ASEAN Affairs Forum

[scobydoo]

Personally i hate free trade area... I think its one way for the manufacturer nation to expand its market.

Those who not ready and do not produce anything would only be a market for the producers.

 

[ahfatzia]

Personally i hate free trade area... I think its one way for the manufacturer nation to expand its market.

Those who not ready and do not produce anything would only be a market for the producers.

You have to look at it from a different angle. China is the biggest manufacturer among the ASEAN+3 but she also has the biggest consumer market and that market is growing exponentially. Within a decade she'll have bigger market than ASEAN+2 combined. When that day comes she can absorb all merchandizes the ASEAN+2 produces with minimal tariffs where she can't refuse entry. This scenario also pushes the governments of smaller producing countries to provide incentives for their respective companies to produce more in order to compete.

The beneficiaries are actually the smaller countries that can compete and if they do the skies are the limits for them. I think most countries in ASEAN can compete and the few that'll have troubles, like Cambodia and Laos, China's probably going to help them. Win win all around and that's why every country is pushing for it.

 

[nufix]

Personally i hate free trade area... I think its one way for the manufacturer nation to expand its market.

Those who not ready and do not produce anything would only be a market for the producers.

Don't be worry, the first year of FTA agreement was hard but countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore can actually survive and amazingly for Indonesia, the Industrial and manufacturing sector aren't dead as some analyst predicted so, but continue to rise. That's why around half of Indo's GDP per annum came from Industrial sector where only around 11% came from oil and mining sector. Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore have been doing good too. The FTA agreement have given a bigger chance for our local manufacturer and industrialists to expand their markets, our labor force got new jobs too, The FTA agreement have indirectly motivated our businessman, and if we continue to look the FTA agreement only from the dark side, we will not be able to survive like some of ASEAN members who keep on arguing about how bad the FTA is, but never learn and do anything to gain benefits from it.

 

[xuxu1457]

In 2011, China-ASEAn trade 362.3billion$, export to ASEAN 169.86billion$, import from ASEAN 192.47billion$.

 

[nufix]

In 2011, China-ASEAn trade 362.3billion$, export to ASEAN 169.86billion$, import from ASEAN 192.47billion$.

FTA with China is a win win agreement for those who can take the benefits from it, I'd say we should expand economy cooperation with China.

 

[ahfatzia]

Obama Asia tour doesn't go exactly according to plan


(Reuters) - It may have sounded good on paper: Win re-election, fly to Asia, soak up the adulation of fellow world leaders, then go home with at least a few tangible rewards to show for a legacy-shaping U.S. strategic shift eastwards.

But U.S. President Barack Obama's first post-election trip abroad did not work out exactly according to plan.

To be sure, he had a chance to tout a foreign policy success with a landmark visit to the former pariah state of Myanmar, demonstrate he was serious about improved U.S. ties with nations in China's backyard and take in a travelogue's worth of iconic religious and cultural sights.

But even as Obama sought to strengthen his administration's "Asia pivot," he came face-to-face with the tough realities of what it will take to counter China's influence in the region.

At the same time, he found his attention constantly diverted back to the world's biggest hotspot, the Middle East, where a Gaza crisis raged on.

As if that weren't enough, Obama was reminded regularly of the biggest problem facing him back home - a looming "fiscal cliff" of year-end tax increases and spending cuts that would shake the U.S. economy and reverberate worldwide, including economically dynamic Asia - unless he and Congress can avert it.

As a result, Obama's three-day tour, which ended on Tuesday, seemed be more symbolism than substance.

At a regional summit in Phnom Penh, Asian leaders no longer seemed starry-eyed in his presence, as they did when he first swept into took office and was feted globally like a rock star.

Though Obama was roundly congratulated on his re-election, which would appear to strengthen his hand internationally, no one seemed eager to offer up major concessions.

A one-on-one meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who will retire next year, yielded no immediate sign of progress on economic issues that have especially bedeviled relations between the world's two biggest economies.

