Crises prove need for a strong Asean

On April 1 leading industrial nations of the world, the G-20, agreed to implement new standards and financial regulations in London. The results of the G-20 meeting were to be discussed at the 14th Asean summit in Pattaya, which was cancelled.

Economic data and forecasts for Thailand and Asia look bad: according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report, the Thai economy is likely to contract 2% this year before growing 3% next year as Asia has to deal with the weakest economic environment it has seen in decades. The report further states that Asia's economic growth will tumble to the slowest pace since the 1997-1998 financial crisis.

The Asian Development Outlook 2009 forecasts that economic growth in developing Asia will slip to 3.4% in 2009, down from 6.3% last year and 9.5% in 2007.

In this situation a strong regional political body is more important than ever. Southeast Asia, the Asean member states and its dialogue partners are, like all regions in the world, confronted with immense economic and political problems. A tendency has been noted that struggling Asean nations often misuse the grouping for their national political agendas and not for what it should be: a strong political union with a vision for the people of Asia.

The financial crisis, bad as it might be, maybe has positive effects, one being that it forces member countries to reach out and deepen ties with one another. This trend can be witnessed all over the world: in Europe, the crisis has also had an impact on single economies. Without the European Union many countries in Europe would face bankruptcy. Hungary and Romania are facing extreme crises and are almost bankrupt. Without a strong European network with good political and economic links these countries would be on the brink of collapse. Only a strong union is able to balance different views and lead the way out of crisis.

The fear of some Southeast Asian nations that they would lose sovereignty to a supra-national political body like Asean overshadows the benefits of increased security for member countries and the region. It is understandable that nations are trying to protect their economies and systems before they help others, but the reality is that most economies are deeply interwoven with one another and that liberal trade agreements are not a curse but a cure and a way out of the current troubles. Thailand's situation is even more complex due to the difficult political circumstances.

Maybe this is the right time for Asean to increase its efforts to build a more effective and powerful organisation. The group is facing a big challenge and it has to convert its intentions into appropriate measures to tackle this extraordinary crisis.

The global downturn can also be a starting point to realise that only strong regional networks can solve the crisis.

The United Nations is in favour of strong regional political unions that are able to tackle and solve crises more efficiently than international organisations.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon planned to discuss with Asean member states regional and international issues, including development, food and energy security, climate change, disaster management and, most importantly, issues connected with the global financial crisis.

Asean is already one of the most important regional bodies, and international organisations will look closely at the outcome of the next summit. Asean will need to prove that it can make good on agreements and stand united against the current crisis, being able to develop sustainable strategies.