Page 39 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL7

Beyond the New Year celebrations, what will happen between the last minute of December 31 and the first minute of January 1? Will there be fanfare to mark the official dawn of the ASEAN Economic Community – the EU-like trading block of Southeast Asia? Will the deadline need to be postponed again, like it was in 2012? And if the deadline holds, is the region really going to become a single market where goods, services and labour flow freely like in the EU?These questions grow louder as the clock ticks towards the end of 2015. The questions reflect doubts regarding the ability of ASEAN to operate as a united community. Europe took 50 years to realize the European Union. Critics say that ASEAN’s policy of non-interference will prevent the region from creating full equality. How can one region encompasses all the differences – Western-style democracy, authori- tarian states, military juntas, commu- nism, absolute and constitutional monarchies, the largest Muslim nation in the world, a devout Catholic country and hubs of Buddhism, not to mention the cultural and linguistic obstacles?production bases. Countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and In- donesia had budding industrial sectors and needed to reduce tax for exports in order to expand their markets. The idea of the AEC was floated in 1997, before being officially adopted in 2007.Such issues were considered at a roundtable discussion, “AEC – Will ASEAN Get There in Time”, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand at the end of February.The outspoken energy minister believes that many changes towards the single market have already taken place. Foreign labourers such as from Myanmar and Cambodia have been coming to Thailand for years, and the government recently began an official registration process. Some careers that have been reserved for Thais, such as engineers and architects, will open to foreigners, while other regulations are being cut back to allow skilled workers to move and work freely in the region. Tariffs between countries in the region have been reduced and adjusted since the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) was signed in 1992.Narongchai Akrasanee, the current minister of energy, said it was misleading to look at the AEC as a copy of the EU.“We have been moving forward for a long time. We just crystallized the idea and goal of the single market by agreement,” said the energy minister. “After all, it is a gradual process. Do not expect too much at first.”“First and foremost, we need to make some corrections,” he said. “ASEAN countries did not look at the EU as a model for creating the AEC.”According to Mr Narongchai, there are three layers of foreign trade policy related to the AEC. The first priority is that Thailand cooperate with countries in the Great Mekong Subregion (GMS) – countries along the Mekong River such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. With transport connectivity, Thailand will serve as a hub to access the GMS countries, he said. The area will provide new markets and production bases for Thailand. Energy from Laos and Myanmar will help Thailand avoid blackouts and have more resources to sell power to neighbouring countries through the regional power grid. The second layer of foreign trade is the use of the AEC to strengthen maritime infrastructureAccording to Mr Narongchai, the idea of a single market arose when some ASEAN countries become more industrialized and needed to expand markets andElite+ 37