to give the other a compelling reason to subvert it. Following the end of the Cold War, Asean’s expansion reiterated its founding rationale: to unite South-east Asian countries with disparate political systems into an economic region integrated enough to give external powers a stake in its common vitality. The emergence of institutions such as the Asean Plus Three process, the East Asia Summit process, the Asean Regional Forum, and the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus framework bears witness to the success of Asean’s engagements with its external sphere.
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/uncertain-times-will-test-asean-spirit
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THAILAND’S BANGKOK POST
EDITORIAL : This is not democracy
Senators’ show of force at a joint parliamentary vote for a new prime minister on Wednesday night suggests this is just the beginning of the nightmare for those who fear Upper House members will end up acting as the loyal representatives of the military regime.
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Of course, the senators proved they “have brains”, as junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha who handpicked them, insisted back in February when he played down criticism about their possible bias. But their brains happened to instruct them to make the same, undisputed decision on the fateful night: Vote for Gen Prayut as premier.
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With additional votes from the pro-junta political camp in the Lower House, their goal is now accomplished. Gen Prayut remains Thailand’s prime minister. But this is not their only powerful role. The regime-sponsored 2017 constitution makes them the deciding factor in other key areas of lawmaking. This means their very existence during the next five years poses an existential threat to the country’s already stumbling democracy.
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Given that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) appointed its allies, colleagues and family members to sit in the Senate, only a handful of observers were hopeful that the senators…
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1690720/this-is-not-democracy
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