Historians may well look back at this week's summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and call it the first real move toward creating a regional economic group that unites all of Asia. It pushed the political agenda forward as well, signaling a shift in the ASEAN-Plus-Three (Japan, China and South Korea) get-together that follows the summit, and inaugurated new relations with ASEAN's other dialogue partners.
The organization's unwillingness, however, to fully confront problems among its members, most notably in Myanmar and Thailand, is a reminder that ASEAN's operating principles may yet undermine its ambitious plans.
The highlight of this week's meeting was the signing of a China-ASEAN trade accord that calls for the elimination of tariffs on a range of agricultural and industrial goods by 2010 -- the first concrete step toward the China-ASEAN free-trade agreement (FTA). The limits of the deal -- the absence of a dispute settlement or an enforcement mechanism, as well as the restrictions on goods and the omission of services -- means that all will depend on the implementation of its provisions. Historically, that is a problem: Despite previous trade deals, nontariff barriers continue to plague regional economic relations.