Problems Hinder Major Role in Regional Grouping
Eighteen months since Cambodia first was admitted to Asean, observers say the country has shown itself to be an enthusiastic and cooperative partner in the organization, but it’s still a long way from becoming a major player.
“Cambodia is adapting very well,” said a diplomat from a major Asean nation Tuesday at a two-day conference on Asean organized by the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung foundation.
“They are eager,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be named. “They want to be a part of the organization,” he said, citing the willingness of Cambodian officials to meet demands of Asean membership and to undertake training.
But there remain major—some say intractable—obstacles before Cambodia can become a more active partner.
One problem is the dire shortage of qualified civil servants. In order to deal effectively with an international organization such as Asean, “you must be able to speak English. You must be able to write reports,” said Khek Ravy, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce. “The problem is the salary. How does a civil servant want to serve the country on $15 or $20 a month?”
Of 2,000 personnel at the Commerce Ministry, “maybe 10 percent are really effective,” Khek Ravy said.
Another problem is the lack of adequate financial legal framework that would bring Cambodia up to par with other Asean members.
The Commerce Ministry is working on drafting bankruptcy and commercial laws—fundamental for a secure investment environment, Khek Ravy said.
But drafting the law is one thing; getting it implemented is another, he said.
“The reality is that once you have the law drafted, then it has to be presented to the Council of Ministers, and then to the National Assembly. It’s not going to happen fast.”
Another sore point is the Asean Free Trade Area, which aims to reduce or eliminate tariffs on certain goods traded between Asean member states. Advocates say AFTA will be a boon to foreign investment in Cambodia. Others fear it will cost the government too much in potential tax revenue.
AFTA is meant to strengthen ties within Asean, which suffered a major blow to its international reputation in the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The impending admission of China to the World Trade Organization is seen as another threat to Asean’s economic and political sway.
The recent admission of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia has been seen by some critics as further weakening Asean.
But the perception is a false one, said Singaporean Ambassador Verghese Mathews. “The expansion has made Asean a truly regional organization,” which can assert itself on an increasingly globalized economy, he said.
The challenge now is to bring new members up to the same economic level as older, richer members.
“Asean should make every effort to reduce or eliminate the development gap among its members,” Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told conferees Monday. “This difference…developed from many decades of war and turmoil that affected the new members whereby the old members enjoyed peace and prosperity.”
While Cambodia still lags, Asean membership provides the country with a “stamp of approval” that is an invaluable help in attracting foreign investors, Kao Kim Horn, director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said.
But although its regional ties are growing, Cambodia increasingly has developed a “high level of beholdenness…to powers far away,” said Leo Schmit, a European Commission consultant who is training government officials to work more effectively with Asean.
Member states have to balance their commitments to Asean and to global organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the UN Development Program.
Poor countries such as Cambodia have no choice but to agree to terms set by the lenders. To some extent, Schmit said, these agreements between individual nations and global agencies weaken the cohesiveness of regional organizations such as Asean.
Schmit sees a growing tendency among international lenders to use their tremendous financial clout to undermine regional groupings in favor of globalization. “They used the [1997 Asian economic] crisis to regain their foothold” in the region, he said.
Also, the Cambodian economy operates largely in US dollars. As a result, Cambodia is susceptible to financial fluctuations in the US.
