America strengthens Southeast asian ties

The Nation Friday, April 18, 2008

Appointment of new US ambassador to Asean augers well for future cooperation and action

The US has named Scot Marciel, assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia, as its first ambassador to Asean. As the first country to do so, the US has laid the groundwork for others to follow suit. Other Asean dialogue partners such as China and Japan are planning to do the same. The move augurs well for renewed US interest in Asean and the Southeast Asian region in general. Credit should be given to Senator Richard Lugar, who two years ago, when he headed the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, initiated this important move. Now, US-Asean relations will have a focal point.

Marciel's main challenge is to assure Asean that Washington still has a strong interest in the region. There has been no major visit from any top US decision-maker for a while. The fact that President George W Bush called off his visit to Singapore to commemorate the 30th anniversary of dialogue between Asean and the US in September last year because of the conflict in Iraq, did not bode well for US interests in the region. And there are also questions whether the rise of China may also come at the expense of US interest in Asean.

Cultural differences also make it difficult to convince the US leader to join Asean meetings, at which the participants tend to keep to an informal format. Washington wants measurable results from such meetings.

Marciel will face the challenge of how to bridge these differences and show Asean that the US still views it as an important partner. After all, there are many issues that both sides can further develop through future cooperation. For instance, Asean and the US are working on preparations for a potential free-trade agreement.

Marciel is an Asia expert who is passionate about Burma. He could work closely with Asean on Burma to come up with appropriate policies. In the past, both sides have been at odds over their firm positions on the Burmese junta, even though they share the same objective: long-term peace and stability there. Of late, the US and Asean have realised that they must cooperate more in order to bring positive changes in Burma, especially after the September crackdown on monks and pro-democracy demonstrators. Their joint effort is pivotal in sustaining the interest of the international community as well as the UN.

For the past seven months, the UN, through special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, has tried hard to end the impasse in Burma. But to no avail. He was used by the junta as part of its delaying tactic. Obviously a new strategy is needed to counter Burma's moves in the future. The planned national referendum on the new constitution next month certainly will be a farce. Rangoon will declare that the people have approved the new charter. The Burmese junta leaders think they can emulate the Thai practice on the issue. They should realise that they do not enjoy the kind of creditability Thailand has.

Next year, Asean will begin its representative system among member countries. The Asean Secretariat will host all standing committee-related issues. This will save Asean members both money and time. It could cut the current Asean meetings by half, to 300 a year. Asean permanent representatives would handle all matters between the Asean Secretariat and their national counterparts.

With the US edging closer to Asean, confidence and trust will also increase. And this could lead to more concrete action and programmes, especially the planned trade and security negotiations. That is good for Asean.

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