And China sometimes looked like the one setting the agenda at the East Asia summit.

Obama urged Asian leaders to reduce tensions in the South China Sea and other disputed territory, but stopped short of firmly backing allies Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in their disputes with China.

Possibly not wanting to further antagonize China in the midst of its once-in-a-generation leadership change, he steered clear of the kind of tough public rhetoric he used against Beijing during his last Asia tour a year ago.

Obama did give what the White House described as closed-door browbeating to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen over the need to improve his human rights record just minutes before the long-ruling authoritarian leader opened the summit on Monday night.

But Obama aides offered no sign that Hun Sen had promised any major reforms like the ones that Myanmar's quasi-civilian government undertook to win suspension of U.S. sanctions and a first-ever U.S. presidential visit.

The summit was not a complete bust. Progress was made of efforts to forge a trans-Pacific trade area, promises were issues against protectionism and there was talk of fighting climate change.

HELD HOSTAGE TO MIDEAST CRISES?

It was the Gaza conflict that may have crystallized for Obama that despite his preferred focus on fast-growing Asia after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, his global agenda in his second term may be destined to be usurped by one Middle East crisis after another.

After dining with Asian leaders on Monday, Obama stayed up until 2:30 a.m. working the phones on Gaza amid growing U.S. alarm that Israel would follow through on its threat to launch a ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave.

He finally decided to dispatch Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday for talks in the Middle East.

Asked whether this was distracting Obama from his Asia focus, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters: "We believe that the United States can walk and chew gum at the same time."

But the fact remains the time a president can devote to foreign policy is limited by domestic reality, and the Middle East is continuing to gobble up a large portion of his schedule.

Also dogging Obama's travels was uncertainty about whether he will be able to put America's fiscal house in order after bouts of political dysfunction shook international confidence

Obama took time on his Asia trip to call senior corporate chieftains, including JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and legendary investor Warren Buffett, to lobby them to back his fiscal plans.

But there was a definite undercurrent of concern. A development bank official who addressed the leaders on Tuesday spoke of the fiscal cliff as a threat to the world economy.

And even an aide to a monk who guided Obama in a tour of the centuries-old Wat Pho temple in Bangkok on Sunday sympathized with Obama's fiscal challenges, telling him: "Good luck with the fiscal cliff."

Obama Asia tour doesn't go exactly according to plan | Reuters

 

[yusheng]

Chinese Premier Wen, Obama hail US-China relationship

11-20-2012 17:08 BJT Special Report:Wen Visits Cambodia, Attends ASEAN Summits |




Watch Video
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has discussed bilateral relations with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the seventh East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

The two sides hailed the cooperative and constructive US-China relationship, saying it is important for the two countries to promote trade and investment. Wen Jiabao said he hoped the two countries’s continuing partnership would send a positive message to the world. He added China would look to build new relations between major powers and enhance other mechanisms for bilateral talks.

For his part, Obama said he is committed to working with China. The US President said cooperation between the two countries is of vital importance to the security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world.



Related stories
Chinese premier meets US president on ties 2012-11-20

Premier Wen calls for ASEAN consensus 2012-11-20

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama (R)
before they attend the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia,
Nov. 20, 2012. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (2nd R) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) before they attend the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, Nov. 20, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (1st R) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama (1st L) before they attend the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, Nov. 20, 2012. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

 

[Viet]

ASEAN looks to a united community: new Sec. Gen.
21/11/2012 VietNamNet Bridge

VietNamNet Bridge – The newly-appointed ASEAN General Secretary Le Luong Minh says his primary task in his five-year term is to realise the grouping’s goal of building a united, strong ASEAN community by 2015.

 

[Fil Pacifist]

Pinoys most emotional, Singaporeans emotionless

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines topped the list of most emotional societies in the world, revealing the Filipinos’ expressive nature and how they feel about their lives.

