Asean urged to use AEC as fodder for regional maturity

Indonesia VP Jusuf Kalla says Asean is still a “work-in-progress” with economic imbalances and unresolved disputes.

Stern’s advice was given to Asean on the heels of its 48th birthday, with reminders that the grouping must become a more cohesive union, using the upcoming Asean Economic Community (AEC) to help it become a “mature” regional organization.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla praised on Monday the fact that Asean has become a vital player in the world, shown by an increasing number of countries that are appointing special envoys to handle Asean matters and the fact that the union has helped make the Southeast Asian region into a peaceful and stable area.

Despite the relative successes, Kalla said that Asean was still a “work-in-progress” due to the economic imbalances and unresolved disputes that were still apparent between the 10 member states, which could affect how the region faces competing major world powers interested in the region, which could pull the union in “different directions.”

“Institutionally, Asean is still fairly weak, with limited resources and capacity. The starting point for the Asean Economic Community at the end of the year should be used to embark on the next phase of Asean development as a mature regional organization,” Kalla said at the Asean Day festivities at the Asean Secretariat on Monday.

Responding to opinions that Indonesia is considered unprepared for the AEC, Kalla underlined that Indonesia was among those “most ready,” and it had the duty to be so since it was the largest country in Asean.

Additionally, Asean Secretary-General Le Luong Minh said that the AEC would help increase intra-Asean trade by 30 percent in the next five years, and eventually became the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030.

“At the heart of that success are the efforts of the Asean people. Its success will be measured by how the [Asean] community’s building efforts benefit the lives of its citizens,” Minh said in his speech at the event on Monday.

Asean celebrated its 48th birthday on August.

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