Is ASEAN truly a force?
I believe that despite its inevitable shortcomings, ASEAN is still very much a viable and preferred proposition compared to a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, free-for-all world.
The Power Interconnection Project of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines which seeks to facilitate energy trade and renewable integration through grid integration, was set up to promote electricity movements across borders.
Another approved project, although awaiting funding, is the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline, which will connect gas pipelines across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.
Another is the proposed Digital Economy Framework being pushed by the Philippines that will harmonize e-commerce, fintech, and data governance across the region. Once implemented, the framework will be a critical step toward a more integrated and regional digital economy that will foster digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, digital payments flow, and data governance, particularly in cybersecurity.
ASEAN has also launched centers of excellence for MSMEs and creative industries providing capacity building and innovation support to small businesses and cultural sectors.
To be realistic, however, there are some serious limitations in which resolutions can be best categorized as approvals in principle but best efforts in execution due to varying economic and political circumstances of the member countries.
The most telling are the uneven capacities of the different countries. These are most pronounced in varying mineral, oil and gas reserves, and financial resources required to execute. Another is the desperately slow burn before the different legislative situations of the countries can approve the projects, resulting in watered-down resolutions.
On balance, if I were to judge if ASEAN is truly a force, I believe that despite its inevitable shortcomings, ASEAN is still very much a viable and preferred proposition compared to a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, free-for-all world.
Until next week… OBF!
For comments, email bing_matoto@yahoo.com.Amid the sweltering heat of Cebu’s summer, the Philippines has just concluded hosting a fittingly scaled down 48th ASEAN Summit, in keeping with the times, albeit still pomp filled, conference of South East Asian member nations to discuss the sobering aftershocks of the US Iran conflict on the 700 million strong population of this regional economic bloc which contributes about seven percent of the world’s economic growth rate.
The Philippines, still reeling from the DPWH corruption mess, has been hit hard. The thermometer mirroring the state of our economy is dismal. GDP growth for the first quarter registered a low of 2.8 percent, way off the already pared-down estimate of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent range of the BSP.
Inflation surged to 7.2 percent, the highest since March 2023. The peso-dollar exchange rate is now hovering at 60.25 to 60.75. Interest rates have started their ascent with the BSP raising the reference benchmark rate to 4.5 percent.
Unemployment numbers are still slightly holding up by a thread. All these indicators are flashing red signals of stagflation, a period of high inflation coupled with a negative growth rate. In short, an unfolding economic armageddon.
In response to the brewing economic crisis, ASEAN issued a joint resolution on several immediate and long-term measures that could hopefully obviate the current crisis and forestall similar oil supply shocks in the future.
ASEAN, which was established in 1967 by Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore Indonesia and the Philippines has since grown into an eleven-member association of Asian nations hoping to live up to its hyped promise of a cohesive and inclusive community that promotes peaceful co-existence, diversity, social justice, economic development and human rights.
What are the measures? Can they be realized? What’s been ASEAN’s track record of accomplishing what was envisioned? Like any human endeavor fraught with uncertainties, there are some hits but there are certainly misses as well. ASEAN can probably be deemed to be moderately successful.
Although still pilot projects, there are some genuine hits. For example, the ASEAN Power Grid which seeks to interconnect the electricity infrastructure to enhance energy security, affordability, and sustainability across borders, is partially in place.
The Lao PDR, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia Power Integration Project, implemented in 2024, is the first multilateral electricity trading pilot transmitting up to 100-MW of renewable hydropower from Laos to Singapore.
The Power Interconnection Project of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines which seeks to facilitate energy trade and renewable integration through grid integration, was set up to promote electricity movements across borders.
Another approved project, although awaiting funding, is the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline, which will connect gas pipelines across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.
Another is the proposed Digital Economy Framework being pushed by the Philippines that will harmonize e-commerce, fintech, and data governance across the region. Once implemented, the framework will be a critical step toward a more integrated and regional digital economy that will foster digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, digital payments flow, and data governance, particularly in cybersecurity.
ASEAN has also launched centers of excellence for MSMEs and creative industries providing capacity building and innovation support to small businesses and cultural sectors.
To be realistic, however, there are some serious limitations in which resolutions can be best categorized as approvals in principle but best efforts in execution due to varying economic and political circumstances of the member countries.
The most telling are the uneven capacities of the different countries. These are most pronounced in varying mineral, oil and gas reserves, and financial resources required to execute. Another is the desperately slow burn before the different legislative situations of the countries can approve the projects, resulting in watered-down resolutions.
On balance, if I were to judge if ASEAN is truly a force, I believe that despite its inevitable shortcomings, ASEAN is still very much a viable and preferred proposition compared to a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, free-for-all world.
Until next week… OBF!
For comments, email bing_matoto@yahoo.com.