A Bloomberg BusinessWeek report said US pollster Gallup surveyed more than 140 countries. The Philippines garnered a 60 percent rating, followed by El Salvador with 57 percent and Bahrain with 56 percent, for second and third place, respectively.

Oman and Colombia were tied in fourth spot with 55 percent while Chile, Costa Rica, Canada, Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua and the United States all received 54 percent and ranked fifth on the list.

Meanwhile, Singapore was named “the world’s most emotionless society” with 36 percent, closely followed by Georgia and Lithuania at 37 percent. Russia, Madagascar, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Nepal were all tied at 38 percent.

Read more: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2012/11/22/870473/pinoys-most-emotional-singaporeans-emotionless

 

[ahfatzia]

S'pore most emotionless society in world: survey


SINGAPORE: Singapore has been ranked as the most emotionless society in the world, according to a Bloomberg News report on a Gallup survey.

The survey polled more than 140 countries to compare how people felt about their lives. Respondents were asked questions such as "Evaluate your life on a scale of zero to 10" and whether their life would be better or worse five years from now.

Singapore came in ahead of countries such as Georgia, Lithuania and Russia, for being the most emotionless society.

"If you measure Singapore by the traditional indicators, they look like one of the best-run countries in the world," Gallup partner Jon Clifton was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. "But if you look at everything that makes life worth living, they're not doing so well."

According to the report, not many Singaporeans answered "yes" to negative questions, and to questions measuring happiness, such as, had they smiled yesterday, had they learnt something interesting or felt respected or well-rested?

Only 36 per cent of Singaporeans responded affirmatively to either the positive or negative questions.

According to Gallup's research, only 2 per cent of the country's workers feel engaged by their jobs. The global average is 11 per cent.

"We are taught to keep going and not make too much of a fuss," research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies Leong Chan-Hoong told Bloomberg.

Singaporeans still "take ourselves a bit too seriously," said general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement William Wan.

Other results from the survey showed that the Danes are the most satisfied, while people from Togo in West Africa are least satisfied, according to the news report. The most pessimistic society is Greece, while people most likely last year to report feelings of stress, anger, sadness, worry or pain were Iraqis.

S'pore most emotionless society in world: survey - Channel NewsAsia


We're a bunch of robots even have to schedule our intimated activities.

 

[Fil Pacifist]

@ahfatzia:

What are your views on the many FTs in Singapore coming from China, India and Southeast Asia?
I've been reading a couple of Singaporean forums and most I've read were resentments towards foreigners and growing disappointments on your PAP-led government. Do you think PAP (which I read was more liberal to FTs) will still be the majority after elections (is it this coming 2016?)?

 

[ahfatzia]

@ahfatzia:

What are your views on the many FTs in Singapore coming from China, India and Southeast Asia?
I've been reading a couple of Singaporean forums and most I've read were resentments towards foreigners and growing disappointments on your PAP-led government. Do you think PAP (which I read was more liberal to FTs) will still be the majority after elections (is it this coming 2016?)?

When it come to foreigners in Singapore I'm probably more liberal than the PAP, mainly because I travel out of the country quite often. Singapore is a multi ethnic society and we need foreign workers for many jobs we can't handle them ourselves so such workers should be welcomed. Our government has had set many rules in dealing with foreign workers and we should follow those policies. Just like when two different people come together there are frictions and these frictions should be understood and deal with them maturely. People always complain but I think these complain would come and go until the next topic occupies their conversation piece.

Singapore voters are very pragmatic so I don't see any reason as to why the PAP will lose their majorities.

 

[ahfatzia]

Obama, Asia's peacekeeper?

The recently concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) East Asia Summit, which this year took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, once again highlighted the maritime tensions that have blighted the East Asian region over the course of the past year. And in a similar fashion to how previous maritime dispute storylines have played out, the United States of America remained on the periphery throughout, overlooking discussions while quietly reasserting its regional presence.

