There is no rest for the weary. That is the lesson that Southeast Asian leaders must draw after their annual summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, held last week in Singapore. While their economies are -- for the most part -- recovering from the economic crisis of 1997-98, they are still being eclipsed by those of Northeast Asia. After all, the big news from Singapore was not about ASEAN, but about "ASEAN+3," which brings Japan, China and South Korea to the table with ASEAN. A new era is beginning in East Asia, and ASEAN governments are going to have to do more if their organization is to continue to be relevant.
The meeting produced its share of initiatives. ASEAN leaders endorsed a preliminary study to build a 5,500-km railway that would link Singapore and southern China. The $2.5 billion project would run through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and separate branches would connect it to Laos and Myanmar. They signed a free-trade pact called "e-ASEAN" to create high-speed Internet connections throughout the region and eliminate duties on information-technology goods and services by 2010. They also agreed to push English in their countries as a springboard for efforts to build a digital economy.
Unfortunately, they also agreed to permit exemptions from previously agreed-upon tariff reductions. The move is designed to help members cope with the adjustments forced on them by trade liberalization and to aid struggling "infant industries" trying to survive the pressure of competition. Trade officials insisted that their commitment to a regional free-trade area remains solid. Time will tell.