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Published on October 15, 2007

After exactly 10 months of drafting and endless verbal exchanges, the 30-plus-page charter, with 13 chapters and a thick annex of relevant documents, will contain the grouping's legal personality as well as determine its future conduct as an intergovernmental organisation.

Looking back, human rights was the most controversial topic discussed during the drafting. Other issues such as majority voting and the non-interference principle paled by comparison. The drafting also revealed a deep split between the values of old Asean members and those of the new ones.

Apparently, new members have won the bout so far. The charter reflected the conservative side of Asean without any of the liberal ideas that the Asean Eminent Persons Group recommended in their report. At the very core is the Asean way at work: agree on the least objectionable ideas, not the most desirable ones.

This explained why drafters had earlier agreed in Brunei to postpone their discussions on the terms of reference regarding the establishment of a human-rights body in Asean, which was supposed to be completed prior to the summit. This deferment obviously showed that the drafters did not want to get bogged down with the interpretations of the mechanisms and scope of the proposed human-rights body.

Judging from past conduct, it will take some time before Asean members agree on the terms of reference for this controversial body.

Another serious dividing point between new and old members has to with the so-called "two plus x" formula. This used to be something that Asean was very proud of because it enabled two members to kick off agreed-upon projects without wasting time. However, new members see it as a catalyst for widening the development gap because those who are ready would cooperate, while leaving behind underdeveloped members. Therefore, this approach will be abandoned in the future.

Despite their caution, Asean leaders will be immediately put to the test on their political leadership and willingness to comply with the new charter. After signing the charter, they must return to their countries and convince their governments to ratify it as soon as possible. There will be no national referendums for the charter. At the moment, nobody knows which member will be first to ratify the charter.

Quite a few Asean members could not commit to the one-year time frame as suggested by some drafters for member approval at home. They are content to say that it would be done expeditiously to give them more leeway.

As stipulated in the charter, Asean leaders will meet twice a year starting next year. They will have to be in tune with Asean issues and be ready to make additional decisions as never before. Discussions are now focusing on the new structure of the summit meetings. It is possible that the first meeting in July will focus exclusively on Asean matters; that way, leaders will have more time to discuss overall developments in depth.

The second summit at the end of the year will be an occasion for networking with leaders from other dialogue partners. They will also attend the East Asian Summit, the Asean Plus Three conference, and individual meetings with China, Japan, Korea and India. In each of the previous 12 summits, leaders have only had about two hours to meet and discuss matters with one another. The new format gives them more time to exchange views on issues of concern.

To save time and money the Asean drafters have agreed that each member country will appoint a permanent representative to Asean who will reside in Jakarta. This system could be in place as early as next year. Indeed, Asean senior officials are looking into the possibility of starting the new system with current ambassadors from Asean member countries who are currently living in Jakarta. They could take up some functions of the Asean Standing Committee including advising the secretariat.

Interestingly, while the drafters of the Asean charter actively debated on what it should contain, they failed to agree on financial contributions. New members continue to insist that there should be no change in the equal contributions made to the operating budget of the Asean Secretariat. At the moment, the annual budget is US$9.05 million (Bt309 million) coming from member contributions of $905,000 each. With equal contributions, each member has equal rights and responsibilities.

In the future, Asean will need more money to implement all its commitments and programmes. Creative ways to get more funding must be found. Since 1977, when Asean first initiated dialogue with developed countries, these countries have provided funds and assistance. These days they are becoming reluctant to do so given the wealth of members such as Singapore and Brunei.

 Kavi Chongkittavorn