The summit was overshadowed by talks of territorial disputes, much to the chagrin of Chinese officials. The summit, which brings together the 10 ASEAN nations along with other regional and international leaders, is intended to strengthen political and economic ties. This year, the United States participated in the summit; a forum originally regarded as belonging to East Asia. ASEAN nations are attempting to strengthen economic ties with the goal of achieving an economic bloc similar to that of the EU over the next three years. However, dialogue between ASEAN nations and their surrounding neighbors has repeatedly hit a stumbling block due to an inability to resolve or shelve security issues in favor of economic ones.

At the summit this year, US President Barack Obama urged his Asian counterparts to decrease the level of tension that has slowly been mounting within the region. Ultimately, Obama is attempting to be all things to all people; trying not to contradict the claims and expectations of its allies, and trying not to antagonize Chinese officials. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed frustration over the direction of talks during the summit, stating, "We do not want to bring disputes to an occasion like this". Premier Wen further noted, "We do not want to give over emphasis to the territorial disputes and differences."

Against such a backdrop, President Obama is attempting to frame his role as that of peacekeeper for the Southeast Asian region; preventing tempers from flaring up and safeguarding economic ties. However, the reality is the US cannot influence the way that their involvement in the East Asia summit, or in East Asia in general, is being interpreted within China, despite the fact that Obama managed to appear neutral while still calling for China to "establish clear rules of the road" on trade and investment. Ultimately, US involvement within a traditionally East Asian forum may be regarded by some as yet more proof of a US expansionist policy.

The so-called "pivot" of the Obama administration has been painted by the US a part of a broader security platform which it helped to create and maintain over the past several decades. As US National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon recently stated at a talk prior to the President's Southeast Asian visit, "The United States function of providing the security platform has been absolutely essential for the social development and economic development of Asia."

However, as Robert S. Ross, one of the foremost US specialists on Chinese foreign and defense policy, pointed out in Foreign Affairs, "the Obama administration's pivot has not contributed to stability in Asia. Quite the opposite: it has made the region more tense and conflict-prone." Ross notes that the irony of the pivot is that, "a strategy that was meant to check a rising China has sparked its combativeness and damaged its faith in cooperation." To some extent, this is almost certainly true, as the pivot has at the very least provided China's state media with more material to analyze, rightly or wrongly, US motives and thus influence nationalistic opinion.

In terms of how the US views China, and vice versa, underestimating the capabilities or overestimating the intentions of the other party breeds insecurity and has served to increase instability within the region. The traditional view within China of Western strategic culture as militaristic and expansionist is being confirmed, in the eyes of many Chinese analysts, by the pivot. Yet, the policy itself has so far delivered very little other than long-term promises of resource allocation and US claims of neutrality in territorial disputes. Unfortunately, such promises have spooked officials within China's People's Liberation Army. Despite the axiom that prosperity requires stability, it is difficult to say whether US military hedging can truly deflate regional tensions or whether US officials will be able to truly convince Beijing that the pivot is not intended as a form of containment.

Following the summit, news that trade ministers from China, South Korea and Japan agreed to begin negotiations in 2013 to create a trilateral free trade area (FTA) came as a welcome sign of the possibility of economic cooperation away from the issue of regional disputes. Results are obviously not guaranteed, but the desire from each country to maintain stable economic ties is evident. One would assume that a trilateral FTA would play into the US wishes for peace and stability throughout Asia. However, if the creation of an FTA is possible, it will be interesting to see whether US policymakers will interpret this as evidence of its traditional allies moving closer to China and, ultimately, whether it will have an impact upon the pivot.

Obama, Asia's peacekeeper? - China.org.cn

 

[Zero_wing]

Obama, Asia's peacekeeper?

The recently concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) East Asia Summit, which this year took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, once again highlighted the maritime tensions that have blighted the East Asian region over the course of the past year. And in a similar fashion to how previous maritime dispute storylines have played out, the United States of America remained on the periphery throughout, overlooking discussions while quietly reasserting its regional presence.

