ASEAN AND APEC FROM A SINGAPORE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

There is a threat that the world may fragment into various continental blocs because of the revival of regionalism manifested in the widening and deepening of the European Community (EC) and the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), and most recently in December 1994, the agreement of 35 western hemisphere nations to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by the year 2005. Singapore as a small but global trader in Asia with its volume of trade 3 times that of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing rapidly under the global multilateral trading system as exemplified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Although the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has replaced GATT with effect from 1995 to strengthen the international trading system, those evidences pointing towards the revival of regionalism that threatens multilateralism cannot be ignored. With the dynamic growth of the East Asian economies and the experience of relatively much lower growth rates in the western countries, a global economic crisis may cause the world trading system to break down into protectionist blocs and deprive Singapore of export markets without which its industries cannot survive.

Hence, it is of Singapore's interest to promote globalism throughout the world, the world, which Singapore has been doing with the help of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). However, ASEAN and APEC may have apparent conflicting goals and interests that may not be mutually beneficial to each other and to Singapore. Therefore, as a member to both these organisations, Singapore must recognise the areas of complement and competition between ASEAN and APEC in order to play its role well. This thesis aims to discuss the evolution and evaluate the prospects of ASEAN and APEC in view of their significance to Singapore. It will also discuss the complements and competition between the two and explore the role Singapore should play in ASEAN and APEC in order to achieve the goal of becoming a major regional centre and business hub in the Asia Pacific region.