ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COMMUNITY : MYTH OR REALITY?

Abstract

The rapid undercurrent of change is sweeping the Asia-Pacific region off its feet; transforming the map of the business and commercial world, and also drawing in a large share of industrial activity from the North Atlantic to the Pacific. The tremendous potential that economies in the region display strongly suggests that not only will the Pacific Rim become the centre of industry in the coming century, it is also likely to become the locomotive of growth for the world economy. The dynamism of the Pacific Rim, or Basin as some would prefer, signals for a more collective effort from the regional economies to harness the strength of the region, and to set up a "community" to promote multilateral cooperation for mutual benefits. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 1s (APEC) Bogor Summit in November 1994 was lauded to have concluded successfully, further injecting a heavy dosage of optimism into the realization of the vision of an economic community" that would serve as a vehicle to foster greater growth for member countries through economic cooperation and areas of common interests. However, beneath all that much publicised enthusiasm, many disturbing questions such as what form is the "community" to take shape or the direction which it is to head towards are still not addressed satisfactorily. Even as we speak of a multilateral framework defined entirely (and narrowly) along lines of economic cooperation as envisioned by APEC, can such a "community" be viable and sustainable into the distant future that is ever susceptible to attacks of political uncertainty and strategic manipulations? With dynamism breeding uncertainty in a vast and diverse region that boasts no experience of multilateral cooperation of any kind in the past, this academic exercise represents my modest effort to investigate how to and what kind of 11 community" the regional economies seek to create against how and what would eventually evolve. Will the 21st Century witness the realization of a "Pacific community" or will "community" itself be nothing more than a myth?