In a World of Blocs, East Asians Should Work Together
International Herald Tribune
December 9, 1993
Mahathir bin Mohamad    

The writer is prime minister of Malaysia.

East Asia has achieved remarkable success and demonstrated resilient economic growth, but the future is full of uncertainties. Calamities are always possible even for those with brilliant records. Japan is the current example.

It is, therefore, all the more imperative for nations of East Asia to work together in a more integrated and cohesive manner. The concept of an East Asia Economic Caucus must be firmed up further. The caucus is GATT-consistent and is committed to free trade. It is a result of, and intended for, open regionalism.

The caucus recognizes the need for regional cooperation while it promotes free trade. Countries of East Asia must work together. The need to balance regional groupings elsewhere is obvious. Alone, no Asian country can match the combined clout of the groupings in Europe and North America.

No one need fear an Asian grouping. Europeans and North Americans are much more homogenous than Asians. Even in East Asia, we are not only ethnically different, we are also divided by culture, language and religion. It is quite impossible for Asians to think of themselves the way Europeans think of themselves as being of one race and one color. Indeed, European culture and language have common origins. So the idea of an integrated Asian Community borders on the ridiculous.

Not so an Asian or an East Asian forum or caucus, designed to discuss common economic problems and, to a limited extend, to help pull up those East Asian countries that are lagging behind. Such an approach can be motivated by enlightened self-interest.

If today Southeast Asia is one of Japan's valuable markets, it is because Japan invested in the region's countries and helped them to develop. The highly successful economies of East Asia will be helping themselves when they help the less developed nations in the the region to grow and prosper. Forming an East Asian Economic Caucus is therefore a logical sequel to the economic interaction in the region since World War II. It would be good for governments, growth and business.

This comment was adapted from an address on Sunday at the opening of the Pacific Rim Business Collaboration Symposium.

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