Asean’s lessons for the EU

In light of the general panic in the European Union now that its ally, the United States, is abandoning it, what can the EU learn from Asean for a change?

But let’s discuss the role of the US first.

With or without President Donald Trump, US Vice President JD Vance has broken diplomatic tradition in Germany by talking to its far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The very basis of the EU was originally based on France and Germany being able to achieve self-restraint from going at each other militarily. The two were either the proximate causes or actual triggers of World War I and II, respectively. Yet the two countries, while able to end their mutual animosity, have been a pale shadow of their old selves, at least since 1970.

Jacques Delors, the father of the Euro, has long understood the weaknesses of the French and German economies. Therefore, a Franco-German entente embedded in the larger expanding structure of the EU was seen as the most sensible way to arrest the national and regional decline of both countries and the EU as a whole.

The fact is that over the last 30 years, France and Germany in particular have not been shining examples of functional states. Many French citizens could never find their workplace conditions to be satisfactory, hence the constant allure of local or national strikes.

Germany, on the other hand, outsourced most of its operations to China and other parts of less-developed Southeast Asia to enjoy a cost advantage, hollowing out the industrial base of Germany in due course.

When one keeps in mind that the United Kingdom has long left the EU through Brexit, all that remains of EU’s 27 member states is now even less impressive. It is also truly in trouble since it is tied to the Nato.

Nato’s defense spending is generally weak, often below 2 percent of GDP, which Trump inadvertently insisted upon. But Trump now wants the military contribution to Nato to stand at 5 percent of the GDP of each member state.

With Asean having more staying power than the EU in dealing with someone like Trump, what lessons can the EU learn from this regional bloc?

First, regardless of what the theory of international relations or institutional economics may say, do not keep binding all 27 member states by sheer diplomatic fiat. The more EU member states try to hold on to the old conventional wisdom of a single Europe, the more the quest for common glory will become a distant memory. The EU, or the bureaucratic priesthood that guards it, is breaking down.

Second, the EU is burdened by reams of regulations and unwilling to relax its trade rules, while Asean is light on rules. It does not suffer from the need to find alternative regional markets, as India and China can serve as its trading partners. By 2030, Asean would have a collective GDP fourth in size after China, the US and India. Between 2025 and 2030, Asean is expected to grow at 5.2 percent, two times higher than the EU.

Third, notwithstanding the looming dawn of artificial intelligence, the EU has not been able to maximize it. Instead, brands such as Audi, Mercedes, and BMW, all made in Germany, are outsourced to other countries.

Fourth, while Asean has a history that only began on Aug. 8, 1967, it seems to have achieved more. Except for Myanmar, Asean has absorbed member states into a cohesive whole. Its chances of breaking up remain impossible.

Lastly, Asean has also willed its loose existence into being. It surrendered no sovereignty to any secretariat, nor can any member states resort to making decisions unilaterally.

The EU has allowed legalism and institutionalism to prevail over it time and again. It has to learn how to sink or swim with a deadweight locked to its ankles, especially when faced with a recalcitrant Russia that has refused to give in to Nato and EU demands.

If the US were to abandon Asean, there are several major powers that could prop it up, lest it be at the mercy of either India or China. The primary thrust of Asean, other than ensuring its institutional tie-up with the US, also involves working with a group of comprehensive strategic partners. The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

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Phar Kim Beng is a professor of ASEAN Studies at International Islamic University of Malaysia.

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The Philippine Daily Inquirer is a member of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 22 media titles in the region.