US lessons for EU-Asia ties (Originally published 18/07/11)

European Union policymakers seeking a seat for Europe at the East Asia Summit, the region’s leading security forum, should stop talking and start proving they are serious about stepping up political engagement with Asia.Turning EU rhetoric into action can begin with three easy steps.For starters, senior EU officials can stop playing hard-to-get and start attending key Asian meetings taking place in the region.The decision by Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, not to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Bali, Indonesia on July 22-23 for a second year running is a serious diplomatic faux pas.Asians see it as a snub and yet another signal that, apart from a focus on China, Europe is not really interested in the region. Britain and Germany are understandably not too pleased with Ashton’s decision either.The fact that Ashton’s acting “deputy”, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, is also not going to the ARF makes things worse. The task of representing the EU at the ARF top table has apparently fallen to Elzbieta Bienkowska, Poland’s minister for regional development.Protocol-conscious Asians are not amused. If the Baroness is too busy, say Asian diplomats, she could have asked the much-respected Kristalina Georgieva,EU Commissioner for international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, affairs, to attend the ASEAN Forum.True, the EU held its own Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) with Asian foreign ministers in Hungary in June. But by shying away from travel to Asia, Ashton and others are reinforcing the impression of EU neglect and indifference.Correcting this perception will not be easy. As a result, Europe may have to wait a long time for that much-coveted seat at the East Asia Summit which, in addition to key regional players such as Japan and Australia, now also includes both the US and Russia.Second, the European External Action Service should hammer out a revamped, up-to-date agenda for EU-Asia cooperation which goes beyond trade and business. EU negotiations on free trade agreements with Asian countries are a positive step forward in helping to enhance economic ties. But trade policy, however active, is no substitute for foreign policy.EU policymakers need to engage in some serious reflection, based on input from independent researchers, think tanks, academics, business leaders and other non-state actors, from both Europe and Asia, on how to get Europe-Asia ties on amore dynamic track. The conference “Europe and the Asian Century”, organised by Friends of Europe on June 21, highlighted several areas for future engagement between the two regions.European institutions still tend to be wary of advice from “outsiders”. As a result, EU policy on Asia has failed to adapt to Asia’s changing political, economic and social landscape. Like the Americans, Europeans must engage more actively with independent think tanks working on Asia.Third, like the Americans – and increasingly, the Russians - the EU should become an active partner in the increasingly important security discussions in Asia, including within ARF, the annual security-focused gathering of Asian foreign ministers and their key foreign partners.As she did last year, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to the ARF meeting and the other encounters organised around the Forum, including a preparatory meeting of the East Asia Summit which will be held in Bali on November 19, with President Barack Obama in attendance.US officials make clear that Clinton makes a point of “showing up” at Asian gatherings to prove America’s “sustained commitment” to the region and to enhance its strategic engagement with Asian countries, especially ASEAN members.The ARF agenda is impressive, including discussions on easing the ongoing border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, tensions in the Korean Peninsula (with the reclusive North Korea making a rare appearance on the international stage by sending its Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun attends to the Bali meeting)and conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea.Missing meetings may appear trivial to a harried and rushed EU foreign policy chief who has to deal with myriad pressing issues, including some in Europe's immediate neighbourhood. But diplomacy is about travel, networking and trying to influence and shape policies and perceptions.For too many years – with the exception of Javier Solana, the former EU high representative for foreign and security policy - EU commissioners and ministers have either stayed away from meetings with their Asian counterparts or put in a brief, formal appearance. Opportunities for dialogue and networking were missed. Personal relationships have not been nurtured.Dealing with a changing and rising Asia will require that the EU engages in new courtships and new alliances. If the EU wants a seat at the East Asia Summit, senior European diplomats will have to learn to engage more actively and more constructively with rising Asia.

ASEM to discuss non-traditional security threats (Originally published 01/06/11)

