Europe's engagement in Southeast Asia

The EU has huge economic and security interests in East and Southeast Asia, a reason why it is active in the ASEAN Regional Forum. Critics, however, argue that Europe is lacking a political strategy.

Deutsche Welle, 11 Aug 2014

The foreign ministers of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conducted a three-day meeting from August 8 to 10 to discuss the security situation in East and Southeast Asia. Held under the motto: "Moving forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous Community," this was the 47th meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which this year took place in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, is the only institutionalized security dialogue forum in the Asia-Pacific region. Even US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton attended the meeting. Also present were the foreign ministers of China, Russia, Australia, India and Japan.

The territorial disputes between some ASEAN members and China over parts of the South China Sea featured predominantly in the talks. Some Southeast Asian countries, along with China, lay competing claims to islands and territories located in the area, which is believed to be rich in fish stocks as well as contain huge oil and gas reserves.

An initiative put forward by the United States and the Philippines aimed at maintaining the status quo in the island dispute and preventing unilateral actions, until a solution is found, was rejected by China at the Regional Forum meeting. Although the EU was represented in Naypyidaw, there wasn't much international coverage about it.

The EU is ASEAN's third largest trading
partner after China and Japan

EU interests

The EU has been increasing its engagement in Southeast Asia for years. In 2012, the 28-member club adopted the "Guidelines on the EU's Foreign and Security Policy in East Asia," with the aim of intensifying exchanges with the region. In the guidelines, the ASEAN nations are described as a "natural counterpart for the EU." Furthermore, the strategy paper stated that regional summits, such as the ARF, deserved special attention from the EU.

The main reason for the enhanced engagement are the significant economic interests the EU has in the region. The volume of bilateral trade between the EU and ASEAN in 2013 amounted to around 167 billion euros, thus making the EU the regional grouping's third biggest trading partner after China and Japan.

Europe's role

The conflict over the South China Sea and the nationalism associated with it are identified both by the 2012 strategy paper as well as the chief operating officer of the European External Action Service, David O'Sullivan, as the biggest risk factor. "The EU has high stakes in the region and we are concerned about recent developments which have raised tensions."

Although the EU has not taken any position with respect to the territorial claims, it has a clear view on how the disputes should be resolved: namely through cooperation within the framework of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The strengths of the EU as an "active and constructive member of the ARF" lie in this area, says O'Sullivan. "It is true that we as the EU don't have a leading role on hard security issues given the absence of major military assets or bases in the region." But it could also be an advantage, he added.

"We are seen as engaged, but not threatening; active but without a geo-political agenda." In this way, the EU has a niche, in which it could engage as a super-partner and not as another superpower, he stressed, adding that the EU engagement is also welcomed by the ASEAN nations.

Lacking strategy

For observers such as Gerhard Will, Southeast Asia expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), the EU's engagement is lacking in policy. "Not all problems can be solved by a workshop," he said. "To a certain extent the conferences are a diversionary tactic from concrete measures."

The EU should position itself more clearly, particularly regarding international law, Will added. If the Philippines are now seeking a clarification of territorial disputes before an international court, "the EU should make it clear that this is the right way to solve this kind of problem."

The territorial disputes between some
 ASEAN members and China in the
 South China Sea figured predominantly
during the talks

According to Will, the EU is hesitant because of concerns that the 28-member group will be met with resistance from China. "It's a weakness of the EU that they don't want to upset anyone and ultimately don't pursue any clear political strategy," he says.

May-Britt Stumbaum, director of the EU-China Project at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), agrees with this view. The EU lacks confidence and leadership ambition, particularly with regards to China, she told DW. "Europe is losing out on shaping the global agenda and is not protecting its own interests."

Singapore and EU agree to free trade deal

Deutsche Welle, 16 December 2012

The European Union and Singapore have agreed to terms on a free trade deal. The move is expected to open up the Asian country's market for financial services and European exports.

The EU agreed to the deal with its Asian economic partner Sunday, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht (pictured above) said.

"Singapore is a dynamic market for EU entrepreneurs and an important wheel in driving trade in south Asia," said De Gucht.

After negotiations are completed by the European Commission, the EU executive, member states and the European Parliament must approve the agreement before it can take effect.

De Gucht added he did not expect problems, saying he was hoping for finalization by the end of next year.

Improved financial access

The EU hopes the agreement will provide better financial access to Singapore, one of Asia's richest countries per capita.

Though Singapore has a population of just 5 million, it is considered a gateway to the 600 million people in the fast-growing economies of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The deal includes the remove non-tariff barriers such as the double testing of cars, as Singapore starts to recognize EU standards, EU officials say.

The further opening of the island country's banking and financial services sector, as well as better access to its public procurement markets are also part of the agreement.

De Gucht said the move will open the way for further trade agreements with countries in the ASEAN region.

