[asia-apec 1698] Politician urges Asian union

[Aaron James]

Politician urges Asian union 
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jan 10, 2001

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Singapore on Monday proposed an Asia-wide bloc similar to the European
Union, saying the region must work together to thrive in an increasingly
technological world.

Yeo Cheow Tong, minister for communications and information technology,
said Asia should build a model of ''regionalism'' similar to the European
Union's, but not necessarily of the same ''brand''.

Asian leaders have often said that their idea of regionalism is purely
economic, unlike Europe's which includes political and human rights issues.
Yet even economic integration in Asia isn't nearly as advanced as Europe's,
with much work still do be done before free-trade zones are created.

''We in Asia are nowhere near the level of European regionalism,'' Mr Yeo
said during a Japan-Singapore symposium in the Southeast Asian city-state.
He added that it was ''crucial'' for Asia to create a similar regional
marketplace.

Despite Asia's ''distinct and segregated countries,'' Mr Yeo said the
region's nations faced ''similar, serious problems, which increasingly
cannot be solved internally.'' Wealthier nations in Asia should share their
know-how with developing nations to keep them falling behind.

''Afterall, why reinvent the wheel a hundred times over,'' he said.

Mr Yeo defended Singapore's relentless pursuit of bilateral free trade
agreements and said other Asian countries should do the same.

Singapore, which recently concluded a free-trade deal with New Zealand and
is working on others with the United States and Mexico, has been accused of
pursuing bilateral free trade agreements at the expense of multilateral
free-trade agreements in Southeast Asia.

Mr Yeo said an Asian union would help the region better face the challenges
and opportunities presented by globalisation. He said Asian countries
needed to help each other to narrow the digital divide and to stop talented
Asians from heading West.

 

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Aaron James
204-339 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia
V5L 1M9
Phone: 
aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca
http://members.tripod.com/aaronjeromewestjames/
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