Push for single Asean market in toughest phase
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN Ñ While more than 70 percent of the blueprint for the building of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community has been completed, the member states need to work hard on the issues for them to become a single market and borderless by 2015.
President Aquino is optimistic the ASEAN integration would be realized even with prevailing territorial disputes and other challenges.
He said this was the reason they are pushing for the Code of Conduct in the West Philippine Sea.
ASEAN, a region of 600 mil- lion people in 10 countries, wants to establish a common market and manufacturing base so that it can better compete as a
group with giant neighbors such as China and India in terms of trade and investments.
“The easy part has been completed. What will really become the point of contention, we are on that stage,” Aquino told reporters in a briefing Wednesday night at the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.
He said there would be difficulties in ironing out differences owing to the possibility that some countries would press a protectionist policy for their economies.
“But since we are focused on that, we will really try to convince everyone that having one community is beneficial to everybody concerned,” Aquino said.
Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo said there were ongoing efforts to try to meet the Dec. 31, 2015 deadline “although there are still many challenging parts, in particular, the Agreement in the Framework on Services.”
Domingo said ASEAN has already achieved about three quarters of its target relating to its single-market goal since beginning the process in 2007.
“Another challenge is harmonizing customs procedures and putting them online so that businesses can see them real-time,” Domingo told a media briefing held with Aquino.
On trade in goods, agriculture is also among the most difficult sectors to fully liberalize.
“We’re currently between 73 to 76 percent in terms of the Asean accomplishments. We’re on the ninth package so the first eight packages had been completed. But there’s still a lot of work because the easier parts have been done. So now we get into the more difficult portions,” he added.
The DTI chief said there were many other efforts such as the National Single Window and the ASEAN Single Window, which was the bigger network within ASEAN.
Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, this year’s ASEAN chairman, said they are making good progress toward realizing the ASEAN Community in 2015.
“Under the economic community, we have implemented more than 77 percent of the measures in the blueprints. And we will continue to intensify efforts to achieve goals. Essentially, Asean community building is an ongoing process which will continue even after our 2015 milestones,” he said.
Bolkiah said there are challenges in opening up the economies due to the varying levels of development. He vowed to overcome these challenges for the sake of the region’s longterm economic prosperity.
Asean as food basket, ecotourism hub
President Aquino and his fellow leaders in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines - East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) have agreed to strengthen their goal of making the region a food basket and ecotourism destination.
The BIMP- EAGA leaders made the decision during the 9th BIMP-EAGA summit held at the sidelines of the 22nd ASEAN summit here.
In a statement, the leaders said they would review the progress of their cooperation and provide direction for their shared vision of establishing BIMP-EAGA as a regional food basket and ecotourism destination through enhanced connectivity for trade and investment.
BIMP-EAGA was launched in 1994 to accelerate economic development in the four countries’ “focus areas” which, although geographically distant from their national capitals, are in strategic proximity to each other.
The BIMP-EAGA initiative is market-driven, and operates through a decentralized organization involving the four governments and the private sector.
BIMP-EAGA aims to increase trade, tourism and investments inside and outside the subregions by facilitating the free movement of people, goods, and services.