(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Nov. 4 -- A group of fifteen scholars, former diplomats, economists and a U.S. Congressman from the United States and Asia sounded a warning at the Oct. 25 meeting of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council in Washington that the United States' seeming indifference to important economic and political changes in East Asia could pose a threat to its standing in the region and hit the U.S. where it really hurts ... the pocketbook.
Speaking of the possible economic ramifications of East Asia regionalism, former U.S. ambassador and now dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Stephen Bosworth urged that the U.S. forego multiple bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) in the region in favor of a "global, WTO-based, approach." Bosworth pointed out the bilateral accords would lead to a "spaghetti bowl of FTAs with no standardization." The former diplomat said such a scenario could greatly compromise U.S. business activity.
The WTO was also on the mind of U.S. Congressman Jim Kolbe (R, Arizona) as he spoke of the importance of economic realities of East Asia regionalism, both to the United States and to other members of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum ahead of the group's annual summit Nov. 18 and 19 in South Korea.
"Countries like the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, and many others in APEC are major if not principal beneficiaries of the global trading system," the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Finance, and Related matters noted. Kolbe added, "Therefore, the future of WTO and this round (of negotiations) is critical to the future of APEC's stability and economic growth."
Others followed down the same economic road. C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute of International Economics, highlighted the implications, and the raw economic power of East Asia regionalization. "(East Asia) would account for about 20 percent of global output. It would comprise close to 20 percent of world trade. Its members would hold well over 50 percent of international monetary reserves," according to Bergsten. The economist warned that ignoring the rise of regionalization could lead to East Asian and Western countries drawing a "line down the middle of the Pacific."
The China Card
Economics, however, was not the only aspect of East Asian regionalization discussed by the experts. China's growing role within, and outside, the region was also noted.
Akihiko Tanaka, director of Tokyo University's Institute of Oriental Culture, said the emergence of China on the world scene is not the necessarily the negative many in the West make it out to be. Tanaka pointed to Beijing's facilitation of the Six-Party Talks to defuse the North Korean nuclear issue as a "great achievement" of Chinese diplomacy. But, he added, "for the sake of Asia," China and Japan must improve their bilateral relations.
Former U.S. ambassador and current chairman of the U.S. Asia Pacific Council J. Stapleton Roy concurred. He maintained that the "integrative forces of the region" would ensure China's reemergence as the central Asian country ... geographically, politically, and economically ... will not be destabilizing.
For more information, please contact Mark Borthwick, director, U.S. Asia Pacific Council, Washington, D.C. at (202) 327-9760, email: borthwim@EastWestCenter.org