ASEAN members sign their Charter
Updated
What's being touted as a significant turning point in the history of South East Asia took place today at a hastily-convened meeting in Jakarta.
Foreign Ministers from the 10 ASEAN countries gathered to mark the coming into force of their new charter, which promises to make the grouping a full, rules-based legal entity, able to sanction member nations which depart from the grouping's core policies. While some observers compare the new body to an infant European Union, others say the new charter is simply form over substance.
Presenter: Jeff Waters
Speaker: Professor Tony Milne, Australian National Uinversity; Doctor John Lee, Australian Centre for Independent Studies; Peter Church a director of the ASEAN Focus Group
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WATERS: It was supposed to be a glittering celebration in Bangkok. After 41 years of existence and 5 years of heated diplomacy... the leaders of the Association of South East Asian nations would gather for a summit to celebrate the coming into force of a new regional constitution - the ASEAN Charter. But protests and political turmoil in Bangkok saw the summit first moved to Chang Mai, and then postponed until next year. But the new charter was still to come into force... so foreign ministers from the ten member nations flew to Jakarta to mark the milestone. The charter's supporters say it will turn ASEAN into a rules-based fully-legal grouping. Doctor John Lee, from Australia's Centre for Independent Studies it's all a response to global political reality.
LEE: I think this ASEAN charter was really formalised for geopolitical reasons. asean states realise that they are now dealing with pre-existing and emerging giants - China, India, Japan and of course the United States. to actually create a legal entity of asean puts them in a much better bargaining position to deal with these great powers
WATERS: But Doctor Lee isn't entirely impressed with the document. He says the facts that any real decisions will be left to the leaders' summits, and that those summits will continue to be based on consensus, means ASEAN will remain a largely toothless tiger.
LEE: I think it goes to show that the creation of the entity of asean is largely about appearances rather than substance. for example it was highly symbolic that democracy and human rights are mentioned in the charter, but the fact that countries like myanmar are happily signed the charter drives home the point that the organisation of asean will have very little enforcement capability.
WATERS: Peter Church is a director of the ASEAN Focus Group - a body which helps foreign businesses operate in ASEAN countries.
CHURCH: I'm not saying that the asean charter isn't an important development, but it is form over substance. There are many members in ASEAN that would have liked to have moved faster, but the fact that we've got consensus as the only method of making decisions means that often decisions are not made . ASEAN is a long term game. It started in 1967 and hopefully in 40 years it'll still be together and maybe we will have a full EU sort of situation
WATERS: Comparisons between the new ASEAN and the European Economic Community of the 1950's and 60's are often made. But the European bloc has always had a parliament where decisions are put to the vote. That's not the case with ASEAN. Nevertheless the Australian National Uinversity's Professor Tony Milne sees positives in the new charter.
MILNE: We can compare it to the eu if you like, but if you do we need to look at how many centuries it took to develop that idea of europe . ASEAN's got some real achievements if we say as some do that this charter is really about the codification of principals that are already there rather than anything new, that in itself is important
