20 Years of ASEM

The11th Asia-Europe (ASEM 11) Summit was held in July 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The theme of the Summit is ‘20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity‘. The Summit saw the participation of Heads of State/Government/Representatives of 53 Asian and European countries, along with the High Representative of the European Union and the ASEAN Secretary General. Indian delegation is led by Vice President Mohmmad Hamid Ansari.

What is ASEM? What are its key characteristics?

• ASEM is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation that brings 53 entities – including 51 countries (including India) from Asia and Europe and two regional bodies European Union (EU) and the ASEAN.
• ASEM Summit is a biennial meeting and was officially established in March 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand.
• The dialogue addresses political, economic and cultural issues between the two regions. It also seeks to strengthen the relationship between the two regions in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership.
• ASEM represents around 62.3% of the world’s population, 57.2% of the global GDP and almost 60% of the world’s trade.

Key characteristics of ASEM

• Informal process of dialogue and cooperation.
• Open forum to discuss on multidimensional issues. Any political, economic and socio-cultural issues of common interest are discussed by the policy makers.
• Complements the work already worked out in bilateral and other multilateral fora.
• It emphasizes on equal partnership and cooperation based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.
• It provides a platform to focus on both high level and people to people contacts. Under it, heads of states or governments, ministers meet to focus on fostering contacts between all sectors in the two regions.

What is the importance of this edition’s meeting?

ASEM 2016 is being held in the new world environment following Britain’s exit from the European Union and a global economic slowdown. It is also first major multilateral diplomatic gathering after recent ruling by UN-backed international tribunal which has struck down China’s claims in strategic South China Sea.

What are the outcomes of the meeting?

Ulanbaatar declaration

• The eleventh edition of the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM11) has issued Ulaanbaatar Declaration. The declaration is a visionary document which has reaffirmed ASEM’s commitment for greater partnership through informal political dialogue and initiatives in economic and socio-cultural fields. It also has expressed its commitment for united fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
• The leaders who participated in the meeting expressed their strong resolve to work together to strengthen ASEM and promote connectivity and mutually beneficial partnership and cooperation between Asia and Europe.
• ASEM will enhance its partnership in order to meet the aspirations of the people for peace and stability, sustainable development, economic prosperity and a better quality of life.
• It will strive to further strengthen Asia-Europe multi-dimensional and people-centered partnership. It will also focus on countering terrorism, maritime security and safety, fighting piracy and armed robbery at sea, as well as drug and human trafficking.
• ASEM will reaffirm its commitment for cyber security, cyber-crime, security of in the use of information and communication technologies. It will also reaffirm upholding the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, rule of law and enforcement of international law, human rights, anti-corruption, migration, Sustainable Development and climate change.
• ASEM will reinforce its role as a catalyst for effective multilateralism and a rules-based international order in the shifting geopolitics leading to greater uncertainties and volatility in the world.

Special Statement on International Terrorism

The leaders also endorsed a Special Statement on International Terrorism in the wake of recent terror attacks in various ASEM member countries. The leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all forma and called for the need to bring to justice those responsible for the terror attacks in accordance with the Charter of the UN and other international laws.

What was India’s agenda for the summit?

• India’s agenda for the summit is to push forward the efforts to boost inter-continental connectivity.
• India focused on the issue of connectivity –institutional, digital, physical, economic and socio-cultural. It highlighted the importance of connectivity and called for its utilization for greater people-to-people exchanges, facilitating trade and investments etc.
• India also underlined the need to isolate sponsors and financiers of terror and urged the world leaders to take practical action and to go beyond only condemnation. It pitched for the early adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), principally mooted by India in 1996 and currently under negotiation at the United Nations.

The issues of visibility, working method, coordination, have been discussed over and over for a number of years now, and solutions have been offered. Yet, there did not seem to be a genuine desire to address these issues resolutely. The diversities in membership and inability to reconcile the diverging interests of course hamper efforts to address many of the challenges that have been identified. But fundamentally, the real reasons for the inertia in ASEM are the lack of political interest and unwillingness to invest in the process leading to the “bureaucratic capture” of the ASEM process.

India’s participation at the ASEM summit

India began to engage with ASEM from 2007. It has hosted the 11^th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM FMM11) in 2013. It has been actively participating in the Summits level and Foreign Ministers’ Meetings held from time to time.

What are the criticisms of the ASEM?

• ASEM has been facing the issues of visibility, working method, coordination. Yet there is no genuine desire among the member states to find a viable solution to these issues.
• Inability of the group to reconcile the diverging interests of the divergent groups hampers the reputation of the organization.
• Lack of political will among the stakeholders to invest in the ASEM process due to the fact that the need for ASEM is no longer compulsive as it was during its establishment.

• ASEM lacks a specific goal and a focused agenda which are the vital elements for crafting a compelling vision and drawing attentions to the work it does.
• Unlike other organizations like APEC, ASEM lacks structures like Business Advisory Council to promote and support ASEM agenda.
• ASEM has few partners on the Asian side to better reflect the interests of the Asian members and to promote the inter-continental Asia-Europe character.

What is the way forward for ASEM?

• ASEM initiatives should aim for robust exchange of ideas resulting in enhanced connectivity, and increased trade and investment flows.
• It should work to create a vision of happening Asia-Europe Marketplace where trade and ideas flow both ways from Asia to Europe and vice-versa.
• ASEM can create a Business Advisory Council consisting of business executives from Asia and Europe to promote the ASEM agenda.
• ASEM can add further members from South and Central Asia. This would improve the coordination process within the Asian regional grouping.

Conclusion

In order to be relevant to the present challenges and maintain its significance, ASEM has to rethink about its modus operandi.