Charter Is Key for Asean Revitalization

BANGKOK (Jan. 24) — If ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, does not thoroughly reinvent itself, it could rapidly slip into irrelevance, the new Secretary-General of the organization said here this week.

And that rethinking, said Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, the former Foreign Minister of Thailand, starts with the adoption of a concrete constitution, or charter, that will guide the 40-year-old organization into a new era of political, economic, social and even strategic relevance in the region and in the world.

Surin made his remarks in an address before nearly 200 journalists and guests at the opening session of a major media conference sponsored by the East-West Center of Honolulu and co-hosted by the National Press Council of Thailand.

There was a time, Surin said, when ASEAN’s relevance was largely dependent on its role as an honest broker across Asia. “Dialogue partners,” such as China and Japan, found ASEAN meetings a congenial place for their own often-difficult bilateral conversations.

But with China, Japan and other big powers now talking more directly to each other, ASEAN must come up with a fresh role, he argued. And that, he said, is as a charter-driven regional leader and global player.

“If ASEAN can grow into a viable, strong and effective and dynamic growth sector, the world will have one less region to worry about, and that is enormous,” he said.

In addition to tending to its own region, Surin said, a revitalized ASEAN can serve as a fulcrum and balance against other global power centers. These include not only traditional powers such as the U.S., Japan and the European Union, but the rapidly rising economies of India and China.

ASEAN can also provide a leadership role as the globe struggles to find a path to understanding between the Muslim and Western worlds, said Surin, who is himself a Muslim. Half of the population of the region encompassing ASEAN is Muslim and is generally a moderate, progressive and open population that has much to teach to the rest of the world, he said.

“The road to reconciliation between the Muslim and Western world runs through Southeast Asia,” Surin declared.