Reinventing ASEAN

1. There is now widespread recognition that ASEAN needs to be revitalized. Government ministers and officials have increasingly acknowledged that they must act or risk irrelevance. This recognition of potential irrelevance contrasts sharply with the high reputation that ASEAN had previously enjoyed. The Asian crisis that began in mid-1977 has been a key trigger in this change in perception. The severe impact of the crisis threw ASEAN member state into disarray and exposed their limits of co-operation in dealing with the financial contagion. Although some ASEAN member states were buoyed by sharp, V-shaped economic recovery in 1999-2000, the overall reputation of ASEAN did not improve much.
2. Moreover, even as the crisis abated, some continued to experience political and social instability, with Indonesia, the centre of gravity of the grouping by size and history, the worst hit. The worldwide economic slowdown in 2001, led by the downturn in the US market, will not assist the region. Instead, it exposes the fragility of the economic development policies that ASEAN member states have adopted, especially when, in contrast, China seemingly continues to prosper.