Milestone in ASEAN's integration

(Participantstakepartinaplenarysessionofthe27thsummitoftheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN),inMalaysiancapitalKualaLumpur.)

TherealizationoftheeconomiccommunityoftheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN)bytheendof2015takescenterstageatthe27thsummitoftheblocbeingheldhereonSaturdayandSunday.

TheestablishmentoftheASEANEconomicCommunity(AEC),thefirstofitskindinAsia,willserveasamilestoneinthebloc'sintegrationbyusheringinanewstartingpointforcooperationintheregion.

TheAECissettotransformthe10-membergroup,comprisingBrunei,Cambodia,Indonesia,Laos,Malaysia,Myanmar,thePhilippines,Singapore,ThailandandVietnam,intoadynamicregionwithasinglemarketandproductionbase,andfreemovementofgoods,services,investment,skilledlaborandcapital,thusopeningnewopportunitiesforbusinesses,investorsandbetterpositioningASEANforintegratingwiththeeconomicglobalization.

TheAECwillnotbeaccomplishedatonestrokeandASEANhasworkedformanyyearstolayasolidfoundationforit.

Attheinternationallevel,ASEAN,sinceitsfoundingin1967,hasbeenpursuingtheforeignpolicyofself-reliance,neutralityandnon-alignmentwhichhascreatedafavorableexternalenvironmentforitsdevelopment.Ithasalsobeenseekingtohaveabiggersayinregionalandinternationalaffairsthroughcooperationandcoordination.

Insidethebloc,ASEANhasdedicateditselftoseekingpoliticalsolutiontoissuesinitsmemberstates,leadingtheregiontostabilitywhichisthepreconditionforitsdevelopment.

Intheprocessofitsowndevelopmentandinhandlingtherelationsamongitsmemberstates,theblochasforgedthe"ASEANWay"--treatingeachotherequally,hammeringoutconsensusesthroughconsultations,accommodatingeachother'sinterestsandconcerns,opennessandinclusivenessandwin-winresults.Theseprincipleshaveunitedthepeoplesandpromotedthestabilityintheregion.

Toaccelerateitsdevelopmentandachieveprosperity,ASEANcreatedafreetradeareain1992,gearingtowardtheattainmentofacommongoal:reducingandeliminatingtariffsontrade,withfewexceptions,tobetterfacilitatetradeandcutdownthecostofdoingbusinesstomaketheregionmorecompetitiveandefficient.

ASEANhasalsosignedfreetradeagreementswithitsdialoguepartnerssuchasChina,Japan,SouthKorea,Australia,NewZealandandIndiaandadvocatedtostartnegotiationswiththesixcountriesontheRegionalComprehensiveEconomicPartnershipwiththeaimofconcludingnegotiationsbytheendof2015,contributingtotheeconomicintegrationofthearea.

YetseveralchallengesremaintobemetinrealizingtheAEC,includingnarrowingdevelopmentdivide,removingbarrierstotradeinsensitiveareas,eliminatingnon-tariffsandpromotinggreaterlabormobilityofskilledworkers.

MalaysianPrimeMinisterNajibRazaktoldthemediaaheadofthesummitthattheimplementationrateoftheAECblueprintmeasureshadbeenahighlycommendable92.7percent.

"Some469measureshavebeenimplementedwith37pending,andsomewillbeaddressedonaprioritybasisearlynextyear."

"ASEANmighthavemissedormaymisssomedeadlines,butingeneralwearemovingstronglyahead,"theprimeministersaid.

Theleadersfromthe10-membergrouphavereaffirmedtheircommitmenttoestablishingtheAECbytheendofthisyear.Asthedeadlineisjustaroundthecorner,theyhavealsopromisedtospeeduptheireffortsforthisend.

Takenasawhole,ASEANrankstheseventhlargestglobaleconomywithacollectiveGDPofover2.4trillionU.S.dollarsandagrowthrateof4.5percent,wellabovethelatestglobalgrowthestimationof3.5percent.

ThecreationoftheAECisdefinitelyonethingtolookforwardto.Integrationmayhavebirthpainsatthebeginningbutattheendoftheday,therearemanyopportunitiesthateachmemberstatecantakeadvantageof,andthatthepeoplesofASEANwillbenefitfrom.