ASEAN - what's the point?
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- Wun Gwo Pee
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ASEAN - what's the point?
I wasn't really sure where to put this, but here seems as good as anywhere. The BBC's Jonathan Head published a good piece yesterday suggesting that when pipsqueak countries like Cambodia can stymie an ASEAN statement condemning China purely because it has been paid to do so, then the whole concept of ASEAN has failed.
What is it for? What role does it have now? Clearly fellow ASEAN countries now look at Cambodia with contempt - is it possible they could be sidelined or even booted out in future, and would it matter?
He also touches on AEC. 12 months ago this was front and centre of the economic agenda and was discussed everywhere. Now it seems like a forgotten irrelevance.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36881530
Fourteen years after they first began discussing their differences with China over the South China Sea, the 10 members of Asean - the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - have once again bowed to pressure and produced a watered-down joint statement at their summit, in Laos.
No mention of China, which has been creating "facts" in the sea by building islands on disputed reefs. No mention of the recent ruling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that China had no historic rights over the area.
Once again, it was the smaller Asean members under China's thumb - Cambodia, and host-nation Laos - that were the weak link in the bloc's efforts to stand up to its giant neighbour.
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- MerkinMaker
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Exactly, what's the point in ASEAN when it doesn't do what the US wants it to do when it comes to China? Isn't that the whole point of ASEAN?
Oh, sorry my mistake, I just reread the memo and like the EU, ASEAN is really about human rights, cooperation, liberalism and all that other good stuff.
Oh, sorry my mistake, I just reread the memo and like the EU, ASEAN is really about human rights, cooperation, liberalism and all that other good stuff.
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- vladimir
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The point is, and has always been, money.
The window-dressing exists for the sake of appearances.
Millions - perhaps billions - have been spent readying various member nations for a non-event.
Anybody want to buy a bridge?
The window-dressing exists for the sake of appearances.
Millions - perhaps billions - have been spent readying various member nations for a non-event.
Anybody want to buy a bridge?
ירי ילדים והפצצת אזרחים דורש אומץ, כמו גם הטרדה מינית של עובדי ההוראה.
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- Wun Gwo Pee
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vladimir wrote:The point is, and has always been, money.
The window-dressing exists for the sake of appearances.
Millions - perhaps billions - have been spent readying various member nations for a non-event.
Anybody want to buy a bridge?
What does this mean? Could you explain in something other than meaningless protest platitudes. Who has spent millions or billions, on what and to what end? Specifics please.
- vladimir
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alan, seriously, many people have written about this, readying various sectors, training in skills and languages, infrastructure. I'm not going to expound every single time you want a 50-page document with appendices and an index every time common knowledge is discussed.
Anybody in just one sector - the hotel and tourism industry - is painfully aware of what I mean.
Open your eyes.
Do you seriously think it is/was a philanthropic exercise? Christ. Ostrich.
Anybody in just one sector - the hotel and tourism industry - is painfully aware of what I mean.
Open your eyes.
Do you seriously think it is/was a philanthropic exercise? Christ. Ostrich.
ירי ילדים והפצצת אזרחים דורש אומץ, כמו גם הטרדה מינית של עובדי ההוראה.
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- Wun Gwo Pee
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I have no idea what you're talking about vlad. What does spending money on training in the hotels and tourism sector have to do with ASEAN? That is really strange, especially as most tourism into ASEAN is from outside ASEAN.
Is investing in people a bad thing? Has ASEAN played a role in this?
Is investing in people a bad thing? Has ASEAN played a role in this?
- ali baba
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I read an article about China's investment in railways in SE Asia and how it could lead to a rift between mainland countries and island nations. When coupled with the control over water flows in the Mekong by it's series of dams built in Tibet and Yunan I'd say it's a likely fracture point.
C'mere c'meye
I thought ASEAN was about competing in the world's top Economies? After the EU, China and America; currently numbers 1,2 and 3.alanclarke72 wrote:
I wasn't really sure where to put this, but here seems as good as anywhere. The BBC's Jonathan Head published a good piece yesterday suggesting that when pipsqueak countries like Cambodia can stymie an ASEAN statement condemning China purely because it has been paid to do so, then the whole concept of ASEAN has failed.
What is it for? What role does it have now? Clearly fellow ASEAN countries now look at Cambodia with contempt - is it possible they could be sidelined or even booted out in future, and would it matter?
He also touches on AEC. 12 months ago this was front and centre of the economic agenda and was discussed everywhere. Now it seems like a forgotten irrelevance.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36881530
Fourteen years after they first began discussing their differences with China over the South China Sea, the 10 members of Asean - the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - have once again bowed to pressure and produced a watered-down joint statement at their summit, in Laos.
No mention of China, which has been creating "facts" in the sea by building islands on disputed reefs. No mention of the recent ruling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that China had no historic rights over the area.
Once again, it was the smaller Asean members under China's thumb - Cambodia, and host-nation Laos - that were the weak link in the bloc's efforts to stand up to its giant neighbour.
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- I Am Losing It All to the Internet
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When the ice in Tibet is gone (melting is accelerating) , the Mekong will probably dry up. Nobody will fight about the water anymore.ali baba wrote:I read an article about China's investment in railways in SE Asia and how it could lead to a rift between mainland countries and island nations. When coupled with the control over water flows in the Mekong by it's series of dams built in Tibet and Yunan I'd say it's a likely fracture point.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/g ... 62947.html
All I care about is can I buy cars from asean countries without that bs 125% tax hike?
- vladimir
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This is the problem. Do you honestly think that governments are going to say goodbye to all that revenue? Many state employees live off this sort of tax, official or unofficial. What happens when that dries up? They get nasty and blame the government, unless teh govt come sup with an alternative. No government wants that. Won't happen.JimSocks wrote:All I care about is can I buy cars from asean countries without that bs 125% tax hike?
ירי ילדים והפצצת אזרחים דורש אומץ, כמו גם הטרדה מינית של עובדי ההוראה.
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