[스크랩] Asia Meeting Offers Some Reality, More Dreams(치앙마이 선언 관련 로이터 통신 보도)

Asia Meeting Offers Some Reality, More Dreams




Sun Jun 22, 7:19 AM ET Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Jane Macartney, Asian Diplomatic Correspondent



PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - The dream of a pan-Asian organization able to draw on the power of many rather than leaving individual nations to struggle alone is becoming reality, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Sunday.



Speaking at the end of the second meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Thaksin dismissed critics and held up the formal launch of a $1.0 billion Asian Bond Fund as proof of the success of his initiative.


"Last year, the ACD concept might seem like a far-fetched dream for some. But now that we get the chemistry right... the ACD is not only a dream-come-true but it will be a driving force for Asia to move forward and to move forward faster," he told the foreign ministers of 18 participating countries from Qatar to Indonesia.


The ACD still appears unsure of what it is doing and what it will achieve. Don't expect more than baby steps from an organization that has just held only its second annual meeting in the northern Thai hill resort of Chiang Mai, officials say.


"This is still a young process," Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkean told Reuters.


But foreign ministers from such major regional powers as China, Japan and South Korea (news - web sites) dropped in to take part. This year, the Thai media dropped the attacks on waste and the charges of hot air that peppered editorial pages last year.


The ACD is Thaksin's brainchild, the manifestation of the ambitious leader's drive to make a mark on international diplomacy.


"We have proved that, when acting as an individual country, there are things that we can get done and many that we cannot," he told the meeting. "But when we work collectively, whatever we want to get done is done."


Critics charge that the ACD is little more than another talking shop.


Supporters say its formal launch of the $1.0 billion Asian Bond Fund is evidence it can yield results, and India's interest in doubling that underscores its attraction. Critics say that is just a drop from Asian countries that hold about two-thirds, or $1.3 trillion of the world's foreign reserves.


CHINA SHOWS INTEREST


It was not the only result of the meeting. China offered to play host to next year's ACD session. For the region's biggest power to show an interest gives it more credibility.


"China's hosting may give more momentum," said Sihasak.


Requests to join from as far afield as Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman and Sri Lanka, expanding the membership to 22, must mean the Dialogue is regarded as having something to offer.


Just what is not always clear. Officials stress that it is not a forum for the discussion of political problems.


"We talk about cooperation," said Sihasak. "This is not the place to bring contentious issues. We will talk about opportunities and enhance potential."


It sounds vague. But Asian cultures have a tradition of relying on friendship and relationships to do real business.





In the ACD each member may come up with an issue and take the lead in finding solutions or promoting means of modernisation that fall within their area of expertise.

However, no infrastructure exists beyond the meetings, unless an individual country takes up an issue and runs with it. That was what Thailand did with its bond initiative.

It is not clear what will happen if China finds itself too busy to push on with the agriculture problems it has chosen to deal with or if Bangladesh lacks the resources to tackle child labor in the region that is its chosen specialty.

"We should not be too ambitious," said Sihasak.

Officials talk of the need for a pan-Asian organization that offers participants a chance to meet, to chat and to boost friendships.

Thailand may not want the ACD to become a meeting fraught with politics. But the players are politicians.

South Korea's foreign minister reportedly said he wanted to attend because he saw the ACD as a chance for big powers China and Japan to flex their muscles and extend their reach and he did not want South Korea to be left out.

Thaksin stuck to his ideas. "I believe in Asia. I believe in our future. I believe that a strong Asia is for the strength of the world," he said.

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