The summit was overshadowed by talks of territorial disputes, much to the chagrin of Chinese officials. The summit, which brings together the 10 ASEAN nations along with other regional and international leaders, is intended to strengthen political and economic ties. This year, the United States participated in the summit; a forum originally regarded as belonging to East Asia. ASEAN nations are attempting to strengthen economic ties with the goal of achieving an economic bloc similar to that of the EU over the next three years. However, dialogue between ASEAN nations and their surrounding neighbors has repeatedly hit a stumbling block due to an inability to resolve or shelve security issues in favor of economic ones.

At the summit this year, US President Barack Obama urged his Asian counterparts to decrease the level of tension that has slowly been mounting within the region. Ultimately, Obama is attempting to be all things to all people; trying not to contradict the claims and expectations of its allies, and trying not to antagonize Chinese officials. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed frustration over the direction of talks during the summit, stating, "We do not want to bring disputes to an occasion like this". Premier Wen further noted, "We do not want to give over emphasis to the territorial disputes and differences."

Against such a backdrop, President Obama is attempting to frame his role as that of peacekeeper for the Southeast Asian region; preventing tempers from flaring up and safeguarding economic ties. However, the reality is the US cannot influence the way that their involvement in the East Asia summit, or in East Asia in general, is being interpreted within China, despite the fact that Obama managed to appear neutral while still calling for China to "establish clear rules of the road" on trade and investment. Ultimately, US involvement within a traditionally East Asian forum may be regarded by some as yet more proof of a US expansionist policy.

The so-called "pivot" of the Obama administration has been painted by the US a part of a broader security platform which it helped to create and maintain over the past several decades. As US National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon recently stated at a talk prior to the President's Southeast Asian visit, "The United States function of providing the security platform has been absolutely essential for the social development and economic development of Asia."

However, as Robert S. Ross, one of the foremost US specialists on Chinese foreign and defense policy, pointed out in Foreign Affairs, "the Obama administration's pivot has not contributed to stability in Asia. Quite the opposite: it has made the region more tense and conflict-prone." Ross notes that the irony of the pivot is that, "a strategy that was meant to check a rising China has sparked its combativeness and damaged its faith in cooperation." To some extent, this is almost certainly true, as the pivot has at the very least provided China's state media with more material to analyze, rightly or wrongly, US motives and thus influence nationalistic opinion.

In terms of how the US views China, and vice versa, underestimating the capabilities or overestimating the intentions of the other party breeds insecurity and has served to increase instability within the region. The traditional view within China of Western strategic culture as militaristic and expansionist is being confirmed, in the eyes of many Chinese analysts, by the pivot. Yet, the policy itself has so far delivered very little other than long-term promises of resource allocation and US claims of neutrality in territorial disputes. Unfortunately, such promises have spooked officials within China's People's Liberation Army. Despite the axiom that prosperity requires stability, it is difficult to say whether US military hedging can truly deflate regional tensions or whether US officials will be able to truly convince Beijing that the pivot is not intended as a form of containment.

Following the summit, news that trade ministers from China, South Korea and Japan agreed to begin negotiations in 2013 to create a trilateral free trade area (FTA) came as a welcome sign of the possibility of economic cooperation away from the issue of regional disputes. Results are obviously not guaranteed, but the desire from each country to maintain stable economic ties is evident. One would assume that a trilateral FTA would play into the US wishes for peace and stability throughout Asia. However, if the creation of an FTA is possible, it will be interesting to see whether US policymakers will interpret this as evidence of its traditional allies moving closer to China and, ultimately, whether it will have an impact upon the pivot.

Obama, Asia's peacekeeper? - China.org.cn

Sorry sir chinese propaganda not real news al jazeera makes better news than this

 

[Pak2]

ahfatzia you saying some thing with out any crucial knowledge,and no evidence to supporting the claim,it will be a misleading, in this particularly matter.