Asia Europe Meetings meetings have so far focused on traditional threats to global and regional security, including the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programes, the Arab-Israel conflict and the situation in Afghanistan.But while world peace is still threatened by inter-state wars and military conflicts, competition for access to food and energy resources, water disputes, health pandemics and terrorism are emerging as equally potent threats to global security.They are also becoming increasingly central to the evolving international security agenda.“Non-traditional” security challenges are not new. In a rapidly globalizing and interdependent world, however, their impact can be felt not only within countries but also on a regional and international level.They spread fast – and if left to fester, can cause enormous societal havoc and regional and global tensions.ASEM foreign ministers’ discussions in Budapest on June 6-7, on “non-traditional” security issuesare therefore a good step forward in fostering stronger Asia-Europe engagement on tackling key 21stCentury challenges.Hungary, the current presidency of the 27-nation European Union and host of the ASEM meeting, has said foreign ministers will look at questions like energy security, food security, water security and supply, climate change, terrorism as well as disaster preparedness and management.In an increasingly interconnected world, made smaller through increased trade and improved technology, unilateral action cannot effectively deal with these new challenges. Multilateral responses, including within the ASEM framework, are therefore important.As a platform for informal exchange and discussion, ASEM is ideally suited to explore the nature, scope and fall-out of the new security challenges. ASEM also allowsthe sharing of experiences and expertise on possible solutions and coping mechanisms.The new, non-military security threats share some common features: they are transnational (that is neither purely domestic nor purely inter-state), emerge quickly and spread rapidly – within countries and on the regional and global levels.In addition to their impact on people, they can also have a far-reaching economic impact – on individual countries and on the global stage.The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic in 2002, the “Avian flu” in 2007 as well as HIV/AIDS are examples of how quickly diseases can spread in an era of rapid inter-continental travel, prompting not only human tragedy but also devastating countries’ health sectors and economies.Asian countries are aware that the region’s recurring problem of haze caused by environmental pollution and forest fires can exact a very high price in terms of human security as well as cause damage to health systems and the economy.Today, rising food prices are increasing inflationary pressures in many parts of the world while also stirring social unrest and impacting on progress made so far in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Asian and European countries have some experience in joint action to tackle food security, disaster response, piracy at sea and terrorism.Rising food prices were discussed at an ASEM meeting held in Hanoi last month.At the ASEM 8 summit last year, leaders agreed to an increased sharing of intelligence to track down and stop the funding of piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and stressed the need to prosecute suspected pirates.They also asked countries to criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea in national legislations.The EUNAVFOR Atalanta mission, launched in December 2008 and counting up to 12 ships and patrol aircraft supplied by Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Greece, as well as non-EU member Norway, patrols the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin waters in conjunction with other anti-piracy missions operated by NATO and several Asian countries.ASEM experts on counter-terrorism and disaster-management meet regularly.However, more work is needed to identify and prioritise the new dangers, select institutions for responding to the expanding security agenda and work out linkages between traditional and non-traditional threats.Addressing human security issues will require that solutions are people-based, multilateral, and involve government, business and civil society.By providing an example of such multilateral cooperation, ASEM can help craft a new 21st Century global security agenda.

Time for Asia-Europe cooperation on food security (Originally published 06/05/11)

Asian and European policymakers meet in Chiang Mai, Thailand, next week for talks on food security amid fears that currently volatile food prices could trigger a new “food price shock” similar to the food crisis in 2006-2008.Rising food prices are spurring inflation and unease in Europe - but Asia is especially vulnerable. The region’s poor families spend over 60 per cent of their income on food compared to 10 per cent spent in developed nations. The rising cost of food is hurting Asia’s rural poor and urban middle classes.The Asian Development Bank has warned that a sustained 10 per cent rise in domestic food prices in developing Asia, home to 3.3 billion people, could push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty. Recent gains in poverty reduction made in Asia could be seriously undermined.The statement echoed similar warnings made earlier in the year by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick that “more people could become poor because of high and volatile prices.”The meeting in Chiang Mai on May 9 and 10 provides an opportunity for enhanced Asia-Europe cooperation to help defuse current uncertainties and improve global food security.Using the platform provided by ASEM, Asian and European countries can share experiences, exchange best practice and undertake joint initiatives to tackle the array of factors responsible for the rising cost of food.There is no dearth of issues to discuss. The 48 ASEM partners, including food producers, exporters and importers, must work together to improve farmers’ livelihoods, ensure sustainable agricultural and food production, encourage “responsible” agricultural investment and strengthen agricultural research.Sharing agricultural innovations and promoting technology transfers are important. Countries must work together to provide for food security arrangements in case of emergencies and share information on food security.ASEM members need a frank discussion on the many factors responsible for the current situation. Bad weather, including floods in Australia and Pakistan and increasing oil prices (immediately affecting the price of fertiliser) – worsened to some extent by the political turmoil in the Middle East – are clearly contributing to the problem.Countries’ efforts to reduce their dependence on oil by producing crops for fuel rather than food, can also impact on prices. Increases in population and added demand for more food by the world’s rapidly growing emerging countries – many of which are Asian – have further contributed to the pressure on food prices. An increase in the cost of farm inputs such as fertilisers and speculation in the futures market is aggravating the situation.To come to grips with the problem, governments need to focus attention on strengthening entire food systems from farm production, processing, retail and distribution to consumption. There must be increased emphasis on agricultural research which can increase crop yields.It is a daunting task requiring national initiatives but also collective action. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has agreed, through the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework, to establish an emergency regional rice reserve system.The European Union is also well-placed to provide its experience and expertise to Asian countries. Once criticised for its system of costly farm subsidies and high farm tariffs, the EU has revamped its common agricultural policy and thanks to efficient and modern farming techniques, remains a leading exporter and importer of food products.The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, spends about 600 million euros a year on food security projects and programmes in developing countries.An EU food facility worth one billion euros is under implementation as a rapid response to the 2008 food crisis in developing countries. Most of the projects are expected to be completed by end-2011.With experts warning that if food and fuel prices continue to surge, economic growth in the Asian region could be reduced by up to 1.5% this year, the stakes are high for ASEM. In an inter-dependent world, changes in Asia’s growth prospects will have a strong impact on European economies.As a paper prepared for the ASEM meeting in Chiang Mai underlines, “Food security has become a serious challenge for our communities.” As such, it requires joint Asia-Europe action.