The person in charge of transforming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into the ASEAN Community - the association's new Secretary-General, Dr.Surin Pitsuwan, who calls himself ‘ASEAN's chief cheerleader' - shared with RIA Novosti his experiences in the first months of his 5-year tenure.
Q: How would you describe your first 100 days in office?
A: Ever since the 7th of January (the day he took office), I haven't spent one full week in Jakarta. Besides visiting the capitals of ASEAN countries, I've been to Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, and I've just come back from Dubai.
Q: How far have you been able to go in building a new and stronger Secretariat?
A: The Secretariat here can take care of itself in terms of management, in terms of administration, in terms of the day to day routine work. The team that the previous secretary-general has set up here is superb and needs very little supervision and guidance. I communicate with them through my Blackberry from anywhere in the world.
But from now on it will be a networked Secretariat. We will reach out to people through various centers, people-oriented organizations, because we need to bring ASEAN to people. We need to go out and create connectivity with already existing organizations, create a sense of ownership, a sense of belonging and in the end a sense of ASEAN identity. And we want this larger identity without sacrificing national ones.
Q: What are your priorities?
A: My job is to go around the region and to engage in dialogue with our partners to bring to them the potential of ASEAN, to convince them this is the new ASEAN. The charter is a new beginning for us and the Secretariat is no longer coordinating policies, no longer just consulting on common approaches to problems, but is doing community building which is a very, very different kind of undertaking.
Community building needs a lot more support, a lot more cooperation, a lot more assistance, a lot more encouragement from outside.
Q: What about the ASEAN Charter?
A: One of the main tasks is to make sure The ASEAN Charter is ratified in time. This morning Cambodia became the sixth country to do this. There are four countries left - and among them three original, founding, very important countries: Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
And Myanmar, of course, but from Myanmar we may expect ratification any time soon.
Q: Why the Charter is important?
A: For the first time there will be a legal commitment, for the first time there will be a legal authority here to go around and ask for compliance, and that would give us a tremendous lead in community building.
Q: And a new mentality?
A: Now people often accuse us of mispronouncing the word ‘Asian'. I say: ASEAN. They correct me: No, Asian. Because ASEAN hasn't registered yet. And without that sense of belonging, the sense of ownership it's impossible.
Leaders can issue visions, foreign ministers can make declarations, various other ministerial circles can make statements, but without people feeling they belong, it's impossible to create an ASEAN identity.
Q: Is there anything to show for your efforts?
A: The responses have been very encouraging.
The Chinese are setting up what they call a China-ASEAN CENTER in Beijing to promote better communication, understanding, and appreciation of opportunities in the region of Southeast Asia.
The Koreans are doing the same thing with the Korea-ASEAN Center.
The Japanese have had it for a long time, so now all ASEAN+3 countries have mechanisms on the national level to promote the cooperation that they as a nation have with us in Southeast Asia.
Japan is also building for us what they call an Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (IREA).
Q: And outside ASEAN+3?
A: I had a chance to meet the Australian Prime Minister and managed to convince him to visit us when he comes to Jakarta and become the first head of government to do so.
The U.S. has nominated its first ambassador to ASEAN and we appreciate that. And we hope that the rest of our partners will follow suit...
Q: But the East Asian Summit still does not include the largest East Asian country - Russia?
A. The EAS was set up relatively recently and, therefore, is still evolving. For the time being, the participating partners are comfortable with the current composition and will at some point open it up to new interested countries.
Q: And what are the main problems?
A: What I have noticed is that ASEAN Secretariat has no profile even in Jakarta where it is based. It has not registered that ASEAN is present here in Jakarta.
This is a pity. We need to do more.
