MYANMAR has benefited diplomatically and economically from its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe said in a message to the nation on ASEAN Day on August 8.

“Through ASEAN, Myanmar has been able to promote its foreign policy goals by interacting in mutually beneficial ways with (ASEAN’s) dialogue partners,” he said in a message marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of the regional organisation.

He said ASEAN countries have become a major source of investment in Myanmar since the country joined the regional grouping a decade ago.

“I am glad to see that by joining ASEAN, Myanmar has effectively promoted trade and investment relations with ASEAN countries. ASEAN countries play a most important role in the flow of (foreign direct investment),” he said.

He said Myanmar had joined ASEAN as a gesture of solidarity with its Southeast Asian brethren “with the expectation of cooperation and contributing to regional peace and stability, prosperity and development in the region and beyond”.

Senior General Than Shwe praised ASEAN’s effort to transform itself into an outward-looking, rules-based, European Union-style regional organisation.

“We have come to the conclusion that we need to upgrade our relationships to a higher plane by integrating ourselves into an ASEAN community,” he said, adding that the goals of the community reinforce “our existing national priorities and objectives”.

As part of the effort to transform ASEAN into a community, the grouping is expected to adopt a landmark charter in November.

Senior General Than Shwe said the charter would give ASEAN “its legal personality and further strengthen its cooperation through enhanced structure and decision-making mechanisms”.

“I am confident that the ASEAN Charter, being drafted, will fulfil the aspirations and shared values of every member country and ASEAN as a whole,” he said.
He also said ASEAN faced numerous threats that could undermine regional economic stability.

“In its 40-year history, ASEAN not only had successes but experienced many challenges and threats. … Together we have shown our resilience and successfully met the challenges.

“Our way of working in solidarity, consultation, consensus, mutual respect and non-interference is our strength. We have been able to promote our regional identity without compromising our own national identity,” he said.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong, whose country last week assumed the one-year rotating chair of ASEAN, stressed the importance of regional integration in a speech given on August 7 to mark ASEAN Day.

“Compared to more established groupings such as the EU, ASEAN is still a long away from becoming a fully integrated community. Far more than the European countries, Southeast Asia is characterised by political, economic and cultural diversity rather than natural coherence. We must make greater efforts to pool our resources and deepen regional integration,” Mr Lee said.

He said if ASEAN delayed the economic integration process, it risked losing its relevance.

“Many investors today see ASEAN as 10 isolated, scattered national economies, too small to be worth paying attention to. If ASEAN’s integration stagnates while the rest of Asia forges ahead, we will be left behind and become irrelevant,” Mr Lee said.

He said all ASEAN members recognised that integration was important and that “time is not on our side”.

“To keep our efforts on track, the pace of ASEAN integration should not be set by its slowest members. The more developed ASEAN members can and should take the lead in setting the pace of integration for the rest to follow,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian President Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for cohesive political systems among ASEAN members, which he said would be essential for the grouping to make the transition into a community.

“We have to think in terms of the need for political cohesiveness among the members of the ASEAN family. Such political cohesiveness should stem from a shared commitment to the fundamental values of democracy, human rights and the free market,” he told at a seminar on the future of ASEAN held in Jakarta on August 7.

ASEAN was founded in 1967 during the Cold War by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to encourage economic, social and cultural cooperation among the five non-communist states. Brunei joined in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Myanmar and Laos in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999.