ASEAN members urged to seek regional cooperation, not competition

BANGKOK, August 9 (TNA) - A Thai scholar has urged ASEAN member countries to explore more regional cooperation, rather than emphasizing on competition, in a bid to achieve regional goals under the ASEAN Community (AC), set to be formed by 2015. Speaking at a seminar entitled “ASEAN Community: One vision, Multiculturalism, And How Can We Live Together?”, jointly organized in Bangkok on Thursday by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN Association-Thailand to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN, Assistant Professor Dr. Kitti Prasirtsuk, Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies in the Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University suggested that similarities among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be taken into account when building up the ASEAN community, instead of paying attention to only differences among them. Dr. Kitti acknowledged those similarities represent common characteristics and cultures of ASEAN people, including the pattern of extended family and low individualism. According to the senior Thai academic, the ASEAN countries also share common problems, namely haze and cross-border diseases and those related to development and urbanization, which can be addressed through regional cooperation. The senior Thai academic pointed out that ASEAN countries can also share opportunities and strengthen their joint potentials in the production of goods and they should, thus, seek cooperation, rather than focusing on competition. Meanwhile, Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee, Chairman of the Board of Directors, MFC Asset Management Public Company Limited, who is also a former deputy commerce minister, recommended that new ASEAN member countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, known as the CLMV group, be supported to develop their market economies in the lead-up to the establishment of the AC. (TNA)