Yong Adresses Free Trade in Asia

Previously the "mom and pop" operation of the world's economic stage, Southeast Asia has become a major economic force, according to the Secretary-General of a prominent trading bloc who spoke at the World Leaders' Forum on Thursday.

Ong Keng Yong, head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, spoke about the current state of affairs of the 10-nation organization to a half-filled auditorium in Schapiro Engineering Center.

ASEAN, originally established in 1967 by five founding member countries-Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand-started as an informal association of countries with little authority over the economics and politics of the region. By the end of 2004, the Association had signed free trade agreements with China, Japan, and Korea.

"We never in our wildest dreams imagined this [series of free trade agreements] was possible at that time," Yong said.

He explained that the organization's economic objective is to integrate member nations' economies by reducing transactional costs, building stable markets, allowing investments to move more easily, and letting skilled personnel travel freely. To this end, ASEAN is aiming to bring tariffs of member nations down from 15 percent to between five and 10 percent by 2008.

The Secretary-General said ASEAN cannot form a cohesive identity like the European Union. "It is not time yet for a common currency because we still have many national eagles," he said.

Yong added that the leadership of ASEAN is determined to maintain their organization as a politically "viable, credible body to handle regional affairs in Southeast Asia."

While ASEAN's relations with the United States have been very healthy-every member nation favors an American presence in the region-Yong said he wanted to see deeper relations between the leadership of both nations and encouraged U.S. Congressmen to visit his area more frequently.

Though ASEAN and the United States have been cooperating in addressing terrorism, the Secretary-General said member nations often wondered if they were "overcooking the beef on the burner" when ordered to take action against certain terrorist groups.

Hugh Patrick, the introductory speaker and director of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia's Business School, concluded the forum by praising the dialogue as "very substantive, frank, and charming."