STRAITS TIMES – 11 Nov 2009
By Teo Cheng Wee

Chile's Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez Amunategui (left) and Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo at the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum symposium yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI

APEC has overcome many hurdles in its 20 years of existence, but it should now set its sights on forging a free trade area comprising almost half the world’s trade.

That call by Foreign Minister George Yeo came yesterday at a symposium to mark the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum’s 20th anniversary. The timeframe he had in mind was around two years.

His remarks also come ahead of this week’s summit of the 21-member grouping – grown since its original 12.

‘Creating consensus is often excruciating difficult. But 21 economies, meeting regularly, can set the pace and the direction for the whole world,’ Mr Yeo said.

‘And we can do it whether it is for financial reform or climate change or the global trading agenda. It would help us 21 economies to create a much better world,’ he added.

Mr Yeo noted that the germ for the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) was already in place with the creation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership involving Singapore, Chile, New Zealand and Brunei. The United States, Australia and Vietnam are said to be considering joining it.

He acknowledged that creating a region-wide free trade area would be no easy task, with some members concerned that their interests would be overwhelmed by those of the US and China.

‘But let’s keep pushing in that direction through bilateral and regional free trade agreements, creating a positive, competitive dynamic,’ he exhorted, even as he warned that any backsliding on trade liberalisation would be disastrous.

Yesterday’s symposium gathered many luminaries who reviewed the past and explored the future of the grouping.

Leaders and analysts from the US, Japan, Australia, Singapore and the Philippines, among others, took part in panel discussions organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the end of the day, the consensus was that Apec has served to open up trade in the past two decades.

Former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, a founding member, stressed that it was important to understand what Apec was intended to do when evaluating the organisation’s performance.

‘It’s no good saying it didn’t stop the financial crisis of 1999, because it wasn’t… set up to be that sort of institution,’ he said. ‘It was set up to facilitate investment and trade liberalisation processes… it did that, encouraged that.’

Mr Hawke pointed out that the best test of Apec was its growing membership. ‘People don’t clamour to get into something that’s not successful,’ he quipped.

Apec’s effect on Asean was another topic raised. With the US set to hold a historic summit with Asean on Sunday, some recalled the concerns Asean had about Apec in the early days.

The worry then was that Apec would weaken Asean, with some saying Asean needed to consolidate itself first, said former Philippine finance secretary Jesus Estanislao. But he felt that Apec has proven itself to be beneficial to Asean.

‘Apec has helped us. It made us more comfortable with one another and in fact it opened doors to discussion of other issues other than trade,’ he said.

Additional reporting by Cassandra Chew

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Teo Cheng Wee is the regional correspondent for the Straits Times.