(Eagle News) — As the 31st ASEAN Summit and Other Related Summits officially opened, a political analyst from the University of the Philippines gave an overview on the intricacies of the ASEAN during Eagle News Service’s special coverage of the historic summit.
Associate Professor Aries Arugay of the Department of Political Science of UP Diliman predicted that ASEAN will be more and more integrated as it grows as an economic regional bloc.
The ASEAN region is unique compared to other international organizations because of its consensus approach, he noted.
The consensus approach means that every member of the ASEAN should agree before a course of action can be adopted by the ASEAN as a whole. This approach may lead to delays but slowly and surely, the ASEAN region is gaining economic primacy as compared to other regions of the world, he explained.
“ASEAN is a friend of all,” he stressed during the discussions which is why the 31st ASEAN Summit includes the region’s dialogue partners.
“Diplomatic relations maintain peace and stability,” he noted.
It has been the tradition of the ASEAN to invite other countries to join in dialogues to attain mutually beneficial goals. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, South Korea, India, China and the United States will also participate in the 31st ASEAN Summit and Other Related Summits. Also participating is the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The summit offers a unique opportunity were various world leaders can thresh out issues that will have long-term impact not only in the ASEAN region but to the rest of the world as well,
“ASEAN is an organization for the people”, Arugay added. It is not only the world leaders that are given voice during the summit but various sectoral groups as well. This is in line with the ASEAN’s goal of inclusive economic growth.
Arugay said that the ASEAN economic community will become more integrated, and that there would be more discussions on this in the 31st ASEAN Summit and the other related summits.
The ASEAN Summit will be tackling many issues including the threat of terrorism, the concern of migrant workers as well as the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Arugay, however, identified the three major issues on the table in the 31st ASEAN Summit as North Korea, terrorism and the South China Sea.
The summit will offer an opportunity to seriously address these issues and at least create useful approaches to address them.
The effects of the ASEAN economic integration will be felt more and more in the Philippines and in the other member nations of the ASEAN, in the coming years, he said.
Presentyly, ASEAN is considered as the seventh in the world economy and is projected to become the fourth largest by 2050.
One of its more visible effects in the Philippines is the implementation of the K-12 program in order to bring the Philippines at par educationally with its ASEAN neighbors.
Arugay said that it is also good for Filipinos to learn more about ASEAN, and the Philippines’ hosting of the historic summit on the 50th year of the regional grouping presents a special opportunity for this.
He said that it is the responsibility of the government to stream down to the public information about the ASEAN.
For the better part of the week, issues surround the 10 member-states of the Association of South East Asian Nations will be discussed in the gatherings in Metro Manila and Clark, Pampanga for the 31st ASEAN Summit and Other Related Summits.
It is important for ordinary Filipinos to understand this, although these can be a bit overwhelming, at first, he said.
The Eagle News Special coverage on the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits started on Monday, and will continue until tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13, 2017.
It will be having as guests experts that will explain issues surrounding the ASEAN region and the issues that are to be tackled in the historic summit.