The EU is currently negotiating free trade agreements with Malaysia and Vietnam. A similar deal with South Korea came into effect last year, and EU trade ministers agreed in November to start negotiations for a deal with Japan.

dr/kms (Reuters, dpa)

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ASEAN needs food standardization institute

Antara News, Fri, May 6 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - ASEAN member states need to form a joint food standardization institute to set the quality of food products in a move to better penetrate other regional markets such as Europe, an academician said.

Almost all ASEAN member countries acknowledged that their food products still had low quality, Dinna Wisnu of Paramadina University said at a discussion on foods at the ASEAN-European Union Business Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center here on Thursday.

"I think it is an interesting suggestion to set up a kind of food certification agency based in Jakarta as the capital of ASEAN," Dinna said.

He said the agency would facilitate the standardization of ASEAN food products. ASEAN member countries had so far sent food specimen to Europe to have its quality standard tested. If European buyers agreed on the quality standard they would put orders for the food.

However, he added that some ASEAN member states were still reluctant to integrate their agricultural and food sector on the ground the sector was the job priority of their peoples.

Meanwhile, Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said the formation of such standardization institute was a good idea because certification and standard served as an important factor to penetrate the European market.

"We must not increase our standard according to their request, What is important is that they acknowledge our standard. Therefore, our standard must be clear and acceptable. If want our standard recognized we must improve infrastructure such as laboratory and upgrade businessman`s knowledge," she said.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

RI to foster ASEAN-eu economic cooperation

Antara News, by Andi Abdussalam, Thu, May 5 2011

"ASEAN which is resolved to establish an integrated ASEAN Community in 2015 can learn a lesson from the experience of the European Community for the development of its regional cooperation."

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia, current chair of ASEAN, is leading an effort to foster economic and trade cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union, two regions if combined together would form a huge market of one billion population and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$16.7 trillion.

In order to realize this, ASEAN and the European Union are now in a process to conclude a Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CPA), according to Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said.

The first ASEAN-EU Business Summit was held on Thursday at the Jakarta Convention Center. Mari said some ASEAN countries were also bilaterally conducting negotiations with the EU partners regarding the formulations of the agreement.

ASEAN which is resolved to establish an integrated ASEAN Community in 2015 can learn a lesson from the exper

ience of the European Community for the development of its regional cooperation.

In its capacity as the ASEAN chair 2011, Indonesia as part of strengthening ASEAN-EU cooperation, will emphasize three priorities in this week`s ASEAN Summit, namely formulating steps to achieve the ASEAN Community in 2015, to turn ASEAN as a safe, peaceful and stable region and to promote a post-ASEAN Community 2015 initiative to face global challenges.

A peaceful, stable and integrated ASEAN is expected to be able to face challenges. And in this regard it needs a lesson from the EU Community.

"Europe has a much longer experience in economic integration and community building. ASEAN has and will continue to learn from the European experience," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said when opening the first ASEAN-EU Business Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC).

During the opening of the ASEAN-EU Business Summit, which was held ahead of the 18th ASEAN Summit to be held at the Jakarta Convention Center from May 7-8, 2011, the president stressed the importance for the two sides to have a formal economic cooperation agreement.

"This includes discussing a formal economic cooperation agreement between ASEAN and Europe," he said at the Business Summit which was attended by around 400 businessmen from European and Southeast Asian counties.

The business summit itself was seen as a milestone in the history of the two regions` business relations. "I hope that this event will enable us to better deal with the existing challenges," Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said meanwhile adding that to be able to follow up on the summit there would be more business-to-business and business-to-government contacts.

Director for international trade cooperation of the Trade Ministry Gusmardi Bustami said talks in the ASEAN-EU Business Summit would focus on five sectors, namely infrastructure, agribusiness, pharmacies, automotive and services.

He said that the European Union which grouped 27 European countries was one of the main export destinations of products from the ASEAN countries which have a combined population of 500 million. If the markets of the two regions (ASEAN-EU) are combined, it will reach a population of one billion with a total GDP of 16.7 trillion US dollars per annum.

Trade between EU and ASEAN last year reached 147 trillion euros. EU is ASEAN`s second biggest trade partner while ASEAN is EU`s fifth biggest trade partner. EU is also the biggest investor in Southeast Asia.

According to President Yudhoyono, ASEAN and EU clearly are important to each other, as EU is the second largest trade partner for ASEAN, and the largest investor, while ASEAN is EU`s fifth largest trading partner.

Thereby, the ASEAN-EU Summit should also be used as a chance to play a role in changing the paradigm on which economic policies are made, to turn the tide of events in favor of both regions.

"This Business Summit is timely for ASEAN, as we make a final sprint to achieve a true ASEAN Community by 2015. But, in realizing this objective, we are not without challenges," he said.

