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View all search resultsASEAN stands with Japan in crisis
I am writing this opinion piece from an entirely different perspective as a privileged participant of the Special ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting held at the ASEAN Secretariat on April 9, 2011
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I
am writing this opinion piece from an entirely different perspective as a privileged participant of the Special ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting held at the ASEAN Secretariat on April 9, 2011.
It was unlike any other traditional meetings between ASEAN and its dialogue partners. It was not about politics, security, economics, or social cultural matters. It was a heart-to-heart engagement — in the same spirit of the Fukuda Doctrine of 1977 — between ASEAN and one of its oldest dialogue partners.
It was about ASEAN reaffirming its profound sympathy for the beloved people of Japan, who have been devastated by the triple disasters of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.
It was a moving experience not only for the one-month old Foreign Minister of Japan, Takeaki Matsumoto and his delegation. It also touched the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the foreign ministers of ASEAN countries and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, as well as all delegates.
We felt the pain as the Japanese foreign minister briefed on the situation in Japan. We could visualize the thousands who perished and the thousands more who were missing or left homeless.
The brave souls who are fighting to bring the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant under control and the challenge after challenge they are facing with determination ran through our minds.
Everyone at the meeting knew Japan is a proud nation, and it will surely recover from the unimaginable tragedy. No doubt about this. In fact, ASEAN’s had pronounced at the meeting that Japan will emerge stronger than it was. Speaking to the ASEAN Finance Ministers in Bali last Friday, international institutions like the IMF, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, were confident that Japan will recover from the momentary situation and the triple crises.
They assessed that the impact of the tragedy would act as a stimulus for Japan’s recovery as similar incidents globally in the past have shown.
Indeed, the reconstruction efforts of Japan will be an opportunity for the country to recover and grow. ASEAN, being a close friend of Japan, will also be able to reciprocate for the four decades of Japan’s official development assistance and cooperation.
Japan was always there when ASEAN needed support. ASEAN is one of the world leading producers of primary products, and the group can assist Japan in terms of providing with construction materials, workers, as well as energy and food requirements.
It will also be an opportunity to fully operationalize some of the ASEAN Plus Three finance mechanisms to address such disasters, such as the Credit Guarantee Investment Facility, Chiang Mai Initiative, as well as the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve.
It is also time for ASEAN Plus Three countries to look at risk insurance and infrastructure financing mechanism in a more concerted manner.
This is an apt time, given the massive reserves accumulated by the participating countries, to channel such reserves into safe and high grade long- term infrastructure investments for the region’s
development.
It will be an appropriate time to enhance the East Asia Summit cooperation on disaster management, a priority agenda of the forum. Apart from ASEAN Plus Three countries, Australia, New Zealand, United States, India and Russia have their fair share of disasters in recent years and therefore cooperation is not only encouraged but vital.
As for ASEAN, it is a time for the regional organization to strengthen its own disaster management cooperation through its ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response as well as the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management. This will ensure the region is ready for disaster identification, disaster relief operations, as well as post-disaster reconstruction.
The ASEAN Regional Forum and the new ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting processes should be enhanced for such humanitarian and relief operations too.
For Japan, the meeting served as a platform to convey the message that it will not turn inwards due
to the natural disaster and nuclear accident.
It has underscored its steadfast support for ASEAN Community building efforts, the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, as well as disaster relief and management efforts.
It is also a time for ASEAN and Japan to learn from the nuclear accident. Nuclear standards must be upheld to ensure safety of nuclear power plants, a growing and important source of non-polluting power generation for the region.
The meeting should generate further exchange of views among relevant authorities on the temporary ban of Japanese food imports. Safety based on scientific evidence should be the rationale for such bans.
The task assigned to the Secretary General of ASEAN to coordinate ASEAN’s response to the crisis after the meeting is an indication how seriously ASEAN wants to assist Japan in whatever way it can. It signifies the human dimension of this enduring ASEAN-Japan relations more than anything else.
It is a signal to Japan that ASEAN is its true friend, a genuine partner and a growing regional player willing to work both in good and bad times with its partners.
ASEAN centrality is exemplified in this respect with the initiative of Indonesia as the ASEAN chair. Thanks to the President of Indonesia for his visionary proposal to hold the meeting and the Indonesian Foreign Minister for his quick actions in putting together this meeting with the support of the ASEAN Secretary-General. The ASEAN Secretariat was honored to host the meeting.
The writer is the Deputy Secretary of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community. His views are personal.
