AEC launch: Will it mean much for Southeast Asians?

Crowds celebrate the New Year with fireworks at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta [Credit: Tempo]

Today ASEAN wakes up to a new reality: the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This new reality marks the culmination of the region’s long-held aspiration for the peoples of Southeast Asia to determine their own political, economic and socio-cultural courses.

Indeed, much progress has been made. For example, all 10 Southeast Asian countries are member states of ASEAN (except Timor Leste).

The association lies at the heart of the regional architecture, with ASEAN-led initiatives including the East Asian Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ongoing negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Crucially, the region has enjoyed a long period of peace, stability and prosperity - a far cry from the unstable era that marked the years before ASEAN was established in 1967.

Yet for many people within ASEAN, the historic milestone of the AEC will mean very little and the launch day will feel like any other day for them.

As one commentator said, 'ASEAN has no meaning for the majority of the 600 million citizens living in the region… They have no real feeling of being a member of an ASEAN community.'€

This is indeed worrying given that for the ASEAN Community to be a success, it is crucial for the peoples of Southeast Asia to develop a strong sense of ASEAN identity that underpins the regional integration project.

In the words of the then ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, the 600 million people in the region need to 'feel ASEAN'.

Having had years to prepare for the ASEAN Community, how did we get to this sorry state of affairs?

Having emphasized the importance of a 'people-centered'€ASEAN, why does the public care very little about the AEC?

And what can ASEAN, it’s secretariat and member-states do to bring about a larger sense of belonging, awareness and identification with the ASEAN regional integration project?

That is not to say that ASEAN has not tried to address this challenge. As far back as 1997 ASEAN leaders established the ASEAN Foundation to promote greater awareness of ASEAN identity and people-to-people interaction.

In 2005, ASEAN initiated the annual ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum (ACSC/APF) held in parallel with the ASEAN Summit.

Over the years ASEAN has also promoted the AEC through online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, even producing video games.

More recently, Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN has seen the introduction of dedicated immigration lanes at its international airports for ASEAN citizens, as well as the adoption of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on a people-oriented, people-centered ASEAN.

On the surface, such efforts may seem impressive. Yet scratch deeper and several inconsistencies and weaknesses emerge in ASEAN’s efforts.

For example, the ASEAN Foundation receives a measly US$15,000 from each of the 10 ASEAN member states to supports its activities annually.

Meanwhile, the key output of the annual ACSC/APF - an interface between civil society representatives and the ASEAN leaders - depends very much on the attitudes of the country hosting the ASEAN Summit.

Indeed Laos has already announced that it will not even host the ACSC/APF when it takes up the ASEAN chairmanship in 2016.

The use of online platforms to promote the AEC is questionable in a region where the internet penetration rate averages at only 30 percent.

Regional integration efforts go beyond connecting the major cities such as Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, etc.

We should ask ourselves what efforts have been made to engage the people in more remote rural areas, especially those living in border areas that will likely feel the biggest impact of the AEC.

Will Facebook, Twitter or YouTube be an effective means to reach such people? As for the introduction of dedicated immigration lanes for ASEAN citizens, such initiatives may be well-meaning in trying to foster a sense of ASEAN identity akin to what European Union citizens feel when they travel through EU airports.

Yet Kuala Lumpur International Airport has only three ASEAN lanes for arrivals and two ASEAN lanes for departures in contrast to the dozens of lanes for non-ASEAN nationals. As a result, ASEAN nationals are faced with long queues.

Thus it is perhaps unsurprising that for many, Dec. 31 will be like any other day. The efforts of ASEAN to promote awareness have not resulted in the intended 'ASEAN feeling'.

In many cases, while the efforts have been well meaning, they have been spoiled by inconsistencies and weaknesses. Perhaps in recognition of the lack of public engagement with the AEC, the 2015 goalpost has been cleverly moved with the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

While the new ASEAN Community Vision 2025 is officially described as 'charting the path for ASEAN Community building over the next ten years', critics have described it as an admission of ASEAN’s failure to achieve the 'people-centered' ASEAN by the end of 2015.

Whatever the case may be, ASEAN has another ten years to bring about a larger sense of belonging, awareness and identification with the ASEAN regional integration project.

It can only be hoped that in 2025 we will no longer need to ask the question: Why won't the AEC mean much for the peoples of Southeast Asia?

[This article was first published in The Jakarta Post on 31st December 2015 and can be found at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/31/aec-launch-will-it-mean-much-southeast-asians.html]