Asia Pacific community: reinventing the wheel

Australia\u27s former head of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Colin Heseltine, questions the value of Prime Minister Rudd\u27s new Asia Pacific Community idea.   With all the untidiness and built-in inefficiencies of the current system of regional dialogue, there is still a system in place. More importantly, he says, much more workable solutions exist besides the fraught, and very likely doomed, option of starting all over again. There is still a regional system of dialogue and cooperation firmly in place. Before 1989, such a regional system was embryonic at best. Since then we have seen the creation of APEC (with 21 members), the ARF (27 members), ASEAN Plus Three (13 members) and the EAS (16 members). Australia is a member of all except ASEAN Plus Three. The most practical and simple approach – and one that could be achieved within existing regional structures – would be for the United States to join the EAS. Under the Bush Administration the United States showed no interest in membership but the Obama Administration’s recent decision to sign the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia, a precondition for joining the EAS, might be a precursor to a change of policy. United States membership of the EAS would create an organisation whose membership included all major powers in the Asia Pacific region (except Russia which could also join at some point), and would be able to deal with all issues affecting regional security, which is very much in line with Australia’s interests. The EAS is a new structure and is still finding its way. There is no unanimity among members about its future role. United States membership would however give it a new focus and relevance. An expanded EAS would not be perfect. Some countries, which would prefer to see a narrower East Asian focus, will try to impede its efforts towards becoming an effective and pre-eminent regional body. Its large membership could be cumbersome and it could face many of the same problems inherent in today’s regional multilateral diplomacy. But, in its favour, from an Australian perspective, it would provide an existing structure for building a new Asia Pacific Community. Achieving an effective EAS, with United States membership, would be a far more realistic and practical objective for Australian regional diplomacy than wasting resources on empty meetings and discussions about re-inventing the wheel with new structures