ASEAN-EU Business Summit is a high level forum for business players and governments to deal with problems arising from trade relations between the two regional groupings.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu who is also chief of ASEAN economic ministers said earlier the summit was intended to look into business and investment opportunities in both sides.

The outcome of the summit will be brought to an annual meeting of ASEAN and EU economic ministers for approval.

However, earlier on Wednesday, the ASEAN civil societies warned the regional grouping against the disadvantage the ASEAN would suffer if it concluded a free trade agreement with the European Union.

The warning was expressed by civil societies of the Southeast Asian nations grouped in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) / ASEAN People`s Forum (AFP).

The ASEAN-EU free trade agreement, which would be signed on Thursday (May 5) can harm the interest of ASEAN members as developing countries, particularly if seen from the aspects of state sovereignty and government support for people`s interest, the ACSC/APF said in a press statement.

They, among others, cited as an example the EU-ASEAN patent right agreement which required ASEAN generic drugs to wait for one year longer before they could produce similar patent drugs.

Member of Malaysian parliament Charles Santiago, who is also a noted civil society figure, said that the agreement would in the end destroy generic drug industry in ASEAN countries.

"It is clearly not a win-win solution because it would not produce a balanced result for us as developing nations," he said.

The free trade agreement is also viewed as to endanger the sovereignty of the state because European firms would be allowed to suit ASEAN countries at the International Court of Justice if they found a policy they considered harmful to them.

Editor: Heru

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President: EU can be ASEAN strong partner to develop together

President: EU can be ASEAN strong partner to develop together

Antara News, Thu, May 5 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his opening speech at the First ASEAN-EU Business Summit here Thursday said the European Union (EU) can be a strong partner with ASEAN to develop together.

"Europe has a much longer experience in economic integration and community building. ASEAN has and will continue to learn from the European experience," President Yudhoyono, as the ASEAN Chair, said in the Business Summit attended by around 400 businessmen from European and Southeast Asian counties.

According to Yudhoyono, ASEAN and EU clearly are important to each other, as EU is the second largest trading partner for ASEAN, and the largest investor, while ASEAN is EU`s fifth largest trading partner.

He also said that the ASEAN-EU Summit should also be used as a chance to play a role in changing the paradigm on which economic policies are made, to turn the tide of events in favour of both regions.

"This Business Summit is timely for ASEAN, as we make a final sprint to achieve a true ASEAN Community by 2015. But, in realizing this objective, we are not without challenges," he said.

The world recovery is gaining strength, but output gaps and unemployment remain high in advanced economies, while new challenges are building in emerging economies, according to the Indonesian head of state.

Much has also been gained in achieving an ASEAN economic community, he said.

"When leaders agreed on the vision of an ASEAN Community in 2003, the size of the ASEAN economies was $700 billion, and now it becomes $2.9 trillion. If we include ASEAN and the six partners which it already has trade agreements - China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand - then the size is amount to $15 trillion, or the same economic size as EU and US," the president stated.

Editor: Bambang

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EU, ASEAN nations arranging FTA

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Thu, 05/05/2011

The European Union (EU) says it is talking with individual ASEAN member nations to bolster support for a potential ASEAN/EU Free Trade Agreement to help both blocs.

In addition to Singapore and Malaysia, “several other [nations] are seriously thinking on engaging the same route. It is also the case with Indonesia and European countries,” EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said on Wednesday at the first EU-Asian business summit at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Karel said free trade agreements would be a big opportunity for every ASEAN member state.

“So we see a big effort to make a free trade agreement between EU and ASEAN,” he said.

According to Karel, free trade agreements ultimately depended on business support for success, in addition to support from the authorities, governments and the EU commission.

“It is up to private businesses to demonstrate that [an FTA] can have result to engage, invest and make trade as a goal,” he told reporters.

“The result will be lots of new business contracts that will result in more trade and more investment,” he added.

The large number of delegates attending the inaugural EU-ASEAN business summit in Jakarta – including about 300 European delegates and 200 ASEAN delegates – underscored the mutual beneficial connections between EU and ASEAN.

“Put simply, EU needs ASEAN and ASEAN needs EU,” he said.

Karel said that the EU offered ASEAN a potential market of 500 million consumers, while the EU was attracted to ASEAN’s estimated 7.8 percent growth rate in 2011.

Annual trade between EU and ASEAN tops US$ 200 billion a year.

“I want to see that grow even more as Europe has many of the world’s leading companies offering the best products and the best services on the global market place,” Karel said.

Intensifying EU-ASEAN trade would benefit the people of ASEAN as it would create more jobs, offer more choices to consumers and improve the lives of people in both ASEAN and the EU.

“This event shows EU and ASEAN are truly open for business and I look forward to seeing this event growing even larger and more successful in the future,” he said. (swd)

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