ASEAN: Cambodia Sees Integration As An Opportunity

Photo: Cham Prasidh and wife, Mrs. Tep Bopha

SINGAPORE: ASEAN member countries must step up the pace for integration, said economic ministers at a panel session with the business community on Sunday. They said ASEAN must do this soon as it only has a window of three to five years to compete with China and India. The ministers added that tangible steps to break down protectionist walls and embrace integrated policies are in the works. These ministers represent countries in varying stages of economic development. And not surprisingly, the economic disparity between ASEAN member countries came up as they discussed the challenges to ASEAN economic integration. Cambodia sees integration as an opportunity for less developed countries to match pace. Cham Prasidh, commerce minister of Cambodia, said: "As long as we are part of this dynamic block, we are sure that although we are in the last wagon, we are still running at the same speed as the train. But if we are not hooked onto the locomotive, it's slow death. That's why it's very important for Cambodia to do it. "When you deal with FTA (free trade agreement) and negotiation with a lot of dialogue partners then you realise you are still weak because you are not united yet. But now, the Charter and the Blueprint are going to give us more collective bargaining power. With this, I believe we can help ourselves to run faster." Indonesia noted that all countries will still maintain their comparative advantages, while Singapore emphasised the possible outcome of ignoring integration. Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said: "There's already a division of labour of sorts, not just within ASEAN, but within greater Asia. My response is either ASEAN gets into the act or the integration will bypass ASEAN and involve new players like China and India, and other emerging economies." To move integration along, ASEAN governments will create a single market and production base, and remove trade barriers by 2015. But businesses will need to be educated on how to exploit such benefits. Mari Pangestu, trade minister of Indonesia, said: "The key is to make sure your domestic companies, not just the MNCs (multinational companies), benefit from opening up." Companies can also contribute to the integration process by highlighting problem areas for governments to look at. One businessman in the forum said the lack of regulatory consistency and transparency in some countries was a strong deterrent. Apart from this, he said, there was no other reason why he would pick China instead. In response to a question on trade targets between ASEAN countries, Mr Lim said it is important not to misread integration as the desire to increase intra-ASEAN trade. That is because ASEAN's comparatively smaller domestic markets may not give as much returns. Rather, the aim should be to position ASEAN attractively for global integration.