Most people hearing about the EU-ASEAN conference will have no idea what this is all about. Why is this conference so important?
Asia is on the verge of great changes. And we Europeans cannot afford to look only at the major countries like Japan, India or China. The 10 states of the ASEAN community alone have a total population of 500 million people – more than the EU. What kind of political future do they have? Will the ASEAN countries form a common market as Europe has done? Will security and stability in Asia be largely defined by regional organizations like ASEAN? These are the questions at stake and in which Europe is particularly interested.
International attention in the fight against global terrorism is focused mainly on Iraq and Afghanistan. Isn't the instability in some of the ASEAN countries just as much cause for concern? Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world and shows particularly strong fundamentalist tendencies – Sharia applies in 16 provinces already.
South East Asia is a region which comprises both stable communities and considerable instability. This is the product of political, religious and ethnic factors. Terrorism has thus struck here, too – think of the attacks in Bali in 2002. For precisely this reason, the ASEAN community is required to play an important role in combating terrorism, developing tolerant and free societies and defusing tensions between states.
Can the EU do anything to ensure more stability in the region?
The ASEAN countries first of all want to improve stability in the region themselves – the member states expressly made that commitment just recently. In order to do so, they intend to work together more closely. While there are many differences here - the general direction is the same one which we Europeans have taken in the EU. It is thus obvious that the EU should become a natural partner. We can have a positive influence on the economic and political future of ASEAN through various levels of cooperation. This is another point of discussion in Nuremberg.
In recent years, the ASEAN countries have fostered closer relations with the USA and with China and Japan. The EU seems to have had less influence here.
The ties you describe are the natural product of immediate geographical proximity, or, in the case of the USA, the historical events of the 20th century, too. But today it is clear that the EU is becoming increasingly visible and important in this part of the world. This is why we as Europeans must take our chances here and now, wherever this makes sense. In the field of commerce, therefore, we are discussing free trade agreements. With a number of states, we are negotiating comprehensive partnership agreements. As far as development policy is concerned, we are one of the most important players in the region. In Indonesia, we mediated in the resolution of the Aceh crisis and successfully worked together with ASEAN countries as part of a monitoring mission to help improve security and stability. We are promoting structures in civil society and advising states on intensifying regional cooperation. So it seems to me that we're on the right track.
Let's talk about the climate. The ASEAN countries – e.g. Indonesia, Malaysia or Viet Nam, the latter still being incredibly poor today – are showing impressive levels of growth. This has an impact on the world climate, too. What can be done?
Growth is important to us here in Europe and all the more so to developing countries. We must therefore find ways to reconcile this vital process of growth with the protection of the world climate and the environment. This is why we put the climate issue at the top of the agenda of Germany's Presidencies of the EU and G8. With the pioneering decisions taken at the EU Summit in Brussels last week, we have claimed a leading role on the world stage. But we should not deceive ourselves: Environmental protection has already for a while been a topic of attention in Asia, too. The countries in the region, including China, understand that one-sided growth at the expense of the environment is today no longer permissible. We Europeans, and not least we in Germany, are world leaders in environmental technology and can be an important partner to the ASEAN countries.
