Thai hosts bring together Asian and European camps in equal and close cooperation. The great political and economic potential this could release not only alarms the USA, but is also a milestone in the creation of the new world order.

In the Thai capital Bangkok, the flags of 10 Asian and 15 European Union nations are fluttering along all the main thoroughfares. With national leaders arriving all day, the city's airport is filled with the sound of military music. On the Asian side, the seven ASEAN countries are joined from Northeast Asia by China, Japan and South Korea, while presidents or prime ministers are here from all EU countries except Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Spain, along with the President of the European Commission. This unprecedented line-up makes the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) a rare occasion.

From the summit's first being proposed to its becoming a reality, only 18 months have passed. This shows great efficiency. Both for the countries representing Asia and for those from Europe, the main aim was for the summit to be a success, so in effect the preparatory meetings were simply a process of discussing how to set aside issues which might cause it to break down. To achieve this took a great deal of political acumen and diplomatic skill in brokering compromises in behind-the-scenes struggles between the two groups. In large measure this work fell to Thailand, which has traditionally been skilled at playing a buffer role between other powers. So far the Thai government, which is hosting the summit, has played this role extremely effectively and emerged as a successful peacemaker.

In 1994 the EU drew up a milestone document on formulating a new Asia policy, which suggested that Europe should reinforce its economic presence in Asia and strengthen Euro-Asian political ties. The document expressed the view that to compete with the USA in Asian markets, the EU must take concerted, forward-looking action. So when Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong proposed an Asia- Europe summit, the suggestion won immediate endorsement from the late President Mitterand of France and from Chancellor Kohl of Germany. At the enlarged session of the annual ASEAN ministers' conference in Brunei in July 1995, and at the high-level preparatory talks for the ASEM in Madrid in December 1995, officials from both groups held consultations about the summit agenda. ASEAN's purpose in taking this initiative, apart from its economic interests, was clearly to enhance its own status. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, by suggesting that mainland China, South Korea and Japan should be invited to attend, in effect is using ASEM as a vehicle to create an embryonic East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC). This had been vigorously opposed by the USA, but through ASEM Mahathir Mohamad has made a large stride in that direction.

ASEAN plays Europe off against the US

Since the end of the Cold War, ASEAN's capacity for independent action has grown rapidly. The clearest evidence of this is its desire to stand on an equal footing with the USA. The USA had originally hoped, through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), to strengthen its ties with Asia and consolidate its leadership position. But in ASEAN's eyes the diplomatic signals sent out by President Clinton have been thoroughly confused. On the one hand he wants to strengthen US-Asia ties, but on the other hand the US publicly criticizes its allies and invokes sanctions against them in the areas of human rights and intellectual property. President Clinton's failure to attend the 1995 Osaka summit was seen as a severe discourtesy by East Asians, who value "face." This "showed that the US just wants to be top dog," but doesn't really respect East Asian countries. Therefore ASEAN quickened the pace of its drive to "create ties with Europe as a counterweight to the USA."

The EU and the USA are both part of Western civilization, and differ very little in their value systems. But the European countries have a longer history, and are more pragmatic and worldly-wise in their response to issues. To compete with the US in the scramble for East Asian markets, the EU does its best to avoid issues over which the US has aroused East Asian resentment. European Commission President Jacques Santer said: "We can't go there with the attitude of former colonial powers. We must first discuss topics which will bring us together, not drive us apart. Only when we have built up mutual trust will it be possible to touch upon sensitive topics." [Quote retranslated from Chinese--tr.] In 1994 EU trade with Asia totalled US$312 billion, far in excess of its trade with the USA of US$235 billion. According to a World Bank report, half the growth in world trade before the year 2000 will come from Asia, so if the EU wishes to institutionalize its links with the region, the most practical way to do so, and the least likely to encounter resistance, is to start from economic and trade cooperation. Hence the EU's prime objective during the summit is to reach consensus with the other countries attending on the agenda for the first ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, to increase trade and investment between the EU and Asia. Security issues which may be raised include maintaining peace and controlling arms build-ups, and regional problems which affect world peace, such as the situations in the former Yugoslavia, in Cambodia, on the Korean Peninsula and across the Taiwan Strait.

Human rights issues set aside

The European Commission report states: "The European Union should keep firmly in mind that human rights issues are extremely sensitive for certain Asian countries attending the Asia-Europe Meeting." [retranslated--tr.] Thus it is important to come to the discussions with constructive suggestions and a positive attitude. However, EU countries Portugal and Belgium insisted for a time on raising human rights issues, particularly the issue of Indonesia's record in East Timor. President Suharto of Indonesia threatened to pull out of the summit if East Timor were to be raised. At one point the Asian countries announced that if the EU wished to raise Asian problems, Asia would also raise the issues of Bosnia, Northern Ireland and the Basque country in Spain. In the end the EU proposed a compromise plan calling for the inclusion in the summit chairman's closing statement of the June 1993 Vienna Declaration on Human Rights, as an expression of a high degree of concern for human rights. At first the Asian countries were strongly opposed to this, but on 3 February, at the 10-country Asian foreign ministers' conference on Phuket Island, mainland Chinese vice-premier and foreign minister Qian Qichen suggested that all the declarations of UN conferences over recent years should be included in the chairman's statement, to counterbalance the Vienna Declaration. These declarations include the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 1994 Cairo Declaration on Population and Development, and the declaration of the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Of these, the Rio Declaration includes sharp criticism of Europe and America for wasting resources and creating pollution. Qian Qichen's proposal has been accepted by both the Asian and the European sides.

Bilateral meetings tackle problem issues

Apart from topics of common concern to Asian and European countries, the various national leaders are also taking the opportunity alongside the summit to conduct bilateral talks, such as Li Peng's meeting with John Major to discuss Hong Kong, and Kim Young Sam's talks with Ryutaro Hashimoto about their disputed islands. Other leaders are also exchanging views on general topics and exchanging courtesy visits. All in all, with both sides sharing a strong desire for the Asia-Europe summit to go off successfully, preparations proceeded especially smoothly, and this naturally attracted the attention of other nations, particularly the USA. This is the first time since World War II that the USA's major allies in Europe and Asia have held a world-level summit to the exclusion of the USA. This shows how both Europe and Asia wish to escape from their past role of always following the USA's lead, and their desire for the three great forces of Asia, Europe and the USA to stand on an equal footing. Seeing this trend, some countries on the fringes rushed to jump on the bandwagon, for fear of being squeezed out. For instance, Australia and New Zealand had Japan intercede on their behalf with a request to attend the summit. But this was fiercely opposed by their staunch adversary Malaysia, which demanded that Australia and New Zealand should "first decide whether they are Asian countries." Meanwhile Japan itself expresses itself ambiguously about whether the 10 Asian countries constitute an organized collective force, in order to stay on good terms with both Asia and the USA. In short, ASEM is an important process in the restructuring of the world order following the end of the Cold War. Britain has already won the right to host the second ASEM in London in 1998, while South Korea is to host the third summit in the year 2000. As a result ASEM is sure to gradually become an institution. This heralds a fundamental shift in the world balance of power.